Page 77 of Pretty Plaything
“Gold, with a brown leather strap.”
“Wait here.” I break into a run.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back!”
I rush to get a notepad and a pencil. Alessandro looks at me in surprise when I return.
“I can sketch it,” I say. “Just give me as many details as possible.”
I expect him to laugh and tell me I’m crazy. No one ever thinks anything I can do is actually useful, so why would he?
But I’m already used to my brothers ridiculing me, so I’ll get over it.
“Okay,” he says, his face serious.
“Okay?” I blink at him.
“Yeah.”
I stare at him for a few long moments.
He’s not mocking me or pranking me. He’s serious.
“Describe it to me,” I say.
When I’m done, Alessandro takes my notepad. “Wow. It looks exactly like in my head.”
A satisfied smile curves my lips.
He pulls out his phone and aims his camera at the notepad. “It’ll be easier if I can just search for it. But it’s probably just a figment of my imagination and not a real thing. I’ve seen plenty of watches.”
“It’s still worth a try,” I say. “Maybe it leads you somewhere.”
“Only if the watch is rare.”
“It might be because of that design on the strap.”
“If it even exists.”
I wait as Alessandro focuses on his phone. A few moments later, his frown deepens.
“What is it? Did you find something?” I inch closer.
He’s staring at a photo of a guy in a suit, and he zooms in on the watch on the guy’s wrist.
Alessandro and I exchange a look.
“It’s the same,” he says. “I’m sure of it.”
“Who’s the man?”
“Some businessman. Mauro Fabbri.”
“Do you know him?” The man has dark brown hair and light blue eyes, and he’s about my father’s age. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen him anywhere.
Alessandro shakes his head. “But it looks like the design on the strap is actually his family crest.”
