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"You sure you’re okay?" Karina helps me into the back of the SUV, then straightens.
"You sure you’re okay helping me?" I retort.
She laughs. "What do you think, honey?" She addresses her words to the man behind the wheel of the SUV. "Are we okay coming to the rescue of Declan’s friend?"
The man, who’s wearing a suit that’s been hand-tailored for him, meets her gaze in the rearview mirror and smiles. "We seem to be making it a habit. Good thing I had my jet on-hand."
"Umm, what do you mean ‘making it a habit’? Has Declan asked you to help another of his friends before?"
"Not Declan." She shuts my door, then walks around to slide into the passenger seat upfront before she turns to face me. "But we got a similar SOS call to help out your friend Jeanne and her now-husband Luca when they were running from their kidnapper."
"You’re the one who helped them?" I wriggle around, trying to make myself more comfortable. "I wondered how they managed to get back to Palermo in time for the rehearsal."
"My husband—" she places her hand on the man’s sleeve "—loaned them his jet so they could fly to Palermo and make it in time for the rehearsal."
"And that’s how you got here so fast? You used the jet?" I ask.
"What’s the use of having your own plane if you can’t use it when a friend needs help?" The man turns to me, a twinkle in his eyes. "I’m Arpad Beauchamp, by the way."
"You’re Declan’s brother." The family resemblance is unmistakable. Same broad shoulders, high cheekbones, that look of being trouble in their eyes.
"Indeed." He tilts his head. "And you are a friend of his from LA?"
"Indeed." I smile back.
He laughs. "Any friend of Declan’s is a friend of ours. Thanks to you, I finally heard from him. He’s been so busy, now that his movie is a big hit, it’s been months since I last spoke to him."
"It's good to meet you—"
"Olivia Johansen." I shake his hand. "Thank you for helping me out."
"Couldn’t refuse the chance of getting out of my office. Besides, this way, Karina and I get to visit Sicily. We’ve always wanted to come, haven’t we?"
"We’d hoped to visit after we got married, but things have been so hectic of late." Karina leans over and plants a kiss on his cheek. He pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, and a heated look passes between them. Gosh, why do I get the feeling that I’m intruding? Clearly, they’re in love and care for each other.
She leans back in her seat and Arpad guides the vehicle forward. After I’d called Declan and explained the situation to him, he’d told me to sit tight and that he’d reach out to me in a few hours.
"So, you live in London?" I ask the couple.
"I used to live in LA, where I still run my own security agency. But after we married, I moved to join my husband. Now we split time between both cities."
"And what do you do, Olivia?" Arpad asks.
"I’m a dancer, and the lead actor in—" I stop. “A dancer,” I say firmly.
I’m not a lead actor anymore. I’m not going to be well enough to reprise my role in the musical anytime soon, and even if I were, would they accept me with a scar on my face? While I won’t know how it’s going to look until the bandages come off, fact is, I did hurt myself. Chances are, my face isn’t going to look as flawless as it used to be. And I don’t know what the hell that means for my career. I need a place to lie low and think through my options.
I’d have loved to leave Palermo, but the doctor discharged me on the condition that I check in with him over the next few weeks, until he’s satisfied I’m healing properly. He knows my case, so it didn’t make sense to return to London and start from scratch. Instead, I decided to find a place here and lie low. I can’t go home to Penny, where she or Jeanne would easily find me. They’re not going to forgive me for giving them the slip, but right now, I don’t want to meet them or anyone I know and try to explain myself. How can I explain myself when I don’t even understand? I just need space.
We drive in silence, for which I’m grateful. We head toward the outskirts of the city, more inland, away from the coast. After nearly an hour of driving, Arpad turns onto a narrow road that’s bordered with trees on both sides. They meet in a canopy over the top, so sunlight dapples the windshield. We turn another corner and pull into the driveway of a two-story building. With whitewashed walls and a wraparound porch, as well as the flowers that grow in profusion in the garden and span both sides of the driveway, it's gorgeous. Arpad brings the car to a stop. Karina gets out and opens my door. I slide out, and she hooks her arm with mine. "Come on, I’ll show you around."
16
Massimo
I lift the barbell with the weights into the air, then bend my arms and lower it toward my chest. And again. I loaded on the weights, going higher than I normally would, in the hope it’d force me to focus my thoughts away from the woman who turned me down. That was a week ago, and I still haven’t been able to get her out of my mind.
