Elodie’s laughter fills the air around us, putting a grin on my face.
“Are you sure we can’t bring a cell, just in case?—”
I shake my head sharply and cut her off. “No way. Enzo’s on top of everything here, and Sebastiano has promised to keep an extra close eye on Skye. This is an escape for just the two of us.”
Clasping Elodie’s hand in mine, I lead her along our private dock toward the waiting speedboat.
Her laugh is riotous, face shining with pleasure as I shoot her a wink. “Trust me. You’ll like it.”
Then I lift my hand in farewell to a watching Emiliano as he glowers, and Elodie giggles sweetly. “He really is sore that you wouldn’t let him come along.”
Having reached the boat, I jump on board, and reach back to help Elodie follow me as I shake my head. Emiliano hadn’t let Elodie out of his sight in the three days that had passed since Fabiano’s attack, but I’d be damned if he was intruding on what I had planned for today.
“He’ll survive.”
I flip him off before I start the engine of the generously sized speedboat that we keep docked for this specific purpose, shooting Elodie a smile over my shoulder. “You might want to take a seat and hold on to something.”
Her eyes blow wide as I rev the engine, and I chuckle when she quickly slides into the seat at my side right before I shift the throttle forward. The bow of the Sea Ray slices through the turquoise water, gaining speed quickly, and within less than a minute, we’re speeding away from the shores of Sicily.
Elodie’s hair whips around her face, and she laughs loudly as she tries, and fails, to hold it out of her eyes. Once we’re clear of land, I pull back on the throttle so that we’re cruising at a more leisurely pace.
“Where are we going?” Elodie repeats with a smile in her voice, and I turn to her with a smile of my own.
The last couple of days following the call with Nico have been filled with anxiety. The deadline to trade Elodie for Aurelia is looming, and all of Enzo’s attempts to find Conti’s hiding place have been fruitless.
But I’m determined to take her mind off it all. And what better way to do that than a trip to the island my father bought for my mother.
“There.” I raise my hand, pointing into the distance just as the small island comes into view. Elodie focuses on the land with a creased brow as the boat speeds closer, and I can’t help but chuckle at her gasp of wonder when she sees where we’re going.
“Welcome toIsola Rosa.”
Her face lights up as she takes in the lush greenery surrounding the island as we pass. She gasps in wonder when I swing the Sea Ray around, passing a small sandy inlet before reaching the long dock.
When she faces me, her eyes are wide with excitement. “Who lives here?”
“It’s owned by our family, but technically, no one actuallyresideshere. It’s more like a getawaycasa.”
Once I’ve shut off the engine, I stand and tug Elodie to her feet, crushing my mouth to hers. She wraps her arms around my waist as I entwine my hands in her messy blonde locks, slowly tangling our tongues.
I break the kiss with a low chuckle. “And today will consist of lots of that, away from everyone, and everything.”
“Thecasaisright at the top of this hill.”
I pull Elodie’s hand as she groans, wiping the sweat from her brow. “I didn’t dress for a walk through the forest, Rafe.”
My chuckle earns me an elbow to the ribs as she increases her stride to move past me. “What’s the point of building the house in the motherfucking clouds?”
“Trust me,Stellina.” She glances back at me, her eyes softening at whatever she sees on my face. “It’s worth the hike.”
Isola Rosais a privately owned island my father bought shortly before he met my mother. He renamed it when they got married, and it was our primary residence until her passing.
My feet slam to a halt, and Elodie glances back with annoyance painted across her beautiful face. She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off when I tug her off the small trail and into the underbrush.
“I want to show you something before we continue to thecasa.”
My feet fly across the ground, and Elodie only complains once before the trees give way to a grassy knoll where the earth meets the sea and the sky.
Facing out over the vast expanse of endless blue are four white headstones, all lined up neatly side by side.
