Gage looked into the bathroom and saw the immediate problem. She'd opened the window.
"Okay calm down. Stay there."
"Of course I'm staying here." She snapped at him.
He ran into the bathroom and shut the window just as another was about to jump in, he then went back to her.
"Evie try and get down and go in the bathroom."
"No, I'm not moving. I can't. I'll die if they touch me. Gage help me."
"Okay don't panic." He didn't know how he was going to get rid of the damned things himself. He rushed at the nearest two in an attempt to grab them, but they scampered away under the bed. The others skittered away as he got closer, heading in different directions.
"Gage," she cried with a deep urgency that whipped his head around. Damn it, the big one had launched itself on the wall next to her and was making its way towards her. She screamed as it did that throat thing lizards loved by blowing out its whole throat into a big bubble. "GAGE!"
He tried to grab the thing as it got closer to her but missed. He turned to Evie to see if she was okay as it rushed along heading straight for her, but all he saw was breasts coming at him as she screamed and sprung towards him.
On instinct he caught her but his mind went blank and he didn't even think about what he was holding or where he was touching. All he knew was that the perfect woman just threw herself at him and she was completely naked with her legs wrapped around his waist and her fully rounded breasts pressed against his chest. Her long wet hair really did feel like silk and smelled like fresh strawberries as it caressed his face.
The crazy thing was she was totally oblivious. Fear had taken over her mind. If anyone had told him last week that this would happen, he would have laughed them to scorn. No way would he believe it, not for a second. No way.
"Evie." He could barely speak. Her ragged breathing sounded in his ear and touched his throat as she moved.
"Gage do something." She lifted her head to look at him then looked around them as the lizards returned. As if being naked against him wasn't bad enough she tightened her legs around him and started making her way higher. His eyes glued to her breasts as they bounced and he could feel desire pulling intensely at his groin.
"You're going to have to be more specific. What do you want me to do?" Right now he would do anything she asked. Anything. Blood throbbed in his veins with a scarlet web of desire, and her gorgeous body made him ache with need.
When she saw he was looking at her breasts, she smacked his chest.
"Stop looking and do something. The lizards. Let's just get out of here."
"Are you crazy? I'm not running out of here with a naked woman wrapped around my waist."
He couldn't go through the main door because it was the main door, and he couldn't go out on the balcony because that was outside. They would both get arrested, and while he might be fully clothed, no one would believe that he was rescuing her from lizards. On first sight, they looked like a couple deep in the throes of making passionate love. A desperate shudder rippled through his body at the thought.
"Gage, please just get rid of them." She winced wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face to his.
The desperate way in which she held him brought his mind back to reality. He held her trembling body and controlled his lustful thoughts and desire. Right now she needed him, and he had to comfort her. There was no point in standing around chasing lizards. They did indeed need to get out of there.
"Evie, I'm going to take you into the bathroom. Get your clothes on and go to Lucy's room. I'll finish packing your stuff."
"Those things came from the bathroom." She held him tighter.
"It's okay now. I closed the window, and there won't be anymore."
"You promise?"
"I promise, trust me." He answered against her wet hair.
When she nodded he made his way into the bathroom with her, grabbed the large bath towel from the rail and held it against her so she could slip it around her when she got off him.
She did exactly that and covered herself with it.
"Hey." He reached for her face and wiped away the tears that streamed down her cheek. "It's okay. I'll get you out of here."
She nodded and offered a small appreciative smile.
He then left her to get her some clothes, shaking his head as the lizards scampered across the floor.
What a bizarre start to the day.
Chapter 6
How embarrassing.
How very embarrassing. Of all the things that could have happened to her, and had happened to her, what happened this morning was by far the worse.
Evie had tried to scale it up against every bad thing that had ever happened to her but came to the same conclusion that it outdid them all.
All of them. The only thing worse would have been if it had happened in a room full of people. But the fact that it happened with just Gage seemed to outdo that too. It felt more embarrassing because it was him.
He'd seen her naked. Not even just a glimpse, but full on naked Evie with her breasts practically in his face and her legs wrapped around him as he tried to evade holding on to her naked butt.
God in heaven, why did these things have to happen to her?
And, this morning had been her own doing. Again she was wasn't thinking. She simply opened the window to let in the fresh morning air and indulge on the delicious smell of bread being baked in the bakery down the street. It was supposed to be a nice feel good session of absorbing the whole Italian atmosphere. But no, those awful creatures rushed in and nearly gave her a heart attack. The first one jumped on the shower head and was on the brink of jumping on either her face or on her head. Just the thought of it now could have sent her straight to an early grave. It was when she evaded the first that she saw the others hopping about on the white tiled floor. All she could do was retreat to higher ground. How the hell was she to know that those things could climb walls too?
Thank God Gage came in and saved her.
She had to call it saving because it was indeed saving, and she didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't come by.
Now all she had to do was deal with the embarrassment and humiliation of it all. Evie couldn't even look at him without coloring fiercely. Every time she attempted to she'd turn red, feel like she was going to combust from the sudden heat of humiliation that would rush over her, and shame weighed down heavily on her.
They'd been on the train to Tuscany now for about half an hour. While he talked with Lucy about the lists of contacts he'd put together for Angelo and his sisters, Evie kept her head down skimming over a brochure she was pretending to read.
In the booth they sat at she was directly opposite Gage so noticed the occasional look he'd give her. At those times she could feel his eyes on her. Then she'd risk looking and see him smiling to himself, obviously thinking about earlier.
How embarrassing. She just wished the train would hurry up and get to their destination as quickly as possible because this was killing her.
All that strength and confidence she normally handled him with had been made null in a matter of minutes, and now she had this long train journey and the rest of this trip ahead of her.
The thought of the trip itself was draining enough with all they had to do. It was like there was something new every day to push them further back. Today was the contact list. When she'd heard how many people they had to call she had to try hard to keep that positive vibe going. She'd known the task wasn't going to be easy so there was no point being surprised when they came up against obstacles.
As hard and tedious as it was going to be, this was the easiest way. They had to call everyone on the list and hope they'd get lucky in finding the right people. If they went through the Angelo list and found him, that would be amazing, and with the sister's list whichever they found first would lead them to him. Assuming they were both still alive and their names hadn't changed, and still in Tuscany. There was all of that to factor in.
Getting through calling all those people was going to be hard even with dividing it up between them. It was a good thing she was off from work for so long as it was looking like they would be here for a minimum of at least a week, but most likely more. At least she'd get to see more of Italy. Who knew where this mission could take them.
Aside from her awkward, embarrassed state, she was excited to see Tuscany. The idea of gazing at the vast countryside or sitting on one of the gorgeous golden sand beaches was definitely lush. Gage hadn't told them much about where he'd booked, and there was no way that Evie was going to ask. She was just going through the motions. Knowing him, he already knew that and was having a field day about it.
Deciding that she'd had enough of her brochure she chanced looking up and set her focus on the scenery outside. It was beautiful, and she shouldn't be missing it. It would be like cutting off her nose to spite her leg as the saying went.
Lucy reached across the table between them and tapped her hand. "Are you okay dear? You're awfully quiet."
She fought back a blush before answering. "I'm okay. Maybe just a little disorientated from this morning."
"I hate lizards too if that helps," Lucy sighed.
"Grams, I think you'll find that Evie totally hates them," Gage stated, with that smug look Evie hated so much. That I'm a god worship me expression he used to walk around the school campus with, and life in general. "You should have been there."
Lucy would have had a total heart attack. In fact, her heart would just skip past the attacking part and demolish her. She was sure Gage knew that too.
Evie looked at him and frowned in distaste even though she could feel her face turning red. She would have given him the usual back chat by now but found she couldn't. She'd fed herself to the lions on this one.
"Oh, son I don't like those things at all." Lucy smiled. "It was a good thing you were there."
"It was, wasn't it?" He still had that smug look. Evie's cheeks burned in remembrance, and she cringed inwardly, feeling her insides crumpling. That damn Gage knew he had her. It was bad enough that she'd mauled him with her naked self, but when she got dressed, he'd been sweet enough to carry her out of the room and into Lucy's while she clung to him for dear life. Squeezing her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to see those awful things ever again.
Who would have thought Italy had lizards? Okay, maybe many people, but it was the last thing on her mind. Now she'd be checking everywhere they went, and she certainly wouldn't be opening any windows.
"You're such a dear." Lucy smiled wider reaching up to tap his head like she used to when they were children, she habitually did the same thing to Evie too.
"I try my best." He cooed with an angelic expression, rolling up the sleeves of his long sleeved, black t-shirt. The movement drew her attention to the deep ridge and definition of muscle on his thick forearms, with its hint of a tan that made his skin look golden and sensual. "Especially when the rewards are great."
She narrowed her eyes at him. What did he mean by rewards?
His eyes met hers, capturing her gaze. Feeling her face burn beneath his stare she turned away and focused outside once more.
Lucy started talking to Gage about Tuscany. Evie would have joined in, but it was best to keep her focus away from them. At least outside had its own benefits to enjoy. The scenic landscape they passed as the train rolled on was a picture of fine beauty. Rows of dwarf olives, cypresses, walnuts and bay trees graced the land below and rang as far as her eyes could see. Then it changed to a golden sea of sunflowers, reminding her of a dream she had once where there were sunflowers everywhere. Except for that, Evie had never seen so many sunflowers in her life. She had to get out her camera and take pictures.
"It's so beautiful." Lucy stated, gazing out the window too. Her eyes gleamed at the picturesque sight.
Evie nodded. "I can't believe I haven't tried to make it here before."
Considering she'd always wanted to go to Italy, it should have been one of the first holidays she booked when she started earning good money. She wouldn't have had anyone to travel with, but this was the sort of place that she could have visited by herself. Of course, she would have to deal with the lizards, but even that wouldn't stop her.
"And I should have tried to make it back," Lucy replied with reflection. "When my family lived here we used to go to the beach in Tuscany as often as we could. Angelo took me once. He loved to paint and was so specific about capturing certain places at certain times. If he were painting a picture of the park at sunrise, then he'd make it his duty to be there right on the mark of sunrise. If it were the beach in summer, he'd go on the very day that summer officially began." Her eyes sparkled as she laughed.
"Like you when you're composing." Evie smiled remembering how eccentric Lucy could sometimes be. "Remember when you composed Tree Magic and we went to Sayma Forrest, at night?"
Lucy started to laugh so hard her pale skin reddened.
"What happened?" Gage smiled. Evie risked meeting his eyes again.
"We got lost and had to call a ranger who thought we were completely mad, especially when he saw me. Lucy made me dress like a fairy."
Lucy laughed even more. Evie was happy to see her laughing like that as she'd looked so drained out yesterday.
"You're joking." Gage laughed. Evie shook her head.
Lucy was laughing so much she had to take a sip of water from the bottle she carried in her purse. "Sometimes I need to have something dramatized before I can write the music to it. I'm not as fortunate as you." She smacked Evie's hands playfully.
"I learn from the best," Evie replied. Lucy gave her an appreciative look.
Evie thought back to her years of working with Lucy. While Evie may have had a natural gift that sounded weird and wonderful when she explained it, Lucy taught her how to harness it. She taught her how to control it all and make it work the way she wanted. With her, it was about learning how to focus and tap into the music itself to bring out the true beauty in the sound.
They started to talk about their music which even interested Gage. When the train climbed a green valley of oak and started to descend to the lowland the houses became visible again. She felt they'd be there soon. Just as the thought popped into her mind it was announced across the intercom and within minutes they pulled into the Santa Maria Novella station.
The differences between Rome and Tuscany were very clear from the first glance. Rome had all the glorious buildings, ancient and Renaissance architecture surrounding it that could captivate you for a lifetime. But Tuscany, wow...
This was a different sort of beauty altogether. Tuscany had a mass of extraordinary countryside with rolling fields of sunny yellow and luscious green.
They observed it all on their drive to where they were staying. What Evie saw had the sort of beauty that demanded silence to appreciate, and silent they were as they journeyed along.
She didn't even consider where they were going until the sea came into view and she realized that their taxi was heading south. Last night before they went for their walk she'd looked in some of the brochures she'd gathered for the journey and did a little research on Tuscany. If she remembered right, they seemed to be heading to Monte Argentario located on the southern coast. If she was right, and it was looking like she was, then they were about to enter an Italian paradise.
"Gage. Where did you book us dear?" Lucy leaned forward in her seat. She'd sat in the back with Evie this time while Gage sat at the front with the driver. From the rearview mirror, Evie could see him smile.
"Somewhere with a lot of water." His smile widened as he caught Evie's stare in the mirror.
Water. Like her composition.
"For inspiration," he added confirming her thoughts. She couldn't help the little smile that played at the corner of her mouth, neither could she help the odd little flutter that stirred within her as she continued to gaze at him.
"We'll be there very soon." Their driver announced. His voice broke
the moment in their stare, and Evie looked away.
Soon, came very quickly, but she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
The luxurious villa they approached looked like something from a fairytale. Like Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. Like it was created within a fantasy, and with the scenic landscape around it, Evie was more inclined to believe she'd fallen asleep and drifted into a dream.
The villa was beautifully positioned on the hillside with a panoramic view of the sea in the background displaying enticing crystalline waters. It was perfectly elegant with its cream and burgundy coloring, Roman tiles that laid adjacent to each other on the roof and decorative wooden casement windows. Evie marveled at the pristine lawn with olive trees, pomegranates and oak trees adorning it, and the flowerpots on the walls attached by wrought iron baskets.
"Casa di Sabbia." The driver declared, but Evie already knew its name. She'd seen it in the brochure and thought if she were rich enough this would undoubtedly be the first place she'd book. Sure she made a very good income from her music, but it was only in the last three years that her composed music had made it to concerts that brought people in. She was by no means rich.
Gage, on the other hand, was another story. It hadn't occurred to her before how wealthy he must have been. But, of course, he would be. He was the all-star quarterback for the L.A Gladiators. People like him weren't only worth a fortune, they made a fortune too.
They pulled up outside the front and got out. Lucy was in so much shock she hadn't spoken.
"Grams are you okay?" Gage asked slipping his arm around her.
"You booked us in the Casa di Sabbia?" Lucy asked gazing up at him.
"I figured since we're going to be here for a while we may as well be comfortable. We have the place to ourselves."
"The whole place?" Evie asked taking in a breath. He nodded.
Hearts Entwined Page 6
