The Italian

I smile over at the beautiful man opposite me. He has so much hope in his eyes and pride and love and, oh God, I can feel myself caving in.

“Do you want a life with me or not, Olivia? It’s a yes or no answer.”

I stare at him, the word yes on the tip of my tongue.

“I can teach you my world, Olivia. I will show you Italy through my eyes. All you have to do is love me.”

My eyes fill with tears, because I do. I love this man, and the fact that he is so determined to talk me into this only adds another layer to that love.

I can feel myself falling off the cliff and into the Italian abyss. “Okay,” I whisper.

His eyes widen as if surprised by my agreement. “Okay?”

I nod with a smile, and he taps his lap for me to go around and sit on him. I look around us at the people in the restaurant.

“Get over here, woman,” he whispers darkly.

I giggle as excitement runs through me. He doesn’t even care who can see. I climb onto his lap, and he wraps his arms around me tightly. He kisses me, his tongue sweeping through my open lips.

“I’ve missed you, Rici Ferrara,” I whisper down at him as I brush the hair back from his forehead.

He smiles against my lips. “I’ve missed you more, my love. Don’t leave me again.”

He gifts me with the perfect kiss, full of emotion and promise. I giggle. “Everyone is looking at us.”

“Fuck them.” He smirks. “Fuck them all.”

* * *

It’s after 9:00 p.m. when we leave the restaurant. We’ve been acting like lovesick teenagers all night. I can’t wait to get him alone. All this pent-up heartbreak and back and forth love means I’m about to lose my damn mind.

Enrico looks over to a car parked, and I see a man give him a thumbs up.

“Who’s that?” I ask.

“Marley. He’s my bodyguard who, unbeknown to you, has been guarding you since we broke up.”

“What?” I look over to the car and the two men inside it who are staring at us.

Rico opens my door, and I get into the car while still looking at the two men. I’ve never seen them before in my life. He closes the door and gets into the driver’s seat. “I’ve been guarded?” I frown over at him.

“Yes.” He starts the car and pulls out onto the road. I turn in my seat and see the car pull out behind us. “I needed you safe.”

“Why wouldn’t I be safe?”

He puts his hand on my thigh. “I’m a very wealthy man, Olivia. With that comes security issues. If somebody wanted to hurt me, they would hurt you. You will have a bodyguard twenty-four-seven now. Marley will be with you. I trust him with my life.”

No words are in my head—only shock. “They’ve been following me?”

“Guarding you, not following you. How was Germany, by the way?”

“Rici.” My mouth falls open to say something nasty about my lack of privacy, but I decide to stay silent instead.

“We’ll go back to your hotel now and pack up your things. You will move into Lake Como tonight.”

“What? That’s crazy. Why tonight? What’s the rush? I want some time to sit with this.”

“I want you to move there tonight.”