“Don Vicari!Benvenuto!”
He smiled at the freckled young man. “Ciao, Federico.Scusami, I know this was an unexpected request.”
“Not at all, Don Vicari! It’s always a pleasure. Papà is running a little late, but I went ahead and got everything ready just as you asked.”
I gave the ragazzo a satisfied pat on the shoulder and looked at Daisy, cowering beside me. “Federico, this is Signorina Daisy Parker.” I introduced them, pulling Daisy under my arm. “Daisy, this ragazzo you see here is the son of the owner of this restaurant.”
“Nice to meet you.” She squeaked the greeting, and I noticed she was blushing.
“Ah, sì! The American Signorina who was here last time with Fabiano.”
I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth in an attempt to brush away the pang of jealousy that stabbed my ribs. I glanced sideways at Daisy, huddled under my arm and staring intently at the floor, her expression more than just guilty.
“And that was the last time you saw her with your cugino,” I said through clenched teeth, feeling her body stiffen beside me. Federico, in that white shirt that was far too big for his skinny frame, shifted uncomfortably, and there was an obvious question in his expression. Malice prompted me to clarify. “Fabiano is to marry Luca Condello’s ragazza.”
“Francesca?!” the boy exclaimed, his mouth hanging open. I confirmed it with a nod. “Madonna! What a lucky guy… Francesca is every man’s dream.”
Daisy shifted, falling silent, and I recalled her words from the day before. I lowered my arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her close to me, smiling.
“Not every man’s,” I admitted, giving Daisy a gentle shake.
Her eyes lifted and met mine. She looked surprised, and something sparkled in her peridot eyes. It was almost as if she didn’t believe me, but that was fine. I would have plenty of time to convince her.
“Well, Don Vicari, Signorina Parker, this way,” Federico said, and we followed him immediately through the restaurant.
As soon as the door to the back room opened, I puffed out my chest with satisfaction. It didn’t even look like the same room that was destroyed days ago.
Just as I’d instructed, a single table had been placed in the center of the room, round and modest in size, perfect for my hands to touch Daisy’s. The lights had been turned off, and in their place, dozens of candles in holders dotted the entire room. And scattered across the floor were hundreds of daisy petals, white as a dove’s feathers, and a handful of the same flowers had been arranged in the middle of the table, forming a sort of wreath.
I looked at Daisy, pulling her close to me.
We had spent the whole day at the beach and barely spoken. Between orgasms and comfortable silences, we let the sun burn our skin and our DNA mingle. Then we returned to my penthouse and washed the salt from our bodies. And we spent a few more hours letting our bodies speak, tangled in the sheets.
The more I took her, the more certain I was that it was impossible to get her out of my system. More. That I didn’t want to get her out. Ever.
With her resting against my chest in the late afternoon, back at the penthouse, lost in a deep sleep, I took the opportunity to review a certain piece of footage Luca had given me days ago. It was Daisy, entering the west wing of the villa. After my famiglia’s death, we had installed cameras throughout the empty wings to ensure that the valuables weren’t stolen, and thank goodness we had.
If someone told me what happened, I wouldn’t have believed a single word. But the footage left no room for doubt. Before Daisy stepped inside, the light in my parents’ bedroom had turned on by itself, and when she reached the room, my mother’s jewelry box fell to the floor without Daisy even touching it. I watched the recordings over and over, trying to figure out if it had been some optical illusion, but it hadn’t been. And my heart ached every time I saw her in that video, on her knees on the floor, slipping the Vicari women’s ring onto her finger with a broad smile on her face.
My Mamusia’s recipe, the jewelry, the ring… I had asked for a sign, and perhaps this wasn’t a coincidence, but rather the answer to my prayers.
Be that as it may, with or without a sign, after claiming Daisy for myself for the first time, one thing became quite obvious: I would be incapable of hurting her, let alone killing her.
That was why we were there.
While Daisy was asleep that afternoon, I asked Carlo Mancuso to prepare theristorantefor a special occasion and called Luca, so he could go to Castello dell’Fiero to fetch the ring that now weighed in my pocket.
“What do you think, Don Vicari?” Federico Mancuso asked me, pointing toward the dining room.
I sighed and smiled at Daisy. “You have to ask Signorina Parker, ragazzo. All of this… is for her.”
Daisy’s eyes lit up and she broke into a huge smile, gazing into space again, as if waking from some kind of trance. “For me?” she asked, staring at me in disbelief.
“Who else?”
“Do you like it, Signorina?” the ragazzo insisted. I liked his enthusiasm.
Daisy’s smile widened, accompanied by her heavy breathing. “It’s gorgeous!”
