"Dude, I was like ten years old. Give me a break.”
I still want a husband with nice eyes. I want to lose myself in them when he looks at me.
“Next.”
She laughs uncontrollably. “Likes reading and poetry and good food. Empathetic, compassionate, feeling for others. Caring and concerned about their needs. Thoughtful, warm-hearted, forgiving, and sincere. Has big, huge muscles.”
She falls onto the bed in helpless laughter. “Why didn't you add billionaire to the list? I think you put everything else on it."
A knock sounds at the door.
She squeals, quickly covering herself up.
“Oh my God, Angelina,” she hisses. “If he sees me like this…” Her cheeks flush bright pink.
“You’ll make his day,” I say on a whisper.
Elise is hot for her bodyguard. Her very handsome, very protective, very much older bodyguard. She shakes her head and tips her head back, but not before she pinches her cheeks and purses her lips. I swear she even breathes a bit more heavily. “Come in!”
Piero, Elise’s bodyguard, walks into the room. If there were a poster to be plastered in a travel agent’s office to advertise for vacationing in Tuscany, Piero would be front and center with his classically Italian rugged looks.
“Your father called, Elise.” He looks away, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
“Oh?” She’s breathless, so obviously in love with this man that I don’t know if she could hide it if she wanted. “And what did he say?”
“He wants you to pack your bags.” I swear a vein pulses in his temple. “Now."
Elise pales. "What? I just got here," she says, a little furrow in her brow showing how perplexed she is. I know she comes here not just because she enjoys visiting Tuscany, but because this is where Piero is. She has bodyguards in the States as well, but they are older, kind of lumbering men. I'm not sure her father’s ever seen this one, because if he did, he’d probably lock her up and shoot him.
“He wants you to pack up everything.” He shakes his head and turns for the door. “And I can't tell you why." Something’s terribly wrong. Elise looks at me in a panic.
He leaves. Elise is on her feet. My heartbeat quickens, and my hands feel clammy and damp. We ate panini at one of the little local restaurants for lunch, and I feel as if I'm going to lose it.
Elise has never told me who her family is, but I'm not stupid. I know who she is. I know who her father is. I can read a damn newspaper, or an online article. I never cared that her father was involved in organized crime. My own family doesn’t lie on a bed of roses either.
My father’s a drug dealer, and it’s probably the only reason why I'm still friends with her. Any other parents would've ended our friendship long ago, but my dad doesn't give a shit what I do, and he never has. Probably even wants in with her dad.
We traveled the world, my school was paid for in full, anything and everything I wanted was mine… Except a dependable family. A relationship I could call my own.
I look at Elise. Just a minute ago we were laughing, enjoying reminiscing about old times in our childhood, and now… now I don't know what to expect. I know that things change at the drop of a hat around here, that she's subjected to her father’s whims and wishes whenever he feels like it. It's partly why we come here to Tuscany when he's in America and go back to America when he's in Tuscany. Just to escape him.
We’ve been attached at the hip since she saved my life… and I’ll never forget it. I’ll be indebted to her forever.
"We have to find out what this is about," I say to her. "We can't just accept that you have to pack your bags." My heart is hammering so loudly, there's a rush of blood in my ears. This could mean literally anything.
“Well, how are we going to find out what it is? I can't exactly call my dad. You know he's not going to say anything, and he’s just going to get mad at me for even asking."
I bite my lip, thinking about it. I think I know what we have to do, but I have to choose my words precisely, so that I don't get her in worse trouble than she already is.
"I think you need to find a way to ask Piero. I think maybe you even have to seduce him to get that answer."
She blinks, wide-eyed and surprised. I'm not usually the one to suggest something dangerous, and I'm not quite sure why I’m doing so now, but somehow, I know what’s going to happen next may change the course of her life forever. Something tells me there's no coming back from this.