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“You’re truly a good man. She doesn’t deserve you, Jas.”
“She deserves better. I think if she had better, she’d be better. I just want to be better to her.”
She winked. “Too-da-loo!” And then Celestine was off to do God only knew what the woman did with her life other than teaching people to dance.
Why, after each visit or call with her, did it feel like I’d cheated on Ashira?
“Okay, baby,” I unbuckled Chi-Chi’s car seat once we pulled up to the restaurant. It was nearly seven pm local time on the Amalfi Coast. “We’re here.”
My baby was exhausted, and I’d been just steps behind her. The flight from Teterboro to Naples was almost ten hours, but I wouldn’t have broken it down. I just wanted to get to Europe without delaying the travel time. Chi-Chi did great on the flight, and I was sure it was because we used her father’s jet instead of flying commercial, where she wouldn’t have been able to run from the cockpit area to the bedroom at the rear. She took a nap once at the top of the trip and played and watched movies to her heart’s delight for the remainder.
“Mommy, I sleepy,” she whined.
“I know, but it’s dinner time.”
“Yeah,” her father’s subterranean deep tenor produced with authority. “Let’s go fill your belly. Then you can go night-night.”
My door was opened for me while Jas carried Chi-Chi from the car on to the sidewalk. The sun was still up, affording me a gorgeous view of what was also called Divina. It was breathtaking, with an unbelievable view of the cobalt-blue water.Shit… It was a good thing I was too exhausted to react to the beauty around me because I may otherwise embarrass Jas, something virtually hard to do.
Jas, Chi-Chi, and I were not traveling alone. We’d split with most of our companions, including Amy, her best friend, Rainey, one of Jas’ security detail, Eric, and one of my security men, Bob. Once landed, we joined with an Italian “tour guide” of sorts, Francesco Ricci, and a companion of his. There were lots of people on this venture with us. Most of them, including Amy and her friend, left for the hotel we’d be staying at tonight before we boarded the luxury yacht to kickstart our vacation tomorrow. They went ahead of us with our luggage to check in while Jas, Chi-Chi, and I had dinner.
As I followed him and Chi-Chi inside the restaurant, we were greeted by the host, who made it clear he’d been expecting us by his fair English speaking skills. We strode through the beautiful restaurant, and I admired its stony veneer interior lining, the fresh floral arrangements boasted from wall to wall, and the delicious notes from the food all around. This was great living—luxury living. I couldn’t imagine the fortune Jas paid to make this happen.
“Grazie,” the waiter bowed before taking off with my payment for the dinner.
“Gradzee!” Chivon mocked, then yawned.
Ashira, across the table from us, giggled. “You’re learning Italian, missy?”
With no appreciation of what was being asked, Chivon nodded with heavy eyes. Then she leaned over on the bench, laying her head on my arm. I opened up, allowing her to snuggle into my side.
“Somebody’s not going to make it to the hotel,” I teased, though Chivon straight ignored me, preferring to doze.
“And you’ll be carrying her.” Ashira looked tired, too, running her tongue against her teeth with a closed mouth. “Dinner was amazing.” Her attention swept the small room.
So soon, the shit felt awkward. On the plane ride to Europe, Ashira and I didn’t talk much. I shared the itinerary, and she had Chivon show me a new dance she’d taught her. Outside of that, we slept, ate, she read and watched movies, and I worked.
“It was.” I struggled to stretch the conversation. “That fish was a’ight.”
“The amberfish—or the yellowtail amberjack,” she corrected. “Shizu swears by it. I’ve never tried.”
“Yeah,” I tried findingmore. “The burrata sauce wasn’t too bad either.”
She hesitated for a second before asking, “Was that your first time having it?”
I shook my head. “Ezra’s bourgeois ass put me on to it at a restaurant in the city a couple of years ago. Had it with bowtie pasta and lemon. Shit looked crazy, but hit the spot.”
“Have you had it since?”
I nodded.
When she didn’t speak so quickly again, I asked, “That fondue any good?” It was her first dish.
Ashira sucked in a breath, stretching her spine while trying not to yawn. “This one had more ingredients than when I had it before in Paris. Remember that—”
“Restaurant you ate at twice a day?” I didn’t want to, but I did.
Slowly, she nodded while studying my face. “Anyway…” Then Ashira shook her head, eyes going toward the table. “This place has the black truffle with it. It worked, though.” I nodded, feeling proud of my attempt at conversation. But after a few seconds, Ashira spoke again. “So, two hundred and twenty feet, this yacht. Huhn?”
