Page 46 of His to Keep
With his eyes focused on her delicate hands, he smirked as they trembled with nerves. A swell of pride gave him cause to flex his biceps.
He didn’t know whether the rush of endorphins was lust or an overwhelming sense of superiority, knowing he had the power to turn her insides to jelly.
He craved to unpin her golden tresses, to let them flow over her narrow shoulders. Her hair was her best feature, it didn’t matter that she wore thick black glasses or that her mouth was a little crooked.
None of her imperfections mattered when she had glossy blonde hair, like all his leading ladies.
He loved golden locks. So sexy and perfect.
It angered him when the little shop girl wore it up.
“Hey.” He nudged up his chin when she finally got the nerve to look up at him.
The girl blushed. “Hey,” she replied with a flutter of her lashes and a silly grin stretching wide.
“You work in here every day?” He stepped to the glass counter and rested his hands on the surface.
“Feels like it. I get Sunday and Monday as my weekend.” She chewed her bottom lip.
The corner of his mouth hitched up a fraction as his eyes traced the knotted mass on her head. “I’ll see you around then, sweetheart.” He winked.
“Wait!” She gasped breathlessly. “I’m Jessie.” Her eyes sparkled and her lips parted, waiting for his name.
A sly grin formed on his handsome face. “Ed, I’m Ed Carrel. Nice to meet you, Jessie.”
She threaded her fingers around the ties of her apron and looked up at him under her pale lashes. The glint in her eyes was magnified by her round lenses.
Right now, his priority was punishment. The McGrath men snatched away his girl. They stole what was rightfully his.
They robbed him of his chance to have Lana as his girlfriend. And the bitch went with them.
She left him again.
Maybe he was wrong, maybe she wasn’t worth all the hassle, maybe Jessie was the one for him.
That was a minor detail now because the McGrath brothers would pay for having the audacity to steel from him.
He had connections, old and new, and his plan was coming together perfectly.
21
“Holy crap, Freddy. This place is surreal.” Lana gawped at Villa Veronica.
A remote romantic villa that spread in a vast circumference, high up on the cliffs of the coast, nestled between the towns of Positano and Amalfi.
Wheeling in their suitcases from the blazing heat, they stepped inside the spacious cylindrical hallway, designed with four tall white pillars. The wheels chugged over an ornate polished tiled floor leading to an expansive living space, quadruple the size of Amanda’s whole apartment.
Lana dropped her luggage, walking dreamily through the open room. Framed pictures of thoroughbred horses lined the chalky walls.
Some stood alone in all their splendid glory and others were accompanied by Jamie McGrath. Her eyes quickly darted to the next photograph, then the next, until her search was cruelly rewarded.
Grinning widely, Jamie stood beside his big brother, Marcus. His startlingly handsome face blasted her with a devastating blow. Her head dropped and her eyes quickly left his perfect face. Her heart fractured, splintering her soul.
She continued to tour the impressive villa, marvelling at the interior design that combined traditional Italian features with sleek modernistic finishes.
Passing through a seamless opening created by sliding doors, she gasped as stifling heat burned her skin. Dramatic mountainous terrain housed a mass of colourful dwellings, stretching along the coastline to meet the calm sapphire ocean.
“Welcome. I will take all your luggage to your rooms.” Greeted a lean older gentleman, sporting beige chinos and a cream linen shirt, who quietly appeared behind them as if by magic.
