Chapter Three
chapter three
CAIO
Well, this day took an unexpected turn.
I chuck my keys on the side table as I walk into my penthouse and take a seat on the couch, scrubbing a hand over my face. Despite everything—the long drive back home, the hotel’s newest guests, and Stefan’s pestering—I let out a contented sigh as I settle into the familiar cushions. I love this couch, and I love this coffee table. It’s the perfect distance away that I can kick up my feet and slouch back into the indent I’ve created in the cushions. From here, I can look right out the window to the best view in Ruby Cove. This is my favorite spot to be after a long day, let alone after three weeks on the road for a business trip.
I love my work, and this hotel is my baby. It’s my pride and joy, the thing I am most proud of, but three weeks of networking and I’m nearly ready to hibernate for the next month. It’s good to be home, even if it was a bit delayed.
I was so ready to be back on this couch with a coffee in hand when that rusty, old car came into view. The exhausted part of me wanted to drive right on by and pretend I never saw them, but something gnawed at me to stop.
We don’t get many new people in Ruby Cove, so my interest piqued when I noticed the girls had the back of the car stacked with luggage.
Initially, I’d planned to just simply help them move their car and be on my way, but then Isla refused to accept my help. Actually, she refused my help before I’d even offered it, popping her hip out like she meant business, and I couldn’t walk away. I love a challenge, and that’s exactly what she gave me.
She’s probably kicking herself right about now considering she’s now being dragged into a black-tie event that she was not prepared for, with a stranger, nonetheless.
Speaking of, I need to call Marina.
I haul my ass up out of my comfy spot to pour myself a cup of coffee before pulling my phone out to text my cousin.
Me
you feel like doing a little damage control?
Marina is the closest thing to a sibling I’ll ever have. When I moved to Italy, her parents, Vanessa and Luca, took me in as one of their own. Marina is an only child like me, so they like to refer to me as the son they never had, and they treat me exactly like it. I’ve got a lifelong invite to family dinners, and Vanessa bakes me a cake every year on my birthday with my age in candles on top, but at twenty-eight she’s running out of room for more candles.
Vanessa is my mother’s sister, and my parents always referred to her as the wild card of the family.
She moved to Ruby Cove after meeting Luca on a cruise and delayed going home so she could see his hometown. She took one look at the place and never left, just as I did when I arrived. She’s become a huge part of the community over her years here, owning one of the most popular bakeries on Main Street, and Marina followed suit by opening the only bar in town called Marina’s. A real original name, I know.
Being the only bar in town makes it pretty popular, especially on a Friday night. Most of the town rocks up and all the shops on Main shut up early to get a drink in before the weekend. Marina does karaoke and half-priced cocktails to keep everyone happy. My cousin loves to party, so the bar really is her happy place, and like me, it’s her pride and joy.
My phone buzzes on the counter not even a minute later.
“Hey Marina,” I say.
“What have you done, cousin?”
“Nothing bad.” I set down my mug and start sifting through the pantry for a snack. “Well, that might depend on who you ask.”
“You’ve been back for a whole five minutes, and you already need my help? Someone give me a break. Or a promotion.”
I can’t help but smirk at her comment, because she’s not wrong.
“I need your help with sourcing some dresses for some unexpected guests for tonight,” I say, closing the pantry and giving up on any kind of snack.
“Pleaaase tell me there’s a good story behind this.”
There’s no getting out of this one unless I want her buzzing around all night begging me for info. I sum up the situation as I head to the bathroom and turn on the shower to warm up.
“Okay, I’m in.”
“Really?” I double check. I don’t want to put her out, or piss her off.
“Of course, Caio, I’m on it,” Marina confirms. This time, her helping me doesn’t include lying to her mother, which she is terrible at mind you, so her initial weariness was unwarranted. You could also say our social circle is pretty male dominant, so I know she will be excited to meet Isla and May.
“Thank you so much. I’ll see you tonight.” I hang up before jumping into the shower.
I let the scalding hot water run off my body for a while, only moving to breathe in the humid air floating around my ensuite. With the excitement of this afternoon fading, the exhaustion suddenly hits full force. The drive today killed me. I’m not used to traveling so much anymore; I barely even drive.
Something about Ruby Cove just prompts the idea of walking to get around. It’s small enough that I can get from one side of town to the other in the span of a forty-five-minute walk. But that’s how I like it.
I like getting inevitably distracted by someone I know every time I leave the hotel, which mind you, hasn’t been very often lately, but that’s why tonight will be good. Why it’s needed.
I stare at my reflection in the foggy mirror half an hour later. I’m supposed to be getting ready for the event tonight, but my mind keeps drifting back to those girls. To Isla.
I mindlessly pull my suit out of my closet and lay it on the bed as my mind takes me back to this afternoon.
Her chocolate brown hair waving down her back looked so silky, I just wanted to weave my fingers through it right then and there.
She was bold, and I liked it. Even in a semi-crisis, she was radiant. She held herself tall like nothing was wrong at all, with that silly scarf wrapped around her neck like she was a Hollywood movie star. That scarf that smelled like vanilla and bonfires when it floated over to me. God, was it her perfume? Her shampoo? Whatever it was, I need more of it.
I smile to myself as I think of the way she was cautious of me—as she should’ve been—but there was no way I was letting them go anywhere but here. My impulses decided that before my better judgment could catch up and disagree, but I needed to learn more about that girl.
I arrived in Ruby Cove not much different from them, with nowhere to live, and no one I knew. So something told me I should pass on the generosity that this town gave me back then.
I walk out of the bathroom with my towel around my waist to see Stefan standing in the doorway of my bedroom.
“ Merda !” My hand jumps to my chest. “Stefan! What are you doing here?” Stefan is the only other person who has keycard access to this level for emergencies. Unfortunately, he believes any minor inconvenience is an emergency.
“No need to have a heart attack.” He rolls his eyes. “Did you not hear me calling from the living room?”
No, I was too busy daydreaming about a beautiful stranger.
“Ugh, no matter, but why are you not ready? The decorators are done in the ballroom. We need your final approval. Like now.” He clicks his fingers in a get-your-ass-moving kind of way. Stefan has the attitude of a chihuahua, but that’s why I hired him as my assistant—the guy knows how to get shit done.
“Okay, give me five minutes to get this on and I’ll be down there,” I say, gesturing to the suit laid out on the bed. He sighs as he leaves the room.
I quickly get ready, and with my dress shoes on and my tie knotted, I head out. When I’m halfway to the ballroom, I feel my pocket vibrate. I pull out my phone to a message from Stefan:
Stefan
What is your cousin up to?
There is a photo attached of Marina walking through the lobby with a rack on wheels containing numerous hanging garment bags, and a suitcase rolling behind her.
I can’t help but let out a chuckle as I pocket my phone, grateful my cousin is prepared when it comes to a wardrobe emergency. Her words, not mine. I just hope they’re all ready in time because if I know my cousin, those girls will be her best friends by the time they walk into that ballroom tonight.