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“Ciao Liv! I was just asking Gigi where you were!” he smiled kindly at me, but I still noticed his eyes flickering down to my breasts in my little sports top. Men.
“Hi! Just been for a run. It’s such a lovely day for it,” I smiled back politely as I leaned against the wooden bannister.
He wrinkled his nose up. “It is too hot for a run today! You a crazy lady!” He chuckled and I couldn’t help but feel charmed by his thick Italian accent as he spoke in broken English. I really felt bad that I didn’t know their language. I was in their motherland and yet they had to try and communicate with me. “A few of us going to the bars tonight. Will you come?”
Normally, I would come up with an excuse as I had no money to spend in bars, but after today’s events, I could really do with a few drinks. “Yea sure. I’ll come with Giulia.”
His handsome face broke into a cheesy grin and he looked cute. “Fantastico! I will see you later.”
He turned and skipped down the steps as I opened the door to our apartment. Loud music blared around the room and I saw Gigi’s light brown hair bouncing up and down as she danced around the kitchen, unaware of my presence. I threw my keys and phone down on the table and pulled my trainers off.
“You are back! You just missed Luca…he was asking about you,” she winked at me suggestively and I rolled my eyes.
“I know, I bumped into him on the stairs. He said about us all going out tonight?” I perched on one of the mismatched bar stools and leaned on the small wooden kitchen island.
“Si. You coming?” her eyes widened in excitement as I nodded. “Yes! You can finally meet the whole group. And Luca will be pleased. You know he has the…how do you say it… ‘Hots for you’ right?” I groaned as I picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and took a bite out of it. “What is wrong with Luca?”
“There is nothing wrong with Luca. He is great but I am not getting involved with anyone romantically right now,” I tried to make my voice as stern as possible so she would drop the subject, but I knew that was wishful thinking. She didn’t know about my past, just that I had a violent stepbrother who I left home to get away from. I didn’t go into the horrific details of what actually happened. I didn’t want to scare her away. She was the only friend I had in this place.
“Who said anything about romance? Just good sesso is all you need! You must try the Italian men out. They are spectacular in bed!” she laughed and I rolled my eyes at her. If only she knew. I was a sexual person. I wanted to have sex. Badly. But every time I attempted to go all the way with a man, it would end in a panic attack. Which is pretty much a mood killer and fair to say, they never want to see me again.
And now there was the danger of Henry looming over me. I would not risk getting close to anyone until he was safely behind bars. I wasn’t about to put another man’s life in danger.
“Oh, guess what?” I tried to change the subject and she faced me with a curious expression. “I got the job. The nanny one. And they doubled the salary.”
Her mouth hung open before she raised her hands dramatically in the air and started to shout in Italian. I was pretty sure she was cursing from her shocked expression.
“Double?! Why? What did you do?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I told him I didn’t want the job. But it turns out they really wanted me to take it.”
“And by him you mean Giovanni Buccini himself?” she said in disbelief.
“Yes.”
She grabbed her iPad off the side and I tensed my eyebrows, trying to sneak a peek at what she was doing.
“You are going to get to see this insanely hot man every day and get paid a ridiculous amount for it? Are you sure you are just expected to look after the kids?” she teased as she pushed the iPad towards me, and I glanced down at a picture of Giovanni standing in front of a huge hotel. It was an article about him opening the largest hotel in Northern Italy. I skimmed the text and wasn’t shocked to read that this was just one of ten hotels he owned, as well as two nightclubs and three restaurants.
“Yep, that’s him and I don’t know what you are insinuating, but I shall definitely only be looking after those kids,” I said flatly as I stared at his perfectly symmetrical face that was set in a deep, brooding scowl as he stared into the camera. Fuck why did he have to be so damn fine?
“Well girl, you have landed on your feet there. I’m jealous! You are one lucky lady!”
I slid off the stool and made my way to the bathroom. Lucky isn’t the first word that comes to mind…
∞∞∞
Sitting outside at a table in a pretty courtyard bar, I felt relaxed. Happy. The balmy evening atmosphere mingled with the soothing sounds of chatter and soulful music filled the air. I leaned back and took in the group of people I was with as I sipped my Aperol Spritz. They were trying to speak in English throughout the night to keep me involved, but as the drinks flowed their mother tongue was creeping back in. I didn’t mind one bit, as I loved listening to the beauty of their language even if I couldn’t understand a word. I locked eyes with Luca across the table, who gave me a smile before grabbing his chair and moving around to sit next to me.
“Hi.”
“Ciao!” I smiled at him. Pretty much the extent of my Italian. I really needed to start taking classes or something.
“Are you enjoying it?” he gestured to the group and the bar and I smiled, nodding my head.
“Yes. It’s so nice to just be out and doing something so normal,” I replied, taking my straw between my teeth. His face creased with confusion or intrigue at my comment.
“Normal? This is not normal for you?”
