Page 19 of The Sting of Love
“How about this… I’ve been thinking you needed a break anyway. You’re here. Why don’t you just stay as long as you want?” she suggests.
Awe fills me, and I’m grateful for the comfort in knowing that I have somewhere to go. She’s been in Italy for the last eight years and I’ve visited every chance I got. This was supposed to be a visit like the ones of the past but I was so messed up when I left LA. I never even bought a return ticket home.
“Thank you. I’m grateful, but I don’t want to impose.”
“Are you kidding? Besides, you’re my kid niece. You’re supposed to impose. Having you around doesn’t make me feel so old.”
“You are not old.” She’s forty-five. There’s no way she thinks she’s old.
“I know. That’s what I’m saying. I don’t want tofeelold. We can go shopping together and talk about men all day.” She perks up. “Speaking of whichMissy… where did you go last night?” She eyes me with narrowed slits.
At the mention of last night, I think of the man I’m supposed to be trying to forget.
“Out to the beach,” I lie.
She quirks a brow. “I was worried sick, Willow. Don’t you do that again. It’s not safe to go out like that in a country where you don’t even speak the language. And no phone either? Girl, that was not good. I get that you didn’t want to talk to anybody, but that bordered on dangerous.”
“I know. I just flipped and freaked out. I needed a drink.”
“A drink? Thought you said you went to the beach. But you wouldn’t have stayed at the beach all night… would you?” She looks at me like she’s piecing things together.
I can almost see her mind working. My cheeks burn as I watch her try to figure out what I might have gotten up to last night. It doesn’t take much for my aunt to figure me out. She always could. She always knew when I was lying, or trying to cover up something. I lost my virginity when I was twenty-one. I hadn’t seen her for months, yet she took one look at me and knew straightaway that there was something different about me.
She’s doing the same thing now.
“Oh my God, Willow, did you spend the night with a man?” she gasps.
Christ… I don’t have the heart to lie, and I’m not sure I should tell the truth either. I’m almost not ready to confirm it out loud that I absolutely did, and the guy wasn’t any old guy either.
“Um… well,” I stutter.
Lurlene’s eyes widen even more, and a smile fills her face. “Oh my God, you little minx. You weren’t even going to tell me. What’s he like?”
“Gorgeous,” I answer and tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“Was he from here?”
I nod. “Yes, but he lives in Chicago too.”
“Wow, this is too juicy. Tell me more. Are you going to see him again?”
“No… I can’t.” I shake my head.
The smile falls from her face. “Why not?”
I look at her deadpan. She’s always serial dating and doing her one-nighters. She shouldn’t ask me that question.
“It was just a one-night thing. I won’t see him again.” I definitely won’t be going to the club anytime soon either, or anywhere near it. I did what I was supposed to do. Leave quietly and get on with life.
“Well, it’s good you’re getting back on your horse. But I suppose you’ll have your pick while you’re here. Italian men are just divine. I can’t get enough.” She stands and tosses her hair over her shoulder in true beauty queen style. Lurlene will always and ever be just that. She looks perfect in her little top and tight jeans. She barely looks a day over thirty, and she knows it. “I’d better go, darling. My stallion awaits. If today goes well, I might not be back until Thursday, so the place is yours.”
“Lurlene, today’s Sunday.” I chuckle.
“I know, honey, but Lorenzo has a vineyard, and he’s adamant that I haven’t seen a real Italian sunrise until I watch it from aboard his yacht, so I’m gonna see what this man is talking about. Unlike you, I’m taking my phone, and if you need me, I’ll be hurrying back, hunkety buck.” I laugh, and she bends down to plant a kiss on my forehead. “Don’t worry, my dear niece. Things have a way of working out.”
“Thank you.”
“Call me if you need me. And eat something. Italian men love to have hips to hold on to.”
