Page 46 of XOXO

“No, not yet, but I don’t know if we can,” I said, knowing there was always a room for us, even during our busy time.

“That means yes!” Paola yelled.

“Paola,” I chastised.

“Matteo will make it happen. Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Paola asked, growing more and more excited as they talked amongst themselves.

I wanted to tell Paola it wasn’t possible, but I brought it up and a tiny part of me wanted to take Vi there. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

It was midday when we picked up Vi from her hostel. I was a little shocked she would stay in such a place. It looked decent on the outside, but who knew how horrible the inside was. I debated telling her anything, relieved when Paola said that staying in hostels wasn’t safe. Hadn’t she ever seen the movie?

The drive to Lake Como was gorgeous as always. I loved visiting out here, but for some reason I always put it off. Vi looked like a kid at Disneyland, looking at everything in wonder. I couldn’t help admiring her in the rearview mirror until she caught me looking at her. It wasn’t just her who caught me. Paola smirked at me like she knew a secret I didn’t.

“Damn, how the hell did you guys get a reservation here?” Vi got out of the car, looking at the hotel with wide eyes.

“Our family owns it,” Paola said, threading her arm through Vi’s. “It’s been in our family for almost a century.”

“Oh my god,” Vi said, looking over her shoulder at me as I gave the valet my keys. “Damn, you could have told me. Is this what Levi means when he said he would try and see what he could do?”

I nodded feeling a twinge at Levi’s name, wishing he was here.

“Oh, Levi used to come here all the time with us,” Paola said, as they walked into the hotel.

The concierge grabbed our bags and I followed the girls.

“Matteo!” The day manager walked toward us speaking Italian. “Paola, you get more beautiful every year and who is this?!”

Dimitri had been with the hotel for years, always rambunctious and happy.

“Dimitri, this is our friend, Vi,” I said as I introduced her. “Vi, this is Dimitri, one of our day managers.”

“Oh, it’s lovely to meet you,” she said, holding her hand out.

Dimitri took her hand kissing it a little too slowly for my liking. “Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Gorgeous. You speak Italian beautifully.”

“Ok, Casanova,” I said, stopping myself from rolling my eyes.

Dimitri winked at Vi. “Ok, I have your suite ready and dinner reservations are in an hour and a half.”

“Great, thank you for doing this on such short notice,” he said, handing me the keys.

“Of course, I’ll send some refreshments in just a moment.”

“Thanks, Dimitri!” Paola hugged him and grabbed Vi’s hand, leading her to our suite.

“Thank you,” I said, as I followed the girls.

“Holy shit, this is so beautiful!” Vi said as we walked into our suite.

We had the most perfect view of the lake and mountains. She walked to the open door, taking in the scenery like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Her wonder made my chest ache.

“Alright, let’s get settled in and we can have a drink before we head to the restaurant. You're in the room just down the hall from mine, Vi,” Paola said, taking her bag to the room she usually occupied.

“Ok,” Vi said, still looking outside in wonder.

“Come on, you have a great view from your bedroom too,” I said, grabbing her bag.

“Matteo, thank you so much for this,” she said, catching up to me.