Finding Beauty in the Darkness

“I’m leaving next week to go to the Bahamas. Come with me.” A little balloon inside me inflates at the thought of spending some time on the beach with Gio and at the fact he wants to spend time with me, too. Until he adds, “My family will be there, but we’ll have plenty of alone time.”

And just like that, my balloon pops. “Your family hates me.”

“Nico mentioned bringing Amber. Her finals are over and he wants her to go. Apparently, they’re getting serious.” It doesn’t go over my head that he doesn’t argue about his family hating me, but I focus on the part about Amber’s finals almost being over.

“What’s the date?”

“May fifteenth, why?”

A huge ball of emotion clogs my throat. “My mom died today. How could I forget?”

“Baby,” Gio says softly, his strong, comforting arms caging me in. “You have a lot going on. You’ve been through some crazy shit this year. Did she have a burial?”

“No, asshole Weston said she wanted to be cremated. I know he just didn’t want to spend the money on a funeral. He wouldn’t even give me her ashes.”

“I’ll have Johnny find them for you. If they’re in that house, we’ll get them. I promise you.”

We lie in silence for a few minutes before I remember what we were talking about.

“Why do they hate me, Gio?”

He frowns then kisses my forehead. “Who?”

“Your parents.”

“They want Cecilia and I to marry,” he says on a sigh. “I’m the oldest and one day I’ll take over the organization. Stefan and my dad are best friends, practically brothers. If we marry, it would make us family by marriage, and if we had children, we would become family by blood.”

“Will she be there?”

“I can try to get her to stay here, but she usually goes. Whether she goes or not won’t matter, though. My time will be spent with you.”

I give him a kiss on his chest. “Okay, I’ll go.”

Gio and I fall asleep together, but when I wake up, he’s gone. I go back to my room, shower and get dressed. Then I go downstairs to let Cecilia know I won’t be working here anymore, but when I approach her, her attitude and brush off tells me she’s already been informed.

“Can you at least stay on for another couple weeks? Gio and I are going on vacation to the Bahamas and I’ll need to look for your replacement once I return.”

“I would, except I’ll also be on that vacation with Gio.” I shrug my shoulders in nonchalance and walk away, leaving her with her jaw halfway to the ground.

I grab my camera and ask Rome if he’ll take me to the strip to take some pictures. Natalie overhears and insists on coming. “We can do some shopping while we’re there!”

Normally I would say no because I’m usually broke, but after the attorney left the other day, Gio informed me the sale of the shares went through and I’m several million dollars richer. He gave me my credit card and account info and with a laugh, told me not to spend it all in one place.

Not having heard from Amber the last few days, I give her a call. She screams through the phone how excited she is to be going to the Bahamas with Nico, and even more excited to know I’m going as well. Then agrees to join us on our little outing.

Holly and Sienna are both working, so it’s just Natalie, Amber, and me walking from shop to shop. They’re spending money and I’m snapping pictures of the crazy tourists and attractions. My mom never let me come down here growing up, so it’s cool to finally experience the city I’ve lived in most of my life.

“Hey! Isn’t this the guys’ hotel?” Amber points to the exquisite hotel in front of us. I recognize it from the day Johnny dropped off Gio for a business meeting.

“It is.”

“Let’s go in and see if the guys are here!” She grabs my hand, pulling me inside before I can protest. Natalie just shrugs and follows behind. The gentleman at the door asks for our identification to confirm we’re all over twenty-one since there’s a casino here.

“We’re here to see Giovanni or Nico Valentino,” I tell the concierge, who in return frowns at me, just as the gentleman from the night at the charity ball walks up to me, a devious smirk plastering on his face. Something about this man rubs me the wrong way. “Miss…”

“Aria,” I say, still refusing to give him my last name.

“Aria, I was just about to go up and see Mr. Valentino. Why don’t you join me?” He ignores Amber and Natalie, taking my arm in his. I look behind me to make sure the girls are following. They both give me a what the fuck look, but none of us say anything.