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She grins at me with real excitement in her eyes and she comes over. She moves to steady me, but I grab her instead and yank her into a tight hug, laughing more as I squeeze her against my body.
“You brilliant little princess,” I say, crushing her tight. “Look at me go, standing on my own like a baby fucking deer. But it’s the first step, right?”
“You’re going to break my ribs,” she wheezes, and I release her, holding her at arm’s length. She smiles at me, shaking her head slightly. “It’s a very good sign, but you have a long way to go.”
“Let me enjoy this.”
“All right, enjoy it. You’ve worked hard the last few days, but you’ll have to do a lot more. And you have to stop being a prick.”
“I’m definitely not going to stop.”
She sighs and extracts herself from my grip. I take another step and nearly lose my balance, and she takes the opportunity to grab my cane and hand it over. I lean against the handle gratefully.
I stood on my own. Fuck, I know it’s not a big deal—most people stand on their own every single day—but I did it. My legs hurt and my thighs are trembling, but I did it.
“Now, I believe you were showing me some exercises,” I say, nodding at the mat.
She hesitates. “Are you going to keep making jokes?”
“Yes, I absolutely will.”
She turns to leave.
“But I will keep them to a minimum,” I say quickly. “I won’t stop because I very much enjoy how flustered you get. But I’ll go easy.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I guess I can’t expect much more, can I?”
“No, not really.”
“Are you going to be less bossy too?”
She glares at me, but I’m grinning. It cracks her anger just a bit.
“Absolutely not. Now get over here, princess. Lie down on this mat. Spread your legs. Let me watch you.”
Chapter 7
Mirella
Villa Bruno is a damn maze.
Karah gave me a tour yesterday but it didn’t sink in. There are so many twists and turns and extra hallways and random, empty rooms that it feels like the main structure was added on to by successive different owners with no sense of unity or uniformity.
I’m wearing a bikini underneath a light cover-up with my hair in a loose bun. Flip-flops slap against the soles of my feet. I’ve been walking around in circles for the last ten minutes trying to find the damn sauna, but it’s, like, impossible—even though Karah showed it to me the day before and was, like, feel free to use this, it’s freaking amazing. It’s around here somewhere, but all I find are empty bedrooms, bathrooms, a game room, even what looks like a conference room, but no sauna.
I just want to sit and sweat and not think for like an hour. Maybe two.
Eventually, I give up, and as I’m about to head back to my room, I spot a young staff member hurrying down a nearby hall. “Excuse me!” I call out and the guy slows to a stop.
He’s got pale skin and light-colored hair, very Nordic in appearance, with a square jaw and blue eyes. Almost handsome, but too young. He’s wearing the uniform—a dark blue collared shirt and khaki slacks—but I can’t tell what his role in this place actually is. There are tons of staff all over, some of them cleaning staff, some cooks, some with seemingly no job at all except to walk around. This one can’t be older than nineteen and seems relatively startled.
“Uh, hello, how can I help you?”
“My name’s Mirella and I’m pretty new around here. Do you know where the sauna is?”
The young guy grins at me. “I’m Thomas. And sure, I can get you there. That’s pretty much all I’m good for these days.”
“Does everyone get lost or is it just me?”
He laughs as he beckons for me to follow him. I hurry after and he leads me down a series of hallways I hadn’t even noticed before.
“When I first got this job, I got lost like a dozen times. Eventually my boss had to walk around with me for a day or two just so I could learn the layout. So don’t worry about it, this place is stupidly complicated.”
“I grew up in a two-bedroom rancher. My entire house could fit in the living room.”
“I grew up in an apartment, so I know what you’re feeling.”
“It’s like a legitimate hotel resort. Totally bizarre.”
He laughs again, shaking his head, and I catch him glance at me as we slow. I recognize where we are now, and up ahead is the big glass and metal door that leads to the indoor pool and sauna room.
“Thanks a bunch, Thomas,” I say as we come to a stop.
“Happy to help. Find me anytime you’re lost.”
