AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A second later myself spilling my guts to this woman, telling her everything that had happened to me—the text confession, the other woman, and how the man-boy that I had loved since I was fourteen years old was a cheating piece of shit.
“He sounds like astronzo,” she spat, shaking her head with disgust while patting my hand.
I laughed from the bottom of my belly. Although my Italian was absolute crap, I knew enough to know that stronzo meant bastard, or sonofabitch.
“Si! He is astronzo!”
This older woman was right. Phil was an asshole. A bastard of monumental proportions.
“Of course, he is. Only astronzowould cheat. Especially on such a pretty girl like you.” She reached up and patted my cheek with her tiny, wrinkled hand. “But do you honestly think that thisstronzois worth denying yourself a second chance at love? That he’s worthy denying yourself what you truly want.”
“And what is it that you think that I want?” My eyebrows raised curiously. I was wholly interested in what this woman was thinking, even though I’d only known her for a handful of minutes. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to enjoy my Italian vacation and then, once it was over, start over. The woman before me, however, seemed to have other ideas.
“Just as I said. Love. A man who loves you. A man who wants to spend his life with you.” Her thin lips curved into a thin smile. “Friends who are true and honest. Andfamilia. A strong family who will help you carry your burdens when they become too heavy.”
“I might want that someday, but not right now,” I said, dispiritedly, focusing on the first line item and temporarily setting the others aside. “It’s still too raw. I don’t know if I’m ever going to get over his betrayal. I haven’t even figured out how to take the first step in starting over.”
My newfound friend captured my face between her soft hands. Even though she stood at least a foot shorter than my five-foot-seven frame, her spirit loomed well over me.
“Do not let him rob you of your happiness. To heal, you must allow yourself to grieve. If you want revenge, trust in Signora Destino.” She raised a finger as if to make a point. “She will see it done and she always keeps her word. She will make this man pay for his actions. Now,” the woman paused and reached for my hand. Taking it in hers, she dropped three coins in my palm and wrapped my fingers around them. “Take these coins. Toss them into the fountain. Make your wishes. When you return to Roma, you will do so with your husband, on your honeymoon.” She smiled, patted my cheek once more, and before I realized it, she was gone.
“What?” I stood clutching the coins as I searched for her. “Where did she go?”
For several minutes, I craned my neck searching, but it was fruitless. The woman had disappeared like a spirit carried away on the wind. One minute she was here, the next, poof! She was gone without a trace.
Drawing in a deep sigh, I shook my head at the past few minutes. If the coins weren’t resting in my hand, I’d swear that I imagined it all. But I hadn’t. The three, ancient-looking coins warmed my palm, awaiting their chance to be tossed into the water.
With another sigh, I glanced up at the waterwork before eyeing those gathered around me. Instantly, I felt the familiar tickle that preceded my claustrophobia. Sweat now rolled down my back, pooling at the waist of my jeans. My heart started to thunder and pound like a heavy bass beat against my ribs. There were too many people crowded around me. Men and women of all ages, children ranging from babies to teenagers, all swarmed around me, each one there for the same purpose as me.
“I heard that they collect the coins and use it to help fund the poor and the homeless.” A brash, nasally mid-Western accent sounded close to my ear, pulling me out of my downward spiral.
“I heard that your wish doesn’t count unless you throw the coin over your shoulder with your back facing the fountain.” Another accent, New England this time, boomed in the other. With a sigh, I squeezed the three coins within my fist, forcing myself to relax, and promising that as soon as the coins were tossed, I’d move on to somewhere far less crowded. Hell, maybe I’d even go back to my hotel room to take a brief nap. But first, I needed to do this. I needed to toss these coins and for the first time in life, leave something to chance rather than controlling the hell out of it.
The thought of throwing everything to chance created the beginnings of a smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth. Six months ago, I’d have believed that the Trevi Fountain could grant my wish. After all, it’s where my father met Marjorie three years after my mother died from ovarian cancer and a year after Marjorie lost her husband to an aneurysm on their wedding night. A fated moment when two broken halves took the first steps at becoming a family. They’d been married for over ten years now and were just as much in love now as they were then. What they had was the real deal. It was what I believed that I had with Philip.
How wrong I was.
“Here goes nothing, “I said as I pushed Phil to the back of my mind, closed my eyes, and turned my back to the fountain. I tossed the coins backward and caught the plunk! that each one made as it struck the water.
“What did you wish for?” A deep, slightly husky voice suddenly spoke close to my ear. I opened my eyes and nearly hit the ground.
Good Lord in Heaven.
Roman gods were real.
“Holy shit,” I whispered as the sexiest pair of ice-blue eyes twinkled humorously. Eyes rimmed with the thickest, darkest lashes that I’ve ever seen. The air crackled and popped as I stood staring. Its magnetic current left me breathless.
“Not quite the answer that I was expecting, but I’ll take it.” The stranger laughed. “But seriously, did you just make one wish or did you make all three?”
“Isn’t it bad luck to say what you wished for?” I said, sounding way more flirty than I intended to. Lord, I couldn’t help myself. One glance into those light blue orbs and suddenly I was someone else. A giggly, blushing girl who’d caught the attention of the cutest boy she’d ever seen. My sudden companion smiled suddenly. His curvaceous lips lifted into the most dazzling grin that I’d ever seen. A smile that immediately left my knees weak and my heart racing.
“It is, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not curious, though.”
“All three,” I confessed after making him wait for a beat. “I was only going to toss the one I have in my pocket, but this tiny woman appeared from out of nowhere and placed three coins into my hand.”
“Really?” His eyebrows rose to his hairline. “You’re kidding?”
“I’m not kidding.”
