Italian Summer (Mina's Adventures Book 3)

by Maria Grazia Swan

  She couldn’t move. Her hand on the key, she heard the front door to the lobby close. She listened for voices, noises. Only silence shouted back. Better get inside. Her hand shook so hard she couldn’t turn the key. Shivers unrelated to the weather scuttled across the back of her neck.

  Footsteps, soft against the marble steps, cautiously measured. She wanted to call out, but couldn’t find her voice. The key wouldn’t budge. The handrail made funny noises like a person leaning against it.

  On the way up.

  Chapter 7

  The bag of candles fell to the marble floor, landing with a thud. Maledizione.

  “Helloooo, who’s there?” A woman’s voice called from the lower landing. “Emilia? Is it you?”

  “No, not Emilia. It’s me, Mina Calvi, I’m—”

  “Oh, l’americana. Hope I didn’t scare you. I’m Clara Rossi, from downstairs.”

  Just then the lights came back on. Mina went to the railing and looked down. An older woman stared up at her through thick glasses from beneath a mass of teased purplish hair.

  “Hello.” Mina didn’t know what else to say.

  “Buona sera. Well, not so nice of an evening. Sorry if I frightened you, the power went off just as I was unlocking the front door. My husband is in the garage parking the car. He probably waited for the electricity to come back to bring in the luggage. Better unlock my door before he gets here. You never know with these summer storms, we may lose power again. See you in the morning.” She waved and disappeared from sight. The door lock clicked loudly from below, and Mina assumed she had gone inside.

  Mina picked up the candles and entered the apartment. All that commotion over nothing. In her hurry to turn on the light in the small vestibule, she bumped the clothestree but caught it before it hit the ground. Tonight, as she passed the charcoal drawing of the old church, instead of feeling like genuflecting she wanted to sing the song, “Home Sweet Home.”

  One step into the living room and the place went dark again.

  No. Damn! Might as well go to bed. The layout of the condo was still unfamiliar, and she moved carefully. The last thing she wanted was to break something dear to Professor Cervi. His collection of knickknacks would give pangs of envy to any respectable museum. One hand on the back of the couch, she took small steps.

  Thunder clapped and lightning lit the room. The flash ricocheted off the large mirror opposite the sofa and Mina got a quick glimpse of her shadow. Wait. She wasn’t facing the mirror. Calm down. Breathe. She concentrated on deciphering sounds. The wall clock ticked like a bomb. Darkness ignited her fear, heightened her senses. The shutters were rolled up feet from the floor. She clearly remembered leaving only a few inches open.

  Someone was in the condo.

  Emilia was a short flight of stairs away. There were people downstairs, and everyone was awake. Scream, Mina, scream. She smelled her own fear. In seconds the stranger could get to her. Mina sprang for the door and collided with the intruder. His arms wrapped around her. She tried to free herself. She kicked his shin, but he lifted and held her so her feet barely skimmed the floor.

  A whisper. “Mina.”

  Oh, my God, he knew her name. Who was he? What did he want? She kicked him again with no results. In a sudden burst of anger she arched back and sank her teeth into the arm holding her. The taste of blood and fabric filled her mouth. But there was something else, something she couldn’t quite define, something familiar. That’s when she realized the man wasn’t trying to hurt or overpower her; he just held her.

  The power came back. The room was suddenly bright with light. She saw the bite mark on the light blue shirtsleeve.

  “Mina, stop it.”

  She knew.

  Without turning, she reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. Her back pressed against his chest, she breathed deeply, focused on collecting her thoughts, taming her feelings. In a fluid motion he turned her. Her forehead rested below his Adam’s apple. His heart beat against her. She inhaled that scent of him, as unmistakable as pine carried on a summer breeze.

  “You.” Still she couldn’t look at him.

  “Mina.” Diego spoke her name, his lips in her hair.

  “You.” The years squandered in the guessing game caught up to her. Her mind teetered between the urge to hurt him as she’d been hurt and the need to hold him tight and never let go. Painfully aware she couldn’t do either, anger prevailed, and she pummeled his chest with her clenched fists. “I thought you were dead, I mourned you—Diego.” She sobbed his name once, without tears.

  They crossed the room and sat on the sofa. Still she didn’t look at him, afraid he could read both desire and lingering resentment in her eyes. He knelt between the sofa and the coffee table to stroke her hands resting on her lap. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  She nodded.

  “I phoned this afternoon, twice, decided to take my chances. The storm wasn’t part of the plan.” He waited.

  She had forgotten how good he was at waiting. “You had a plan?”

  “Had. Yes.” He lifted her chin, brushed the tip of her nose with his lips.

  She finally looked at him. Her breath caught when their eyes met. She slid a little to be head to head with him and offered her lips. He hesitated.

  Of course. Funny. Going to all that trouble to see her, why? She reached for his shoulders and pulled him close. He kissed her. Willingly. It was like kissing him for the first time and yet it felt perfect, the way she fantasized about it for the last two years. She wanted to tell him, but he kissed her again.

  “It’s raining,” he whispered. He remembered their first night together, a rainy December night.

  She nodded, stood and walked to the terrace. He followed her.

  If I can stop the sun from rising he’ll lay beside me in the deceptive coziness of darkness forever. Mina sighed at her fantasy. Was he asleep?

  “You awake?” He whispered beside her ear. His warm breath sent her senses into overdrive.

  “No.”

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  She snuggled against him. “Not much, but you did.”

  He chuckled. “Years of practice. I can sleep anywhere—if allowed.”

  His lips brushed against her ear. She didn’t allow him much sleep. It was her turn to smile remembering the hours of unleashed passion they’d shared.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “Mina…”

  “Don’t Mina me. And no iceberg stories, there aren’t any icebergs in the Dolomites.” Yes, she clearly remembered when she asked him about his work, he said he uncovered what floated beneath the surface of icebergs.

  Diego laughed softly. She rolled to face him, belly-to-belly, warm skin on warm skin. She felt his steady breathing. Make it last, make him stay. “I’m not kidding. You burst in here, scare me half to death, and you think you’ll just leave without a satisfactory explanation? No, no, no. Start talking.”

  He reached over and stroked her hair. “I’m on vacation.”

  “So am I, what a coincidence.” Was it too early for that much sarcasm?

  Without warning he pinned her shoulders against the pillow and kissed her. Even after he let go of her lips, he kept his face close and whispered against her cheek. “I always know where you are. You have a special place in my heart, but you deserve a normal life. I can’t offer that—”

  “Don’t tell me what I deserve. I know what I want, and right now, I want to know why you never bothered to let me know you were okay.”

  “I—figured the best I could do for you was to disappear. Let you get back to your life then you showed up here at the exact time I’m in town. Uncanny. I phoned, was going to say hello. I phoned twice. And I thought I’m thirty minutes away, why not say hello in person? I knew I should have turned the car around and gone back to Germany. I was still debating when I found myself ringing your doorbell. You weren’t home. Another chance for me to let it be. But I saw how easy it would be to get to yo
ur terrace and surprise you the same way I did back in Newport Beach.” He paused, and she knew they were both thinking of that magical evening long ago. “When the storm hit I let myself in, didn’t expect the power to go off and—”

  “Shut up.” She kissed him—his mouth, his eyes, his forehead. She couldn’t control herself. She had a special place in his heart. Good enough for her, good enough for now.

  “You are in luck,” she said when they came up for air. “I have food in the house for the first time since I arrived. We can have coffee. Do you know how to make coffee with the little espresso thing?”

  “What have you been eating for five days? There aren’t that many places for breakfast around here.”

  “Damn. You know I’ve been here five days? You know everything about me, and I know nothing about you. It’s not fair.”

  “Fair? Let’s not go there, okay?” Diego was up. He slipped into his jeans and went to open the shutters. Soon she heard him in the kitchen.

  The night was over.

  “Ah, Nutella. If we had some fresh bread…”

  Mina didn’t let him finish. She grabbed her robe and went to the front door. She opened it. Fufa sat on the mat guarding a brown paper bag. Rolls from the bakery.

  “Here.” She swung the bag under Diego’s nose. He grabbed her hand.

  “Do I smell fresh bread? You have home delivery? How did you manage that?”

  “It’s the landlady, Emilia. She got tired of feeding me and yesterday dragged me to the store and the bakery. I’m surprised she didn’t ring the doorbell. Diego, where are you parked?”

  “Not around here. Your reputation is safe with me.” His eyes held the devilish look that melted her willpower.

  They sat at the small table with their steaming strong coffee and their barely restrained, scorching desire. Mina had trouble finding a comfortable way to sit. A night of sex after nearly two years of chaste living would do that. “Diego, you said you are on vacation and you are thirty minutes away. So are you staying around here? Are you visiting your family?”

  “There’s my girl. Asking too many questions. I missed you.” He smiled but avoided her eyes.

  “Oh, no. I’m not falling for it. Do you live around here?”

  He sighed. “No, Mina, I don’t. I have some time to kill while waiting for a phone call. I’m visiting old friends at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza.”

  “Oh, that damn place.”

  “What? You don’t like Vicenza or Caserma Ederle?”

  She shrugged. She wasn’t going to tell him about the California Bar and Grill. “This is a coincidence indeed,” she said without much conviction. It was her turn to avoid his eyes.

  He slid his fingers behind the back of her head, pulled her face closer then kissed her nose. “Mina.” His voice held a mix of tenderness and surrender.

  “Can you stay?” she dared ask.

  Diego leaned back in his chair, his eyes on her. His expression shifted from relaxed to tense, reminding her of an incident in her Newport Beach place when she tried to touch his gun.

  “Interesting cross you’re wearing.” His voice was strained.

  Cross? Wearing? “Oh, you mean this chain? Yeah, Emilia gave it to me. You like it?”

  “The landlady Emilia?” His tone reminded her of cop shows.

  “Yes, she used to be a lawyer, well, still is, sort of. Anyway, when she represents gypsies, they pay with jewelry, and this is one of the pieces from a gypsy.” She sounded like the village idiot to herself. “Sorry, do I make sense?”

  Diego didn’t answer. His eyes, mere slits, were fixed on that damn cross. He got up and went back to the bedroom. What just happened?

  Mina followed and watched him getting dressed. He didn’t wear boots. If he carried a gun he must have found a new place to stash it.

  “Diego, are you leaving? Are you mad at me?”

  He walked over, busy buttoning his shirt with the bite mark on it, cupped her face and kissed her lightly, a brotherly kiss.

  “I’m not mad at you. I just remembered something I need to do. I’ll call you this afternoon. It would be great if you could stick around until I get a chance to call you, maybe not go see your landlady until then.”

  “My landlady?”

  “I assume you can’t hear your phone ringing from her place. Just saying.”

  “Oh, okay. Got it. Stay put until you call.”

  “Yes, give me an hour or two. I’ll tell you more, but now I’ve got to go.” He held her for a moment. His heart thumped against her. What was going on? Something to do with Emilia, but what?

  Two minutes later she heard the lobby door slam shut.

  Chapter 8

  Mina rubbed her fingers over the cross. What was so special about it? She didn’t believe Diego’s pretext she should stay put so she wouldn’t miss his call. The real reason had to be linked to Emilia and this gold cross. Diego said he would phone in an hour or two—plenty of time to run upstairs and talk to Emilia, maybe get a handle on what this was all about.

  Mina dressed and headed upstairs without locking her front door. After all the excitement of the night before, the whole building felt as dead as an outdoor swimming pool in a blizzard. Her shoes clicked against the marble stairs. She rang Emilia’s doorbell. It echoed loudly, but that was the only sound she could hear. No one seemed to be home, not even Fufa.

  Disappointed, Mina started back. A door slammed downstairs. The feet climbing the stairs sounded heavy and slow. The owner of the feet huffed and puffed. Must be Emilia.

  She happily rushed down the stairs to meet her halfway, and they reached the second floor landing at the same time. Not only was Emilia out of breath, her face was bright red, and she fanned herself with a large brown folder. Fufa trailed behind.

  Mina greeted her with a cheerful, “There you are.”

  “Why? Were you looking for me?” The makeshift fan stirred the air and Emilia’s grey hair.

  “Yes, I rang your doorbell. Why don’t you come in and let me get you some cold water?”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Of course I’m alone, why—?” A look from Emilia stopped her mid-sentence. Uh-oh, she knew. But how? Without another word, she pushed open her door. Fufa zoomed in. Emilia followed at a slower pace.

  The two coffee cups and small plates used for breakfast sat on the kitchen table just as they were when Diego decided something more important than being with her had come up. Mina’s face went hot as blood rushed into it.

  Emilia bypassed the kitchen and plopped herself on the couch facing the open terrace door. “Ah...feels good.”

  The best way to overcome her embarrassment was to keep moving. So, Mina made a big production of filling a glass carafe with ice and sparkling water, even sliced a lemon and added it. She sat on the floor, shoulders against the wall watching Emilia sip the ice water.

  Sitting that way reminded her once again of the night’s sexual excesses. Ouch. Something else entered her consciousness; she’d been off the pill for fifteen months. Double ouch. Reality must have shown on her face.

  Emilia asked, “You okay? For a moment you looked like you saw a ghost. What is it?”

  “I—what’s in the folder?”

  “Oh, we are playing the avoidance game. Suit yourself. You know where to find me when you are ready to spill the beans. I just came back from City Hall, and I’m happy to report I still have a few, okay, maybe only one loyal fan. And this brown, generic folder contains information regarding our hard-working gravedigger. I will get to the bottom of this if I die trying.”

  Mina wasn’t too sure what “this” was, but she was willing to bet it had to do with Lola and her brother’s death.

  “Wanna tell me about the stranger the storm blew into your life last night?”

  “Stranger? I would never allow a stranger in the house. No, my friend Diego came by. A pleasant surprise because I had no idea he was in town. Diego and I met a few years ago, in California. He is no stranger. The man sav
ed my life. Didn’t I tell you about him?”

  “So his name is Diego. That’s a good name, and how did Diego happen to land on your balcony? That’s a long way from California, no?”

  Maledizione. Did she say, “Land on your balcony…”? Was she a witch?

  They exchanged glances. Emilia winked at her and Mina knew it would be okay to talk about Diego.

  Emilia said, “I wasn’t spying, but as you know, my balcony is smack above yours. Opening heavy shutters in the brief silence between thunderbolts is bound to be noticed and people are bound to be curious.” She winked again.

  Mina felt blood rush back to her cheeks. “Diego is a nice man, he works for some government branch. I’m not sure which. Apparently he knew I was in Italy and decided to surprise me. I’m giving you the short version. I didn’t know if he was alive or dead. I’m not being melodramatic. He disappeared after the incident with the motorcycle, the one where he literally saved my life.”

  “Is he the reason behind your breakup with the former fiancé?”

  Damn. Mina forgot how much she already shared. “Yes and no. Things were already strained between Brian and me. His mother, remember? Diego is so different, sort of mysterious and—who am I kidding? I’m crazy about him.” She sighed. “Problem is, I didn’t use any protection. I wasn’t expecting to have sex in Italy or anywhere else for that matter. I don’t know what to do. I will need to tell him. Maybe he can buy some condoms. What would you do if you were me?”

  “I would enjoy every instant I could. We never know what tomorrow will bring. Of course, I’ve never had that problem, so you’re asking the wrong person. Will he be back?”

  “I don’t know. He promised to call then rushed off. I think it was something about this gypsy chain you gave me.”

  “Gypsy chain? Oh, you mean the gold cross? What about it?” Her attitude changed. It was as if a frog bit her vocal cords. She sounded hoarse, flustered. She stopped fanning herself and rested trembling hands on the folder. “Why did you show him the cross?”

  “I didn’t. He noticed it this morning while we had coffee, then he left in a hurry.”