Play of Love: The Gladiator Players Box Set

by Gray, Khardine

  "I'm not jealous." I smacked his chest. "You know what Gage? I can't stand you. I really can't. You get on my nerves in the worse way possible."

  He widened his eyes and clutched his chest wincing. "Uh, arrow to the heart."

  "It's not funny. I was worried. If you're going out chasing skirts, you could have at least said." I was so silly. Of course he was with Giselle. I couldn't have been more annoyed at myself, and worse now because the cruel worm of jealousy had indeed burrowed itself into my mind, gnawing at my thoughts.

  He caught my arm as I was about to storm away and held up the grocery bag he'd been carrying. "Apparently, pink marshmallows are hard to come by here." He reached into the bag and pulled out a large pack of fluffy pink marshmallows. "I drove around for hours looking for these and then had to trek up some hill to find the one shop that sold them. That was in Florence. Crazy right?"

  I looked up at him as he held my gaze. Instantly I remembered our conversation on the beach about the marshmallows.

  "You... got those for me?"

  "Yeah, I promised you a mean hot chocolate. Hot chocolate isn't complete without whipped cream and marshmallows. I'll make you one after dinner."

  I just stared at him, trying my best to let his explanation sink in.

  "You went out specially for me?" I asked as if I needed confirmation.

  "Swear to God," he slipped his hand down to mine and lightly touched my fingers.

  "And, you weren't with Giselle?" Again I needed confirmation.

  "After last night how could I be?" He replied making it sound like the

  answer was obvious.

  When he saw I was at a loss for words, he smiled and said, "looks like the only skirt I'm chasing is yours, Princess." His voice was low and purposefully seductive.

  He tweaked my nose playfully and made his way into the kitchen to join Lucy.

  I released the breath I'd been holding onto and watched him go, relishing the warmth that spread across my heart when he glanced back at me and winked.

  Chapter 10

  Evie

  * * *

  "That was the caretaker for one of the Vanessa's." Lucy beamed. We'd just sat down to eat around the dining table when the phone rang.

  I brightened up when she came back with a smile on her face.

  "What'd he say?" Gage asked.

  "Not a lot but enough to give me some hope. He said she lived in Rome during the war and has an older brother who's still alive. He didn't mention Anna but said Vanessa just turned eighty-five. That's about the right age for the Vanessa I knew. She is however currently away visiting family in Prague. She won't be back until Saturday. Guys, I have a good feeling about this. I know it's not a lot of info, but it could be her, right?" Lucy beamed.

  "Yes, it could." I gasped.

  "Did he say anything else?" Gage asked.

  Lucy shook her head and sat down. "He said he's new so didn't know too much. He helps Vanessa run her bakery. The Vanessa I knew loved to bake."

  Please God, let these be the right people, I silently prayed. It really would be amazing, but Saturday... That was a long time to wait when today was only Monday. That was almost another week, but hey, it was the best lead we'd had and gave us hope.

  "I still want to call the other people on the rest of the list, and the Angelo list too," Lucy stated. We still had a number of people on the Angelo list to get through.

  "Of course. It's good to be sure. That way we cover all bases," I offered.

  "Yes, I agree," Gage added.

  Lucy started telling us about Vanesa's baking, but I could feel Gage's eyes on me. The whole time Lucy talked excitedly about sugar buns and pies and all sorts of fine pastries Gage stared at me. His eyes studied me with a curious intensity undressing me as he scanned me, and darkening with emotion when I looked at him. The invitation in the smoldering depths enthralled me sending me private messages with just the looks he gave. It made my cheeks flush, and I had to look away.

  "How about I make some punch?" Lucy offered.

  "Yes, we'll go make it," Gage said a little too quickly. I looked at him and saw the heat that filled his gaze. "Come on Evie."

  "Okay," I replied.

  "There are pineapples in the cupboard," Lucy called out with a smile.

  I followed Gage into the kitchen with caution. Caution for myself in being all alone with him, again. I had to keep my thoughts together. Last night was ...

  Well, I didn't know what it was and until I was sure I should be careful.

  As soon as the door closed he reached for me and smoothed his lips over mine. At first, I pressed against him and allowed myself to melt into his kiss but then I pulled away.

  "Why?" he winced. "Woman, I swear your mission in life is to make me crazy isn't it?"

  "Gage we can't just come into the kitchen and make out."

  "Okay. Let's go outside then, or upstairs." He smiled reaching out to run his fingers along my cheek. The glint in his eyes told me he was serious.

  But I was too. "No, we should talk."

  He sighed with frustration and rested against the wall. "Why do we need to talk Evie, can't you just try something new and see what happens?"

  "You're not even the least bit concerned that over a week ago we hated each other and now we're making out in a kitchen in Tuscany, while your grandmother thinks we're in here making punch?" I had that out of control feeling again.

  He shook his head. "I never hated you. We just had our differences."

  I supposed I didn't exactly hate him either, but over a week ago I could honestly say my feelings were closer to hate than I liked.

  "Well, have you thought that maybe you're only interested in me because you're bored or something."

  He smiled like I said something funny. "Miss Evie, I am not bored. You get all high and mighty because you think you know me so well. But you forget that I know you too. You're scared."

  My breath caught as I looked up at him. I didn't like the to think that he knew me like that, but he was ... right.

  I was scared. Scared to feel this way and not have any control. Scared because every time I was with him my feelings just grew and intensified, completely out of my grasp.

  I'd never met anybody like him before, and I was scared of how I felt about him.

  He reached out and touched my face again.

  "What are you scared of princess?"

  I shook my head and felt my resolve weaken from the warmth that emitted from his eyes.

  "Worried you may like me too much?" he chuckled.

  "Maybe." I breathed.

  "Okay, I'll try not to be so likable." He joked.

  "It's... too late for that."

  "Is that right?" he smiled.

  I nodded, and he lowered again to my lips to give me a sweet slow kiss.

  "Slowly." He brushed his lips against mine as he spoke. "I don't want you to be scared of anything with me. I'll take it slowly so that you can get over your fear." He moved back so he could look at me properly. "Is that okay?"

  I nodded appreciating the care he took with me. "Yeah."

  "Now I guess we should make punch."

  He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

  * * *

  I finished my Water Notes symphony that night, and by the following afternoon, I'd wrote most of the piece I'd momentarily called Gage's Song. It was the quickest piece I'd ever composed as the notes had flown straight from my brain and onto the paper.

  We decided on an easier day today with last night's findings. Gage had taken Lucy out to the town and spent most of the day there. As I wanted to get some of my work done, I stayed behind. When they got back, he came up to my room and tried to entice me to the beach with his kisses and his charm. I promised I'd go with him once I finished.

  When I started writing earlier I'd planned to finish the piece, but after seeing Gage the thought of spending time with him on the beach took over my mind and my brain was only good to polish up a few verses for anothe
r twenty minutes. I stopped at the bridge. That was my favorite part, and I wanted to spend time on it and play with a few notes before doing it and the finale. That couldn't be done in a rush. I packed everything up quickly and changed into some shorts and a tank top. It would be nice to go in the sea again.

  A small tap sounded at my door. I looked around to see Lucy.

  "My dear are you okay?" Lucy asked as she came in. The color had returned to her cheeks, and she looked like herself again.

  The news last night couldn't have happened at a better time and I had my fingers and toes crossed that this Vanessa was the one we were looking for. The one that could lead us to Angelo.

  "I'm good." I smiled.

  "I'm probably the pot calling the kettle black, but you can't work all day. You must take a break."

  "I am. I'm going down to the beach with Gage." My excitement got the better of me, and I had to reign it in a little. Lucy didn't know about us, and I didn't want to seem like we were off having fun when we should have been helping her. After all, that was what we were here for. "We're just going to check it out. Do you want to come?"

  Lucy offered a warm smile. "You guys go. I'm so glad you're both getting along. It makes me happy." I nodded.

  "Yeah?"

  "Of course." She nodded but then her smile faltered.

  “You okay Lucy?” There was something a little off with the sudden change in her mood.

  "Evie, remember the other day when I said I wished that I could tell you certain things, but sometimes it's painful?"

  "Yeah. I remember. You don't have to worry about that. I do really understand." I offered, I didn't want Lucy feeling bad about anything.

  "There's um... something else."

  It was the worried look in Lucy's eyes that held my attention. Lucy sat on the edge of my bed and gazed at me with this faraway look.

  I rested against the wall. "What's the matter Lucy?"

  "I don't want to ruin your fun at the beach, so maybe I'll tell you some other time."

  Now I was worried. "Lucy. You have to tell me. Tell me now." If she didn't, it would play on my mind.

  Lucy pulled in a breath, and a tentative expression filled my face. "I'm sick Evie."

  "Sick?" My voice trembled, barely able to say the word. "Like you have a cold?" My voice quivered even more.

  "No. Not like a cold," She gave me a brief smile but then quickly resumed her seriousness. "I've been sick for a while. A year or so."

  I moved closer to her and sat next to her on the bed. "What are you sick with?"

  Lucy brought my hands together and templed her fingers at her nose. "A brain tumor."

  I pulled in a sharp gasp and brought my hand up to my mouth. "No, please no." I shook my head.

  "Evie." Lucy tried to put her arm around me, but I moved away. I got off the bed and pulled out my suitcase.

  "We have to go back home now, and you have to have surgery to get rid of it." Tears spilled down my cheeks as I spoke.

  "Evie. No. I'm not having surgery." Lucy stated.

  I glared at her as my breath hitched in my lungs, and I froze. "What do you mean? You have to. You have to. You'll die."

  "Evie. My tumor is in a difficult place, and we will have to remove a part of my brain with it to remove it completely and be sure it won't grow back. If I have surgery, it will cause complications that will kill the best part of me. There will be nothing left of me, and I won't even remember how to play the violin or compose. I can't live without my music. I won't."

  "Is that a definite?"

  "There's a ninety percent chance, and I'm old. With the technical nature of the surgery, there's a chance I may not even get through such an intense procedure."

  "No. You have to." I cried. "There's a ten percent chance you'd be fine. Please. Please, Lucy."

  "I can't," Lucy replied with tears now streaming down her cheeks. "I can't."

  Her answer was like a stab to my heart, and I began to shake as fearful images surfaced within my mind.

  Lucy had a brain tumor, my Lucy who meant the world to me.

  And, she was saying she wasn't going to do anything about it. That would only result in death. There was no other ending. Just the thought of her not being alive anymore shattered me. It tore at my insides and shattered me.

  It was too much. I couldn't breathe. As I broke down, I ran out of the room. The world was falling away from me and I was falling away with it, slipping into a dark abyss of sorrow.

  This couldn't be happening. Lucy was everything to me, and now she was dying.

  It pained me to even think of the word. I ran down the stairs and was getting ready to go through the door when I saw Gage in the lounge. It was actually him who saw me first and came rushing to my aid.

  "Evie, what's the matter?"

  I threw myself into his arms and held on to him as I cried from the depths of everything that was me. "Lucy." I wept.

  He seemed to understand the minute I spoke because he held me closer and kissed my forehead.

  Tears blinded me and my deep sobs racked my insides. It felt like my soul was weeping.

  "Gage my heart is breaking. My heart is breaking, and I feel like I'm slipping away." My anguish assailed my control, and I felt the nauseating, sinking feeling of deep despair.

  "Just hold on to me. Hold on to me." He whispered into my ear. "I'll take care of you."

  I clung to him with desperation as raw grief overwhelmed me.

  * * *

  Gage

  * * *

  It was only sleep that could stop her from crying. She'd cried for hours on end until it gave her a fever.

  I took her to the study and sat with her on the sofa where she'd snuggled against my chest, clinging onto me, holding on as if she were indeed scared of slipping away.

  She fell asleep just like that, holding on. I stayed with her and took care of her as I promised, and didn't feel like I could leave her side.

  The last few days had been crazy, and I found myself acting like some hormone crazed teenager who'd do anything to get a girl's attention. Why else would I drive around for hours looking for pink marshmallows?

  After that first kiss, I found myself unable to control myself around her. I wasn't the kind of guy to take things slowly, but this situation was different. She was different, and I found myself wanting to do anything to be with her. I wanted to show her that she could trust me and while I'd joked about it at the time, I didn't like that she thought I was with Giselle. I knew she was scared to feel for me because she knew what I was like.

  And, now there was this.

  I knew she'd be heartbroken when she found out about Grams. I had been too. But this was devastation. She was devastated, and I felt sorry for her. I felt bad that there wasn't anything I could do to make her feel better.

  I'd been completely wrong when I thought she'd understand. Who would just understand something like that so easily? It meant letting go of someone who meant everything to you.

  I'd watched her with Grams for so long, following in her footsteps with her love for playing the violin. When I heard them play together the other night, I'd thought they were both more than incredible. A sense of strength had come to me just from listening and lessened the hopelessness I'd felt that night. I had looked at Evie as she played and thought she was something my grandmother had created, with love. Of course, she would be devastated at the news.

  When the first ray of sunlight spilled through the crack in the blinds, I realized that I hadn't slept. I'd been awake all night, watching over her.

  She shuffled against me and latched on to my shirt. I ran my hand lightly over her silky head to let her know I was awake. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she looked up at me and she shivered as she tried to talk.

  "Hey there," I said stroking her head. She leaned into me allowing me to hold her.

  "Gage." She whispered my name and instinctively held my hand when I smoothed mine over hers.

  "I should have told you," I s
tated softly, against the sweetness of her hair. "I should have told you myself."

  She lifted her head but didn't let go of my hand. "I know why you didn't. It was for Lucy to tell me." Her poor voice sounded croaky and ragged.

  "I wanted her to have the surgery too, but she won't listen to me. I get it, I do, and I understand but I want her to live. Forever if possible. That's selfish isn't it?"

  She shook her head. "No. A part of me understands. I wouldn't know what I'd do if I couldn't play anymore. Or if there was nothing left of me. That wouldn't be living. But choosing not to have the surgery is choosing to die." Her voice shook, and more tears spilled down her cheeks.

  "Hey," I pulled her back to my chest and continued to stroke the top of her head. I thought I'd share what my grandmother had told me when I first found out about the tumor. "She said she'd lived several life times, and had been luckier than most to see the world change in so many ways. She'd lived through wars. Loved and lost, lost her world when my father was taken from her but found him in me, and pulled through it by teaching you how to play the violin."

  She lifted her head again on hearing that. "She said that?"

  I offered a smile. "Yeah. My parents were killed a year before your family moved into the neighborhood, and it's no excuse, but I probably wasn't the nicest of people because I just lost them. Lucy was devastated to the point where she couldn't play. The first day she played was the first day she met you, and your love for the violin mesmerized her. When she first found out she was sick, and what the surgery would entail, she said she couldn't give up her memories. She said it would kill her if she were unable to play, or if she couldn't remember how. The doctors said she'd be lucky to have ten years without the surgery and she was happier to take that."

  I rested my chin on top of her head.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered.

  "Me too." I pulled in a ragged breath. "When she goes I won't have anyone left."

  I'd be completely alone. I had a few great cousins, but I rarely saw them, and my father was an only child so that line would end with me. It was a sad thought. One I'd battled with as I tried not to be selfish.