Alessandro DeLuca

Sighing, she presses a hand to her forehead and says, “Again, I board a jet with…a man I’ve known less than a month. His security detail pats me down to ensure I have no weapons on me, and then I’m not told where I’m going.”

“And all I asked is that you trust me.”

Carlotta returns with the two glasses and bottle of wine that I requested.

“Estate, nineteen-ninety-nine,” I proudly pronounce as I uncork the bottle. “This is one of my cousin Dante’s finest wines.”

“And let me guess, he named it Estate because it comes from his property here in Italy?”

“No, ‘estate’ is summer in Italian. It’s a bottle of his finest wine produced that summer, and there hasn’t been another one like it yet.”

“So, what’s the special occasion? Why open it now?”

“We are celebrating, amore mio.”

“What are we celebrating, Alessandro?”

I can tell that her dark mood is growing worse by the hour. The pilot announces that everyone needs to fasten their seatbelts, and we do.

“We are celebrating the birth of a beautiful friendship between you and me, Bella. We are celebrating the start of what I hope will become an amazing union someday.”

I pour a glass of wine and hand it to her.

“You’re hell-bent on the fact that I’m just going to walk away from my life and become a part of yours, aren’t you?”

“I’m hell-bent on knowing a good thing when I see it and that you too will come to see what I do. You’ll change your mind soon, Mila.”

“And if I don’t? What? Are you going to kidnap me?”

Although the tone she uses is a teasing one, I see a spark of fear in her eyes. Mila has every right to be worried because she’s right. She did just board a jet with a man she barely knows, and we both know that she’s lying to me. The question is, why?

I don’t understand the power or the magnitude of my feelings that compel me to behave the way I do with this woman. I deeply want to trust her, to be with her, and I want her to fit into my world. Soon, she will have to meet my parents and the rest of my family.

My father will detect bullshit, and if she passes that test, she will meet Bianca.

“Mila.”

“Mila, look at me,” I say when she stares out the window after I’ve called her name.

“What, Alessandro?”

“I would never do anything to hurt you. If a man doesn’t have his word, he has nothing. You are precious to me, and all I want to do is keep you safe, get to know you better, and hopefully convince you that I’m the man for you.”

“Then answer this one question, Alessandro.”

“Anything.”

She hesitates for a minute, and I wonder what she’s about to ask me. Pressing her lips together, she takes a deep breath and then shakes her head.

“What?” I press.

Her head is tilted at an angle, and she’s never looked more beautiful though I suspect she’s furious right now.

“Do you have someone following me? And don’t lie to me. If you want me to trust you, please be honest with me.”

Deep inside, I know that’s not what she was about to ask. Maybe, if I give her what she’s looking for, she’ll reciprocate.

“Yes.”