Page 16 of The Billionaire's Vow

“I thought it was Tessa?”

Her mouth formed an “O.” “Remember when you wanted everyone to call you Tessa instead of Adelina?”

I smirked and pushed her arm. “So? I was fifteen and it took only a week for me to get sick of people forgetting to use it. Remember when you got that perm for Halloween that turned your hair into a clown wig? That was only a few years ago.”

She winced. “Ha-ha. No, blame that on the stylist for ignoring me. I asked for waves like Lynn Bracken’s hair from L.A. Confidential, and the stylist claimed she knew it, and I evenshowed her a photo on my phone. But she said the only way she could do it was to give me a perm.”

I wagged my finger. “I warned you. The stylist was a student who didn’t have her license yet, but you didn’t listen. And the rollers she used were way too small.”

She lifted her shoulders. “Everyone needs to start somewhere. I didn’t know I’d look like a labradoodle. Luckily, no one recorded me with their phone. I would’ve been canceled forever.”

Cassidy had lucked out with that because her tantrum had been an award-winning epic performance. She dropped to her knees by the stylist’s chair and let out a wail that I bet could be heard for miles.

I grinned. “It wasn’t all bad. You got free services, shaved your head, and you bought a ton of cute hats.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I got over it. But thanks for reminding me that we both were drama queens when we were younger and know each other’s skeletons.”

I joined in laughing, but then shifted my eyes away as a wave of nausea churned my stomach, remembering my nightmare. Cassidy didn’t know all my skeletons and that was the way I hoped to leave it. “You up for a run?”

She scrunched up her face. “But Mrs. Belfiore said you’re sick.”

I stretched my arms above my head. “Just a headache. The fresh air will clear my head better than sitting in a room.”

I waved for her to follow me, and we went to my bedroom. The dresser still had a few sets of joggers and athletic shoes, and since we shared the same size, I handed her a set to change into. Seeing them made me instantly think of jogging around the estate in Italy. In the evenings, the housekeepers left a flashlight and a whistle for me along with something sweet to work off on my run. They told me it was Rocco’s idea. He was always doingsomething kind, and sometimes he joined me. An image of him in his shorts jogging backwards with wind blowing his hair and the sun on his broad shoulders came to mind. It dug a hole in my chest and sadness crept in. I hadn’t appreciated the little things.What if he’s gone from my life forever?

“Earth to Adelina.”

Cassidy’s hands waving in my face brought me back to myself.

I tightened my tie to hide whatever goofy look I had on my face. “Sorry. Yes?”

Her smile was wicked. “Reminiscing about a good memory?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not really.”

She guffawed. “You’re really bad at lying.”

I blanked my face, but my insides warmed.Rocco said the same thing. “Sorry. There’s so much going on, and I’ve a lot on my mind. Did you say something?”

Her grin broadened. “I did. I was telling you I have clothes in the car, ya know.”

She had already changed into the tracksuit anyway. Which I would have noticed if I wasn’t thinking about Rocco.

She did a spin in place. “I love this house, but your room is so girly-girly. It’s so not you.”

I wasn’t too fond of the pastel floral accents grandmother had updated the room with. Though Cassidy’s comment that it wasn’t me had me curious.

“What am I, Cass?” I asked her as I changed into my jogging pants.

She paused, then said, “You’re more colorful, like that room in the hotel you stayed at in New York or the house in Florence.”

The places were vivid, bright colors and rich mahogany furnishings with traditional and contemporary stylings. What I loved most was hearing Rocco share that the art was from every corner of the world, and in almost all my conversations with hisfamily, they had personally visited. My mind lingered on Rocco; that first day, he showed me around. He never pressed on what made me cry at Pisa until I was ready to share it with him. I liked that. That was what surprised me the most. I could feel so warm with him and so cold without him. That my heart could burn and ache at the same time. That was what I felt for him.

“Where did you go this time?” Cassidy said, breaking my inner spell again. She pulled her hair in a ponytail.

I blinked rapidly, then picked up my shoes. “Do you want to eat first?”

“Come on, Lina. No one eats before a run unless they want to get sick,” she said tying her shoes. “What had you staring off dreamy, could it be Rocco?”

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