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She takes my hand and drags me to a nearby park bench, sitting me down after checking the surface, making me roll my eyes at her.
She shrugs her shoulders. “Better safe than sorry,” is all she says, before going quiet to let me gather my thoughts… there are many.
Here it goes. I open my mouth and let an avalanche of thoughts and emotions run free without taking a breath.
“I’m so confused by my reactions. I’ve never had such a visceral attraction to anybody in my life and at the same time wanting to run the other way so much. I’m intimidated by the man. But why? Who is Gualtiero Leandro De Marco? Some important big shot? I was comfortable ogling him from afar and within seconds, he’s no longer a stranger. And then he’s touching me and not letting me out of his sight, turning up my arousal, making me all hot and bothered. I mean what the?! In all seriousness, Rhia, I’m in way over my head with this guy! He looks like he wants to eat me alive. It makes me want to run. But I feel I should stay and find out more. But how do I deal with a man like him? The best thing is to just cancel tomorrow’s dinner.” I finally take a breath.
But wait, there’s more. “And then there’s the fact that someone tried to run Gualtiero over this afternoon, and he brushes it off as if it means nothing. Who does that? I’m still freaked out about it an hour later while he’s as cool as can be.”
Rhia listens patiently, not interrupting me once. That’s so not like her. It only adds to my confusion. The world really is going crazy today.
“Are you okay, Rhi?” I frown at her. “You normally never let me finish a rant.”
“Well, I’ve been practicing my listening skills with Lex. He gets annoyed when I interrupt him. I’m getting the hang of this, don’t you think?”
I smile at her, impressed. “It’s amazing you can still surprise me after all these years. That man is a saint! I never thought you were trainable.” She huffs indignantly at that. “I’ve been trying forever and never got anywhere. What’s he doing differently?”
Rhia grins, and I might as well admit now that I’ll regret having asked that question.
“He gags me… if circumstances allow it.”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I ask, “Gags you how?”
With her smile growing bigger, she widens her eyes at me. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Umm, no. I have a pretty good idea what he stuffs in your mouth to keep you quiet. No wonder it never worked for me,” I reply, giggling. “Lex knows how to handle you. He is good for you, Rhi.”
“He is,” she admits her entire being lighting up just from the mentioning of his name. “But this isn’t about me. Let’s see if we can clear up your confusion.”
Rhia pulls her phone from her bag and begins to type. “Let’s start with who is Gualtiero De Marco.”
Chapter Five
Ella
“Hmm,that’sstrange,”Rhiasays as she keeps scrolling through her phone.
“What is?” I ask.
“There’s nothing about him on Google.”
“How can that be? Everything is on Google.”
“Well, apparently not Gualtiero De Marco. All it says is that he’s the CEO of the De Marco Corporation with headquarters in Catania, Sicily. That’s it. His company website says nothing about him, either.”
“What does his company do?”
“Lots of things, apparently. Venture capitalism, cyber security, but they also seem to own hotel chains and nightclubs.”
“Bizarre mixture. And there really is nothing about his personal life?”
“Nope,” Rhia confirms.
“That’s weird.”
“He might be a highly private man. That would suit your personality to a tee, wouldn’t it?”
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything. It’s not like I’m dating the man.”
