Page 68 of The Mafia's Captive

“It’s the least I can do,” she adds. “I hope you don’t mind.”

And here I was thinking she had finally gotten comfortable with me enough to want to use my money. I don’t know why she didn’t want to use anything that was in my name. She hardly spends anything of mine unless we’re at a dinner or event I invited her. She even insisted on going back to work, which I agreed after making sure there would be people on the floor watching out for her safety. I gave her a credit card ages ago, and the first purchase she makes is for my men. “Not at all,” I say. She smiles and whatever apprehensions I had disappear.

“I’m going to Tuscany on business.”

“You’ll be leaving me here?”

“Only if you don’t want to come with me.”

“I do, if you think I won’t be in your way.” I almost want to punch the air with joy. I didn’t realize until she said yes, that I desperately wanted her to. This is it. Tuscany will be my final chance and I’m going to make sure to bring my A game.

25

Dante has been the ultimate gentleman during the trip. And to be fair, throughout the last week. He kept to his promise of winning me over and has so far gone above and beyond. He hasn’t even tried to have sex with me, and I am guessing he’s waiting for me to make the first move in that regard. The only problem is what he’s saying. He’s being nice and chivalrous, yes, but it all seems calculated. I don’t feel emotion coming from him, nor does he even show me that he loves me. For all the time we’ve spent together, he’s never said the all-important words. It is difficult to stay resilient though, with all the ways he’s spoiling me. I must stay on track. At the end of the week, I’ll be leaving Dante and the Grand Palazzo all together.

The car comes to a halt at the front entrance of the Villa. Even without the wedding decorations and the hubbub of that day, the villa looks amazing. The old-world beauty is even more prominent now. We’re greeted by a middle-aged man I saw last time we were here. Dante introduces him as the butler, a pleasant man called Enzo Luciano, or Luciano as he likes to be called. He introduces us to the rest of the servants and leads us inside the house. As we reach the grand staircase in the foyer, Luciano stops abruptly and whispers something in Italian to Dante. Dante responds and we continue. “Anything wrong?” I ask as we make our way up the stairs.

“He was just confirming if he should have prepared two bedrooms. And I said yes.” He looks like he wants to say something else, but then looks straight ahead.

“I hope I’m not getting in your way, me coming here.”

“Not at all. Trust me, I would love some company. I can give you a tour of the place later. If you want, that is.”

“Nico showed me the place last time we were here.”

His face falls. It’s a tiny, almost imperceptible change of emotion, but I do notice it. Was he looking forward to showing me around? That doesn’t make sense. I’m sure he would see it as more of a chore than anything else. I probably read that wrong.

Dante shows me my room, which is opposite his. It’s a sumptuous space decorated in the same mix of contemporary and classic Italian style. There’s a big bed on one end, sofas, a settee next to a window that offers a view of sprawling hills and a door that leads to a large ensuite bathroom. It’s more like a suite than a room. I have a feeling this is the second largest bedroom after the master. I take a shower, put on some clean clothes and a few minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. Dante is standing there when I open it. His hair is wet, and he has changed his clothes as well. Looks like he’s also taken a shower. He looks fresh and irresistibly handsome. “I was just thinking that maybe you might want to eat dinner at a local restaurant.”

“Of course, but I might have to change my clothes.” I doubt my jeans and t-shirt would be great for dinner at some fancy restaurant.

“You look perfect. You don’t need to change a thing.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be the only one wearing jeans in a restaurant where everyone’s dressed to the nines.”

He bellows with laughter. “Trust me, where we are going, you’ll be the one overdressed.”

He was right. The restaurant Dante takes me to is nestled in the middle of a small town outside Tuscany and far away from the usual places most tourists visit. It’s a quaint little town that looks romantic in the orange light of the sun setting. It’s not a rich town, as I can see from some of the run-down buildings we pass by, but it is serene and picturesque. One thing I notice as soon as we enter the restaurant is how most people recognize him. Some even come up to greet him after we’re seated. Even the chef of the restaurant comes to serve us. After the burly man is gone, I lean in to say, “You should have told me that you were a local celebrity.”

“Hardly. But I guess you can say so.” He looks around the restaurant and I follow his gaze. More than a few patrons have their gazes turned towards us, some not even discreetly. “What’s your claim to fame?”

“I helped revive a chestnut factory nearby,” he shrugs. “I guess they give me the credit.”

“Is that the business you came to deal with?”

He nods. “It’s the first time in a long time they’ve been able to produce high-quality goods.”

“Wow. I would love to see the inside of a chestnut factory. What kinds of products do they make?”

He frowns. “You know, we don’t have to talk about my boring business interests if you don’t want to.”

“No, I really want to learn.”

His eyes brighten and as he launches into an explanation of how he got to learn about the town. He was eating at this restaurant and got served great sauce. It was chestnut sauce that was legendary to the town. He became a regular and learned about how it was about to run out because the factory’s previous owner wanted to destroy the factory and building a luxury tourist getaway. His face gets angry every time he speaks about the former owner and the neglect. And it shines whenever he talks about the people. I don’t think I have ever seen him this passionate about anything, not even when he’s gambling, something I’ve learned he likes so much. Even this venture of his can be seen as a risky gamble, but he seems to not take it as such. It’s clear that he’s in love with a place more than any other.

After he’s done talking about all the products they’ve made and plan on releasing next year, he launches into another talk about the employees until he’s interrupted by the chef and two servers coming with plates of food.

“I must be boring you,” he says.

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