Page 4 of Valentino

Help me out here.

I reply,

You owe me.

I see the dots bounce as he types.

Anything.

Upstairs at the back right corner.

I am not in the mood for this, I walk up the front steps and make my way past the bodyguard. He’s leaning up against the wall and smoking a cigarette, jacked as fuck and looks as tough as nails. In fact, I’m positive that he will beat us to a pulp if we get caught being anywhere near the precious Francesca.

Ugh, this is so stupid, Giuliano makes us come all the way to Milan twice a week just so he can visit her in the library. He really has it bad for this girl.

I push through the heavy front doors and walk in, now…where is this staircase?

There it is, I make my way upstairs and head through the rows and rows of bookshelves until I get to the back right corner where there’s a large clearing and a giant long table in the middle. Giuliano is sitting beside a girl with another sitting opposite who’s reading a book.

“Hello.” I smile as I approach them.

“Val.” Giuliano acts surprised, he leaps out of his chair and shakes my hand. “What a coincidence seeing you here.”

I look at him deadpan. “Is it though?”

“Haha.” He shoots me a shut-the-fuck-up glare. “Val, this is Francesca.” He proudly presents her to me like she’s Aphrodite herself. “Francesca, this is my best friend, Valentino Leone.”

Best friend.

His words hang in the air and linger in the silence, he said them so seemingly nonchalant and almost inconsequential, but they mean a lot. “Hello.” I smile, I hold my hand out to shake hers.

“Hello, Val.” She smiles, she’s pretty and has a very put together air about her, and it’s very clear what he sees in her. “I feel like I know you already, I have heard so much about you.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about you too.” My eyebrows flick up. “Believe me.”

Giuliano shoots me another look and I drop my head to hide my smile, amused by his over-the-top crush.

“This is my best friend, Anna Russo.” Francesca holds her hand out to the girl across the table. “Anna, this is Valentino.”

She looks up from her book and our eyes lock. Big brown eyes, long dark hair and the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

Oh….

My stomach dips in appreciation.

“Hello, Anna.” I smile, she stands and holds her hand out, I take it in mine, her hand is small and whisper soft, innately feminine, her touch sends a lightning bolt through my system.

“Hi, Valentino.” She smiles, that voice…. It’s sweet, husky, and like a melody it plays with my senses. “It’s so lovely to meet you.”

Fuck…me….

I blink, surprised by my instant attraction to her.

“So….” Giuliano says something and Francesca replies, we sit down and the conversation continues, but Anna and I continue to stare at each other as if seeing an animal in the zoo for the first time.

“Okay great,” Giuliano says as he pushes out his chair.

“What?” My eyes flick to him as he snaps me out of my trance. “We’re going already?”