Page 70 of The Mafia's Captive

He grunts and changes the subject. “We have the rest of the day together. I thought maybe you might want to see a bit of Tuscany. I can be your tour guide. What do you want to see?”

We are in Tuscany, after all. “The Leaning Tower of Pisa.”

He rolls his eyes. “Sure.”

“What’s wrong with that? I’ve always wanted to visit.”

“No problem with being a typical tourist.”

The drive to the town of Pisa is further from the small town we were in is further than I thought and by the time we reach it I feel a little guilty for taking him this far out, but Dante’s excited demeanor seems to indicate that he does not mind. “Pisa,” he says when we reach the town, “I assume you want to see the tower itself first?”

I nod.

He takes my hand in his so casually and yet I feel like I’ve been jolted by an electric bolt when I feel his hand hold mine. He takes me to the tower as he promised, telling me everything about it, from its history and showing me the architecture inside. “You know a lot about this place,” I say after we exit the building. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you googled all of this.” He turns away from me, as his face reddens. “Oh, my god,” you did a little googling didn’t you?”

“Guilty. But I wanted to impress you. Did it work?”

“It did. The Wikipedia rundown gave you away, however, you should have added a little flare to your facts.” I still can’t believe he wants to impress me, though. Try as I might not to think about it too much, I can’t ignore the warmth inside. I squeeze his hand. “Do you have more to show me, Mr. Tour guide?”

“Let me check my phone.”

I laugh out loud and note that he doesn’t ‘check his phone’ as he says, but instead he takes me to a local gallery filled with beautiful renaissance art by artists I barely recognize but appreciate nonetheless. After that, he shows me around the town, showing me all the cute places and cool stores. Whenever I show interest in something, he goes out of his way to stop and inquire or explain more about it. At one point we enter a cafe and order some of the best latte I’ve ever tasted as well as delicious cannoli. This is the best time I’ve ever spent with someone and as we’re sitting in the cafe, I tell him. “Just in case I forget to tell you, thank you.”

His gaze focuses on my mouth and he leans over and brushes the top of my nose. “Cream,” he says I blush. He adds, “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed this tourist-ridden city before, but somehow, whenever I’m with you, everyone disappears.” The more he keeps saying stuff like this, the more my resolve falters.

There’s not much to do after that and we head back to the villa soon after. I’m so exhausted from the trip that I sleep throughout the journey and I’m only woken by the car coming to a stop. It’s already dusk and Dante’s gaze is on me when I wake up.

“Don’t tell me you have something more planned for me tonight.”

His face, which was confident only a few seconds ago, clouds with worry. “Are you tired? I only had a small dinner planned. I can cancel it, if that’s what you want.” He seems so unsure it’s only right to put him out of his misery immediately. “As long as now one else is invited.”

His gaze brightens as he shakes his head.

“Great.”

♠

Dinner is a sumptuous affair with some of the Italian dishes I recognize, as well as others that I don’t. Dante had the chef prepare food for the both of us before he left and it was up to Dante, on his insistence, to serve me. After we’re done, Dante takes the wine bottle and two glasses and we drink slowly by the fire. We were sitting separately, but I don’t know how it happened exactly. But at a certain point during our lazy and tipsy conversation, I find myself sitting beside him with his arm around me.

“I wonder,” I say after staring at the fire for a while, “if you we would have been together if it weren’t for Jesse stealing your money.”

He shifts his weight, but doesn’t let go of his hold. “Probably.”

I look up at him. “Probably?”

He nods, facing down at me. “Corina, I’ve been obsessed with you ever since you first started working for me. I’m sure at some point I would have found the courage to do something about it.”

“Ever since I first worked for you? That can’t be true.”

“You were working on the main floor the first time I saw you and I was giving an investor a tour. It felt like I had been hit by a truck. I froze for what felt like hours and all thoughts except one flew out of my head. After that, I learned all that I could about you, all that was in your employee file, that is. I immediately became obsessed.”

“What was it?”

“What was what?”

“The one thought?”

“Oh.” He takes hold of my chin and draws it to face him. “That I had to have you, no matter what.”

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