AllFreeNovel
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“I’m good. It’s all yours,” Alessio shoved the bag in his hand and Fred practically danced away to his buddies, before they disappeared inside the yacht. The engines started and I looked out at the port to find we were slowly moving out. Oh, shit.
“Looks like we’re partying, Flora,” Alessio chuckled when he saw my face. “Come on, let’s get you a drink.”
We made our way up to the top decking of the yacht and sat back on the cream padded floor cushions, taking in the view as the boat cruised around the island. The party was in full swing as people danced, drank and laughed together. No one seemed to be taking any notice of us as Alessio threw his arm over me and pulled me into his side, sipping his beer.
“Do you always have a bag of cocaine on you?” I eyed him suspiciously as I spoke in Italian so the partygoers wouldn’t understand me. He cast his gaze down to meet mine. I wasn’t a fool. I knew he was part of a huge drug trafficking system, just like Giovanni. I wasn’t naive to where all their money and power came from. But Giovanni never touched the stuff. It was one thing selling it, but using it as well… I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with that.
“Si,” he replied. “You never know when you might need to bribe someone.”
“So, that’s the only reason you have it? Not because you do it?” I tried to keep my voice calm and non-judgemental.
He chuckled deeply and shook his head, “I’ve never touched drugs in my life, Elle. Wouldn’t fucking dream of it. Ruins people’s lives.”
I blinked up at him and I could tell he was telling me the truth, not just what I wanted to hear. I relaxed back into his chest and rested my head against his shoulder.
“I would have loved a party like this for my 21st.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. My papi died two weeks before my 21st. No one was in the mood for celebrating. Giovanni did take me out for lunch though. He was the only one who remembered, even in his grief.”
Alessio sipped his beer silently behind me, deep in thought and I craned my neck to look up at him. “What did you do for your 21st?”
He frowned, thinking hard before he spoke. “I was in Thailand. Flo and I share a birthday and her favourite animals are elephants so I took her there to feed and ride them.”
“That’s so sweet,” I spun around. “Did you not do anything for yourself?”
“I watched a pretty disturbing sex show. Ping pong balls were involved. Not something I would recommend.”
“Urgh, gross!” I scrunched my nose and he laughed, pretending to bite it with his teeth.
“O.M.G! Are you guys Italian?” A shrill British voice screamed from next to us. We both looked up to see three girls, all wearing skimpy bikinis, perfectly styled hair and full faces of makeup. They were all gorgeous and beamed down at us with wide eyes and opened mouths as if we were the most enchanting thing they had ever seen.
“Si,” Alessio answered and they practically swooned. I pursed my lips together as one was already twiddling her blonde hair around her finger and another was giving him ‘fuck me please’ eyes.
“I swear the Italian accent is like the sexiest thing on this planet! And you guys are so hot! Where are you from in Italy?” The middle one asked again. She seemed to be the only one who realised we were actually a couple as the other two continued to devour Alessio with their eager eyes. A small rumble of protectiveness swelled inside me, but mostly, I just found it amusing.
“Um...” I looked at Alessio in question and he shrugged, “Roma.”
“Rome? The city of romance? Oh, that is just perfect. I have always wanted to go. I think I will next summer,” the bubbly brunette with a straight-cut, shoulder-length bob sat down next to us on the pillows and the other two joined her. “So, who do you know here?”
“Lucy,” Alessio smirked, sipping his beer. “And Fred.”
“Oh, that makes sense! Well, I’m Kitty. My real name is Catherine, but everyone calls me Kitty. And this is Ava and Willow.”
“Hi, nice to meet you,” I smiled at them all, although Ava and Willow barely removed their eyes from the man next to me to acknowledge my presence.
“I’m going to leave you ladies to chat and grab another beer,” Alessio suddenly said, climbing up from the floor. I glared up at him with a ‘Where do you think you are going?’ look. “Have fun,” he winked as he walked away.
I gave Kitty a polite smile as she beamed back at me like she had just found her new best friend, but the other two were busy watching Alessio stride over to the bar where a few men were standing. I watched as he effortlessly breezed up to them and started a conversation. So much bloody confidence.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Ava asked with curiosity as she reluctantly looked back at me.
“Um, yeah. I guess. I mean we’re not exclusive or anything but yeah,” I muttered, taking another drink.
“He is fucking gorgeous. If I was you, I would snatch him up in a heartbeat before someone else does,” Willow replied, shuffling up the sun bed so they were now all surrounding me. I glanced over at Alessio as their words sank in. Obviously, I knew he was gorgeous and of course, I wouldn’t be the only one who could see it. The sudden idea of someone else having all his attention or kissing him or even touching him, made my stomach tie in knots and a strange sensation to rocket through my body. I shook my head. I had never been a possessive person.
“I’ll bear that in mind,” I replied with a smile. “So, are you all friends of Macy’s? The birthday girl?”
