by Amy McKinley
Adeline grabbed my hand, changing the angle of the phone, so it would include her as she scooted close to me. “Yeah, a pipe burst in my room, so I’m staying in the guest room here.” She waved it away. “Tell me all the details. What time was Antonio born? How much does he weigh? How are you feeling?”
Tiffany giggled, and I knew she’d read between the lines with our loving arrangements. “You and I are going to talk. We’ll circle back around to the room situation later.” She let out a sigh, and her features softened. “I’ll tell you more of the details another time, Adeline, like what the labor was like.” She winked at me, and I was glad to be spared those details. “Antonio was born this morning. I feel great now, just tired. He’s six pounds, twelve ounces, and nineteen inches long. He’s perfect.”
Adeline and I chatted with her and Aaron for a few minutes until her eyes drooped from exhaustion. We said our goodbyes, and after disconnecting, I draped an arm around Adeline and leaned back on the couch. I clicked on the television when she yawned, turning to the news. She rested her head on my shoulder, and while the anchor droned on about whatever it was he was saying, my mind puzzled out how to keep her by my side and engaged in a career she found satisfying. Because there was no way I was going to be happy if she managed a hotel while I was halfway around the world.
Chapter 11
Stone
Sleep never came easily in this city for me, even when deep in REM, the sheets would tangle around my legs, imprisoning me here, stealing my chance to escape. Tonight was no different, and yet another dream held me in its vice.
“What do you think you’re doing, Cristiano?” Padre’s voice shook with a combination of fear and outrage.
I raked my hair back, torn between my heart and mind. “I can’t stop thinking about her. Please understand. If I don’t try, then nothing will be gained. I’ll live the rest of my life wondering.” I rapped my knuckles against the worn wood table where we sat in our small room in the basement of the inn, where the staff’s lodgings were. It was dark and cramped, but we made the most of it.
I understood what he was telling me, but my heart did not. Francesca was meant for a man of means, someone worthy of her hand, while my station was beneath that of her family’s. Her parents would worry I was after her inheritance. She didn’t share those beliefs, and we’d talked of a future together. It wouldn’t always be like this, with me working at the inn. I had plans.
But Francesca trumped my wildest dreams, and I couldn’t get her off my mind. I hadn’t expected to meet her, my soul’s other half. With a mere glance, she’d set my world ablaze. We’d even entertained running away together, starting fresh elsewhere beyond the reach of her parents. But I couldn’t do that to her, and she shut the idea down out of worry for what her family would do to my padre. Even with the obstacles against us, we were determined to find a way to be together.
The undelivered message I’d written before my shift this morning burned a hole in my pocket, as did the necklace I’d purchased for her. It was a pendant with an engraving of Saint Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. I’d gone to our spot, the hiding place behind the loose stone, to leave her another note and found the necklace returned. My heart thundered in my ears, a sense of acute panic riding my heels. She wouldn’t have removed it willingly. Not after all we’d said to one another, the connection we shared. We were meant for one another.
The heavy sigh across our worn table told me more than I wanted to hear. It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have gone. “Tell me she’s here,” I demanded. “That she hasn’t left.”
Indecision deepened the groves in my padre’s forehead. “She’ll be gone within the hour.”
I pushed myself up and away from the table. In three strides, I was at our door, the glass knob tight in my grip as I twisted it with a turn and push. There’s still time.
Taking the narrow stairs two at a time, I burst from the opening and into the kitchens. The smell of eggs, fresh baked bread, and bacon saturated the air. Ignoring my growling stomach, I skirted around the busy cooks, avoiding the swat from the head chef for dashing through and jostling Isabella, one of the waitstaff, as she brought plates in from the dining hall. Nothing mattered past reaching Francesca’s side in time—stopping her.
Maneuvering to the edge of the rooms as I passed through, I wove through early risers as carefully and fast as possible. My long strides took me to the reception area through ornate arches. The high-pitched sound of her madre’s laughter diminished as they rose from the settee. I increased my pace, uncaring what her parents would think.
Francesca was mine. I would not let her go.
As I neared, my gaze found hers. Tears ran openly down her stunning face, and the despair written across her features almost doubled me over. A slight notch of her head, and then she whispered in her mother’s ear. We’d played this game before over the last two weeks.
Pivoting on my heels, I changed directions and pushed open the glass doors to the courtyard, stepping to the side and out of sight. Her mother would have been fed an excuse, and we’d gain a few minutes alone. It didn’t take long until she joined me. In a flurry of satin and beads, she was in my embrace, and all was right in my world, at least for a few moments.
The quiver that ran through her confirmed my worst fears, and the meaning behind the abandoned necklace was a dose of reality I didn’t want. “Don’t go.”
A sob burst from her perfect lips. “They saw us together. We leave in a few minutes. Cristiano, I—”
“Shh.” I caressed her cheek with my thumb, cupping the side of her face. I hated to see the naked pain in her eyes and would do anything to ease her worry.
“I didn’t think I would see you, be able to say goodbye.” Her sea-blue eyes swam with tears. “I left you a note…”
I couldn’t tell her it would be all right, because I didn’t know. I wanted her to remain with me to start a new life. But was that fair to her? At this point, I wouldn’t be able to provide for her as her family could.
Our situation was crushing me; my head was underwater with the reality of what was about to happen. “Somehow, someway, we will be together.”
“Promise?” Her wide blue eyes begged for reassurance.
“Yes, I would risk everything to find you again.” I bent my head and took her lips with mine. My blood heated, rushing through my veins, at the touch of my tongue to her hers. She parted for me, and I teased her mouth open farther, exploring the softness within. Our heartbeats aligned, and I swear my soul sang to hers. There wasn’t much time, and with her in my arms, I knew I would lose track of it too fast.
With reluctance, I released her swollen lips as the sound of raised voices pierced our sanctuary. Her parents had found us. “I love you, Francesca, and vow that I will find you again.”
The smell of coffee pulled me from my dreams, and I woke disoriented. The beans were different, not quite as intoxicating as I remembered in the small room Cristiano had shared with his padre. I had to work to make sense of my surroundings. Gone was the small, depressing room with the two narrow cots and worn wooden table. Instead, I lay on a king-sized mattress with light streaming across it from the large windows.
My heart hurt as Francesca slipped away from me again. But it was just a dream. Something conjured from my imagination, yet it was innately powerful and had left me shaken. Just like then, I knew I couldn’t lose her, would do anything to find her again.
The two worlds—both imagined and real—collided, and I swore I could see the make-believe woman looking over her shoulder as she exited through the doorway. Long honey-blond hair fell in loose waves down her back, obscuring the narrow waist that moments ago I’d spanned with my hands. Her voice whispered to me, carried on the fading moonbeams, luring me to her. Where she went, I’d follow. Always.
The sense of inadequacy from when I was with her, the frustration over not being able to fight for her, roared to the surface. I wasn’t that guy. I’d amassed an empire. On the heels of
that thought came Adeline, my fake fiancée, and how quickly she’d come to matter to me. Urgency fueled me to do something, to change our relationship even further.
Sitting up, I ran my palms over my face, chasing away the remnants of the dream. What the hell was wrong with me? Glass clinked in the other room, and I shoved the covers back. Without making a sound, I passed through the open door from my room and made my way to the kitchenette.
Adeline faced away from me, pouring a cup of coffee and wearing black yoga pants and a white T-shirt. Her hair fell down her back in silvery waves, not the gold ones from my dream. Even so, it didn’t matter. My subconscious recognized her.
In slow motion, she turned, and with each increment, her features were revealed. I knew her. It wasn’t that I’d seen her before because she worked for me. The curve of her jaw, the wide, almond-shaped blue eyes, and that perfectly formed mouth. The girl from my dreams superimposed over Adeline’s image, and I had to blink several times. Their similarities were uncanny.
“Coffee?” Adeline broke through my thoughts.
“Yes.” Goddamn. What was wrong with me? My hands curled around the edge of the granite countertop as she poured me a cup. We’d kissed last night, and it would have gone further, but she drew back, and I had to respect her wish not to move too fast. The tight grip on the stone kept me from reaching out to her. As she moved around the island, what I wanted, no needed, became clear—her. And this time, I wasn’t going to let her go.
Minutes ticked by, and she left to get dressed for the day. When she was ready, she exited her room and then rushed around the small kitchen area, putting her dishes away. As she slipped on her heels, a reminder chime sounded from her cell phone. She glanced down at the screen, and my mind continued to whirl with possibilities. I wanted something different, real, with her.
“Hey, you have a conference call at eight.”
“Right.” I pushed away from the peninsula, downed the last sips of my coffee, and then went to get ready. Refocused, I broke free from the clinging fog of my dream. In record time, I’d showered and dressed. I straightened my tie when the door slammed shut behind Adeline as she left for the office I had set up in the other suite.
I made a mental note to check in with Tiffany in a few days to see how she and the baby were doing. Eventually, she wanted to come back to work but at a part-time capacity. I promised her I’d figure out how to make that happen. Plus, she wanted to stay in Verona due to her husband’s job. Now that I had Adeline working with me, it was an ideal situation.
On the way out, I grabbed my laptop with a few seconds to spare. I was cutting it close, which was unusual for me. Once in the office I shared with Adeline, I gave her a brief nod as I dialed into the call and then deposited my laptop on my desk.
Five minutes into listening to problems and resolutions about our new internet carrier and scheduling platform for the Verona hotel, Adeline rapped against the doorframe. I motioned her closer.
“Vince Mariucci is on the line for you.” She kept her voice low. “Do you want to take it or schedule a time to talk with him?”
“No. I’ll take it.” She went back to her desk while I extracted myself from the meeting with plans to check in on the progress they’d made in a few hours. The light flashed on the landline. Switching to that phone, I exchanged greetings with Vince.
“I’ve decided to award Stone Enterprises the bid for the purchase of the Bianca.”
“That’s fantastic news, Vince.”
“Would you and Adeline be able to meet Margaret and me for dinner to discuss the details?”
A huge sense of relief filled me. I was almost free of staying in Verona, the place that, for some reason, kept dragging me down. “We’d be happy to go over the contract at dinner.”
We set a time and place, which meant Adeline and I would have to leave here mid-to-late afternoon. Rather than updating her about the need to reschedule the rest of my day, I went in search of her to tell her in person.
“So?” A wide smile stretched her lips. “Did you get it?”
“We did.” In two strides, I was around her desk and pulling her to her feet. My arms wrapped her in a tight hug. Joy filled her laugh, and my mood lifted to impossible heights.
“We did it!” Winning the bid wasn’t the only thing that had elevated my outlook so drastically. “We leave this afternoon.” With reluctance, I released her.
“Oh, that’s great.” She ran a hand down her pale-pink blouse, smoothing out any wrinkles I’d made.
“If you can rearrange my schedule to accommodate that as well as freeing tomorrow morning, we’ll have dinner with the Mariuccis and stay the night, coming back in the early afternoon.”
“Dinner in Venice. Sure. You’ll get no argument from me.” She swiped a finger across her iPad to wake it up as I took a step toward my office and the mounds of work that waited for me. “Oh, maybe we can talk tonight? I wanted to tell you something last night, but with Celia crashing your place and having to demote her…”
“Yes. We’ll talk.” I left her with that, turning so she wouldn’t see the devious glint that no doubt shone in my eyes. Things were about to get complicated.
Chapter 12
Adeline
With each visit to Venice, I fell deeper in love with the floating city. Here, with Stone, all his stressors from Verona faded, and he was charming and attentive, so much that I could picture the contract that bound us together as unnecessary, that we would have chosen this path organically.
I sipped my wine as we chatted amicably with Vince and Margaret at a canal-side restaurant that was less fancy than the one we’d previously gone to. The train ride and water taxi here flew by as Stone and I had immersed ourselves in work so that we could enjoy a weekend in Venice. I couldn’t believe it when he suggested we stay and had enthusiastically agreed.
We dropped our bags at the hotel and then made the decision to sign the contract after dinner in Vince’s office. Stone and I were both more than ready to enjoy the evening. Not only that, but away from the Verona property, this could be a better place to talk to him about what I’d found in Cristiano’s room. And I would when we got back to our room tonight.
Vince and Stone went over the contract while Margaret and I half-listened. We chatted about where she and her husband planned to travel next month. I was excited for her. “Santorini. I can only imagine how beautiful that must be.”
Margaret sighed. “That’s where we went on our honeymoon, and this will be the first time we’ve been back since.”
The island boasted white-washed homes and stunning views of either the ocean or lagoon. “Will you stay on the side with the Aegean Sea or the lagoon?” I rested my elbows on the table, leaning forward. The prospect of the history and myth of the Greek island made it one of the top contenders on my travel wish list. “It’s rumored that Atlantis sunk into the Aegean Sea. I would think that area, well either side really, would be magical.”
“It is. For our honeymoon, we stayed seaside, but this time around, we thought we’d try the lagoon. It’s an experience not to be missed. You and Stone must go sometime.”
A small smile curved my lips, and I stole a glance at Stone as he turned to me, a matching expression on his chiseled face.
“We’ll make a point to visit there after Verona is complete, and we have the necessary infrastructure in place in Venice. If that’s top on your travel list, Adeline, then we’ll go.”
If only this was real. Even so, I couldn’t stop the yearning from encasing my words. “Yes, I’d love to visit Greece.”
He chuckled. “We can get you a couple of new T-shirts to add to your collection when we’re there.”
My heart warmed at his teasing smile—he got my silly addiction to graphic tees.
He winked at me before facing our dinner companions. “Adeline has a collection of shirts with different sayings. Sometimes, she expresses her feelings through them if I’m too dense to read between the lines. My favorite one of lat
e is: I’m fine. But there’s a massive blood splatter underneath the caption. It’s a close tie to yesterdays: I’m not in a bad mood. Everyone is just annoying.”
“Don’t scare them away!” I shared a look with Margaret, who was wiping away a tear from laughter. “Remember,” I sing-songed, “I’ve got secrets on you too.”
“Addy.” I knew that gruff voice behind me. Tommy? A jolt of panic shot through me. My ex from college? I jumped to my feet. My knee banged on the table, rattling the dishes, as I spun around. He loomed over me, scowling. Shit, this wouldn’t be good.
“What are you doing here?” Not my finest moment. Stone came to his feet, his hand settling on the small of my back, and I glanced at him over my shoulder.
“So this is the guy?” Tommy’s gaze dropped to the rock on my finger. “You’re engaged to me, not him.”
“We weren’t.” I shook my head, flashing an apologetic smile to Vince and Margaret. “I need a minute.” Stone’s dark eyes narrowed on him like a heat-seeking missile. I had to defuse this situation.
I frantically searched for a quiet corner where we could talk. A small alcove at the corner of the restaurant would have to do. “Good to see you, Tommy.” I quickly introduced him as a friend from school to Stone and the Mariuccis before I grasped his mammoth arm and tugged for him to come with me. He did. I was under no illusion that I was able to make him go physically. I was just glad he didn’t create a scene back there.
We wove through the outdoor tables until we were at the outer edge of the restaurant near a row of empty gondolas tied to the pier. I had to get rid of him. I should never have left without having another discussion with him. But seriously, how many times did he need to hear we’re through?
“What are you doing here, Tommy?” I crossed my arms over my chest and worked hard to keep my expression neutral. He curved his hulking form toward me, so his face was closer to mine.
