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Salvatrice placed her arm on mine and we walked together through the pedestrian waterfront of Rapallo. I kept our pace to a stroll because we were on time and I didn’t want her to kill her feet in those heels. I had plans for her to wear them all night while I was nailing her.
She was right before; the scenery was very close to the city of Portofino. Same water, same lively cafes and restaurants filled with tourists, people walking in every direction, same colorful houses going up the hills, but this one had a castle. Well, I thought the title of castle was not deserved, because my parents' house was way bigger, but didn’t have the history of this place. The pamphlet for tourists I read said that it was built sometime in the sixteenth century to serve as a defense fortress and to stop invasions that were coming from the sea. Now, the bottom floor was a museum, but after calling every contact I had in this part of the world, I found out through a very-hard-to-find middleman and by making payments to the right people, that there was a private luxury bedroom in the tower available for renting. I arranged for us to have it for the night and to have dinner catered by an award-winning French restaurant here in Rapallo. This was a big night, and a lot of things were about to change. I had to give her the best.
“We’re here, amore,” I told her when we stopped in front of the building.
“Here? All the restaurants are on the other side.”
“Well, ours is on the rooftop of this castle in front of you.”
“They’ve opened a restaurant in the castle? I didn’t hear about it.”
“It’s just for the night. Just for you and I.”
She looked at me with her mouth open, like she didn’t know exactly what to do with the information.
“We can do that?”
“It’s very exclusive, and not a lot of people know about it, but tonight is ours. We’ll be sleeping here too.”
“Roman, I can’t. I told Fran I’ll only be gone for a few hours.”
“I’ll make sure to compensate her for the babysitting services.”
“It’s not about money; Romina has trouble sleeping. I’ve told you about it.”
“You said that doesn’t happen very often.”
“What if it happens tonight and we’re not there? What happens then? She gets very scared when she wakes up from a sleepwalking episode, Roman, and Fran has no idea how to deal with it.”
Ok, fine, she was persuasive as shit. I didn’t take Romina into consideration when I made the plans for tonight, but it wasn’t like I was whisking her away for a month. It was one night, and we were only a few miles away from Portofino. Hell, half my childhood I was home alone, only with a butler, or housekeeper or something, because my parents liked to travel to adults-only resorts.
“Salvatrice, that’s a lot of bullshit.” I frowned down at her. “You spent the night with me before and nothing happened.”
“Half a night, and I was close to home. Francesca knew where to find me.”
“She has my mobile phone number. Stop trying to use our daughter to convince me to take you back.”
“I am not, you asshole. I’m telling you the truth. Roman, you really need to take her sleep problem seriously.”
“And I do.” She’d better not be suggesting something else. “But right now, you’re looking for an excuse to not spend the night alone with me. Salva, don’t lie to yourself. Don’t pretend you don’t want me, too.”
“I…well…”
“Exactly. I loved fucking you in the back of your shop, but I need to take my time with you. We have a lot to talk about, baby, and I have a lot of fucking to do to you.”
“Why do you have to be so crass all the time?”
“Because I said I like to fuck you?”
“Yes!” She exhaled, red in the cheeks with frustration. “It’s not going to happen anyways, bastardo. Why aren’t you listening to me? Roman, our story is over.”
I grabbed her and slammed her luscious body on mine, feeling her on my side.
“Listen to me, Salvatrice Carter, you only escaped me once because I wasn’t there to stop you. This time, you can’t run from me. I found you on the other side of the fucking world, Salva. There’s no place to hide. You, me, and our daughter, we’re a forever deal. Sleep with me, or not sleep with me, that’s up to you, but regardless, you are my woman.”
Her peculiar eyes looked up at me and again I was struck in the chest by them. I was used to it; it happened every time I looked into Salva’s eyes and saw the way they sparkled like pure, upper-class emeralds. Beautiful. She was beautiful. She was a queen born without a crown, but I swore to put one on her head. Her coronation was starting tonight.
“Roman,” she said sadly, her soft hand touching my chin hesitantly, “how can you forgive me? I kept your daughter from you.”
