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“Aurora! God, it’s so good to hear your voice,” Francesca says, almost in a high-pitched squeal.
I wince and move the phone from my face, laughing a little. “It has been a while,” I say.
“Are you dying having to hang out with my boring, stupid brother all this time?” she asks.
I think about the night before, Nico biting my neck as he thrust into me, and I blush. “He’s not so bad.”
Francesca scoffs. “You don’t have to lie to me. All he talks about is pussy and crime. It’s annoying.”
I swallow hard at her words. Nico hasn’t said anything to me about other women, but I know his reputation. Is it possible that he’s still in contact with some of these women? Surely not, right?
“Does he have a girlfriend?” I ask, looking around for Nico. He’s trailed inside, so I can speak freely.
Francesca snorts. “A girlfriend? Are you crazy? Nico wouldn’t be caught dead in any kind of real commitment.”
“Ah,” I say dumbly, not knowing how to respond. I don’t want Francesca to know that Nico and I have been hooking up. It’s just...weird. Especially when I don’t know where we stand. Or better yet, I do know, but I don’t really want to dwell on the fact that this is just all happening in this bubble in time and space. That all of this will end just as soon as we get in the car to get back to our lives. To reality.
“He’s got about a dozen girlfriends, I guess, if you want to think of one-night stands as girlfriends,” Francesca says.
I hate listening to her talk about Nico like this. I don’t want to think of him with anyone else. I want him to be mine alone, however impossible that may be. So, I change the subject.
“What’s it like at Dante’s?”
“The mansion isamazing, Aurora,” she gushes. “You wouldn’t believe it. Even the guest rooms have king-sized beds, and the food is wonderful. They have this chef, Marisa, and she’s unbelievable, all the Italian dishes she makes. It’s just like when Mama used to cook.”
I smile. I’m glad that Francesca doesn’t seem too traumatized by everything. I know thatIhave nightmares, but I’m glad she seems to be taking it well.
“And the pool?”
“Salt water,” she says. “Heated. It’sridiculous, Aurora.”
I laugh. “Wish I could see it.”
“Why don’t you? Nico could just bring you here, and you could hide out with me.”
I pause, thinking. I don’t want to go back to Dante’s because I want to stay with Nico, but I can’t tell her that.
“Nico says it’s dangerous to keep moving around. He says Marco must be on the road.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Francesca says, sounding like she’s pouting a little. “Don’t worry. Dante’s working on catching Marco and he’ll be dead in no time.”
I blink, a little taken aback. “You want Marco to be killed?”
“Of course I do. Bruno was the one I really loved, you know? He really cared about me. Marco just saw me as a possession.” Her voice shakes a little. “I don’t know if I’ll ever love someone the way I loved Bruno.”
“I’m sorry, Francesca,” I say softly, and she sniffles.
“It is what it is,” she says flippantly, although I’m sure she’s grieving more than she lets on. “It’s the life we lead, right?”
“Right,” I say flatly. I don’t always like the life we lead, but she’s right. It is what it is.
“Maybe I’ll never love again.” Francesca pauses. “Or maybe I’ll make out with Angelo this weekend.”
I snort out a laugh. Nothing really gets Francesca down. “Nice to see that you’re still the same old Francesca.”
“Better believe it, baby,” she teases. “Call me more often, will you? I know you have to be bored out of your mind.”
I glance over at Nico who’s now lying out on the lawn chair in a pair of trunks. His abs glisten with the sun oil he’s put on his body.
