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“I will,” I said. “It’s a conversation that needs to happen in person.”
She nodded in agreement. “Understandable.”
I guided Mia out of the apartment and to my car at the curb. After the bag was dropped in the trunk, we got into the car and started the engine.
She looked around at the buttons in the car, along with the glowing lights. “I won’t jump out of the car this time.”
I chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind chasing you down again if you did.” I pulled onto the street, and we made our way out of Florence. There was a lot of traffic, so I couldn’t push the gas as much as I wanted to, but once we broke free of the city, I pushed the engine hard.
She looked out the window with a slight smile on her lips, gazing at the sky as the sun set over the horizon. The lights were a mixture of purple, blue, and pink, the perfect colors of a distant sunset.
After spending a week apart, we were together again, but I didn’t have anything to say. It was nice just to sit with her, to embrace what was going to happen next. Maybe all of our problems were really behind us. Or maybe they were lurking around the corner. Either way, we’d made our decision.
I approached the front gate and hit the clicker in the car. The large metal gates swung inward to allow my car inside. I took the long drive farther onto the property, moving through the trees and alongside the perfectly manicured grass. The gate closed behind me, the cobblestone wall encompassing the property as the ivy grew over the walls. When Conway realized I bought one of the best pieces of property in Tuscany, he’d be pissed he didn’t beat me to the punch.
When the house came into view, Mia gasped under her breath. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
I shouldn’t care about impressing her with my money, but I did. I wanted her to feel like royalty, to know she didn’t belong to just a random man. She was owned by one of the richest men in Italy, a descendant of one of the noblest Italian families.
“You bought this place?”
“Yes.” I pulled into the garage and closed the door behind me before I killed the engine.
“Just like that?” she asked incredulously.
I snapped my fingers. “Just like that.”
She looked at me with new eyes, as if she didn’t understand how powerful I truly was.
I grabbed her bag from the trunk and carried it inside.
She followed behind me then took in the house, a mansion that was far too big for a single man. She examined the hardwood floors, the plaster walls, and the Italian craftsmanship that made this house strong despite its decades of age. She explored it on her own, admiring the double grand staircase and the different living rooms. The dining room itself could accommodate twenty guests.
I set my wallet and keys on the entryway table then scrolled through the emails on my phone. There was a text message from Conway.
Heard you moved to Tuscany. You need to get a life and stop following me.
I grinned then wrote back. What can I say? I missed you.
I missed you too, asshole.
Conway was practically a brother to me, and having him close by was just another perk to making the move. I slid the phone back into my pocket when Mia met me in the living room.
“This place has three floors. Did you know that?”
I tried not to grin at her ignorance. “Yes. I noticed that when I bought it.”
She held up three fingers. “Three.”
I nodded. “The top floor gives great views of the countryside.”
“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked around the living room, admiring the carefully designed furniture and the large flat-screen TV.
My home was beautiful, but it didn’t compare to the woman in front of me.
She turned around and came back to me. “So…how is this going to work?”
I upheld my end of the deal and liberated her from the hands of a psychopath. Now we were five hours away, enclosed behind a thick wall in a mansion. Mia was officially mine—because I’d paid for her with my sacrifice. “It’s your job to make a home. I expect this place to be clean at all times. I want home-cooked meals throughout the day. According to my friends and family, you’re the maid of my estate. Do we understand each other?”
“What about Vanessa and Griffin?”
“They know otherwise.”
“But you still want me to fill that role?”
“Yes.” They would keep the secret to themselves. No one else needed to know the extent of the relationship. I might tell Conway…or he might figure it out on his own. He could read me pretty well. “I have to tell my parents what really happened…since they deserve to know the truth. But I’m going to tell them I gave you a job because you had nowhere else to go. And that’s the extent of our relationship.”
