Chapter Sixteen
chapter sixteen
CAIO
People chat around me as I mindlessly wander through the ballroom. There are beautiful flower arrangements on top of every table, brightening up the room. The tables are left bare, the wood giving a rustic look to the room tonight. Stefan did an exceptional job with the decorations as I knew he would, and people seem to be having a good time talking and mingling. My eyes sweep the room and I notice a few people from out of town that I visited last month in preparation for tonight’s event, and I smile at my success in getting them here. The more people at these events the better, and every year is a bigger success than the last.
“ Ciao , Caio!” A hand claps on my back as Leonardo Romano comes into view in front of me.
“Leo,” I shake his hand.
“What’s with the formalities?” He says before pulling me into a hug, chuckling as he slaps a hand on my back.
If I’m honest I wasn’t sure that he would show tonight. Leo runs a high-level security company, and I haven’t seen the guy in years. I decided to send an email to him about tonight’s event just in case he’d be interested, but I didn’t know if he would show.
Leo’s parents used to live in Ruby Cove, so he pretty much grew up here. He moved away to start his firm, and before it really took off, he would come back and forth quite a bit, but once his company got busier and well known we stopped seeing him as much, and then his parents moved to Tuscany after buying a vineyard, meaning that Leo didn’t have much reason to come back.
Rafael and I have spent many late nights with him at the bar. He was a huge part of my support system when I first landed here, so it’s good to see his face after so long.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” I admit.
“Of course I’m here, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see you again.” He’s got a warm smile on his face. The guy is like a hard candy, soft on the inside when you know him personally, but he has a hard shell. He’s a cheeky bastard at heart, but you don’t want to get on his bad side. He takes his work incredibly seriously, leaving no room for error, and he runs one of the top security firms in the country, looking after some of Italy’s elite.
“I haven’t visited enough since Mamma passed, so when I got your email, I thought it was the perfect opportunity.”
“Well, you’re definitely a sight for sore eyes.” I smile before my eyes search the room once more, but nothing catches my eye, more like no one. I’m waiting for a certain brunette to walk through those doors.
Isla said she’d come with May and Marina tonight as they’d all get ready together. Marina decided to bring May as her plus one, so I’m not sure how much time I’ll get alone with Isla tonight. I haven’t seen her since she whizzed out of the lift the other night so I don’t know what to expect when it comes to how she will act around me tonight.
“Leo?” Rafael’s surprised voice brings me back to the present as he wraps Leo in a hug. “Who let you in here? I thought you were banned from town events after your last incident.”
The incident he’s referring to would be the last time we were all together like this. It was the Ruby Cove anniversary gala and Leo got kicked out of the event after he drank a bit too much and threw a punch to a guy who was getting a bit too pushy with the woman next to him at the bar.
“As if that was going to stop me from being here tonight. Besides, no one remembers that, anyway.”
“Everyone remembers that,” Rafael and I echo in response.
The guy in question turned out to be a married man and when Leo exposed him for being a bit too pushy with a stranger it turned into the biggest scandal this town had seen in years. I’m surprised it wasn’t in the local papers.
Leo’s attention fades from whatever Rafael is saying as his gaze snags somewhere behind me, and I don’t need to turn around to know what has caught his eye as he lets out a low whistle, causing Rafael to follow his gaze. I can feel Isla’s energy in the room before I even see her.
“That one’s taken,” Rafael says, throwing an arm over Leo’s shoulder, and I turn around to see the girls coming through the door before they spot us and head in our direction.
Any conversation the others are having sounds galaxies away as all of my focus draws to one spot, to one woman.
I think everyone’s attention does.
She has the ability to captivate the whole room without even saying a word.
She’s magic.
The world around me fades away as Isla walks towards us. She’s wearing a silky dark pink dress that hugs her waist, before the flowy fabric falls around her legs. Her silky hair is pinned up at the base of her neck with a few careless waves framing her face. My eyes take their time drinking her in, top to bottom. When my eyes trail back up her chocolate brown gaze is holding mine. She smiles a little, and I mirror her, except I can’t stop my own smile from taking over my entire face.
“Oh, he’s pussy whipped, isn’t he?” Leo says from beside me.
“He hasn’t had any pussy to be whipped to yet,” Rafael fills him in from my other side. “But the boy can dream, can’t he?” He lays a hand on my shoulder as he chuckles to himself. I shrug him off as my feet begin walking towards Isla.
I hold out a hand to her as I get near, and she reaches for it without hesitation. I raise our hands high, prompting her to spin and she does just that. Giving me an extra moment to admire her and notice the very low back on her dress. She smiles up at me when she comes back to face me.
“Hi,” she says quietly.
“You look beautiful,” I tear my gaze from hers to acknowledge Marina and May on either side of her, “you all do.”
Marina gives me her signature warm smile before switching to roll her eyes. “When did this one get here?” She gestures behind me.
I look over my shoulder to see Leo and Rafael walking up to us with mischievous looks plastered on their faces, no doubt making jokes at my expense.
“ Ciao , ladies, I’m sure you’ve heard tons about me, Leo Romano,” he says like the dickhead that he is. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen Leo in a while. Any cool exterior he usually has is shed tonight, it’s good to see.
May assesses him with narrow eyes. “Mmm, no…nothing at all actually.” She tips her head to one side.
“Let me remedy that.” Leo grabs her hand giving it a kiss.
“Such a gentleman,” she says, making a point to look directly at Rafael.
Marina snorts a laugh before pulling Leo in for a hug. They’ve always had a soft spot for each other, and Marina is the one person who can get through to Leo when he’s being an asshole.
My attention is brought back to the girl in front of me. “Would you like a drink?” She nods in response.
“We’ll get you all a round,” Leo says, prompting us to leave the girls as we head to the bar.
Leo calls the bartender to order before leaning back against the bar. “How about the blonde, huh? She’s got a bit of fire in her.”
“Not that one,” Rafael snaps.
“Oh, so it’s you that’s pussy whipped, is it? Didn’t see that coming Raf,” he smirks at me.
“Fuck no, but that doesn’t mean you should be either.” He downs his glass in one gulp before setting it back on the bar top. “I’m going to check on the team.”
Leo and I stand with our backs to the bar watching him move through the crowd towards the kitchen where his team is doing the catering.
“Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it?” Leo can’t wipe the smirk from his face.
I bump my arm into his. “Come on.”
We weave our way through the increasing number of people back to the girls. I spot Marina and May standing around a table, but no Isla.
“Where’s Isla?” I ask before we even reach the table.
“She went to the bathroom, but she’s been a while,” May looks in the direction of the bathrooms. “Maybe she got lost or caught up talking to someone.”
“I’ll go check on her,” I say to no one in particular, before heading back through the crowd.
I enter the hallway to the bathroom, but I can’t see Isla. I can’t exactly go into the female bathrooms, so I decide to wait here.
After leaning against the wall for what feels like an eternity, the door finally swings open and Isla comes walking out, but I don’t miss the way she’s sniffing or the tear tracks trailing down her cheek as she walks out with her head down, and I can’t stand it. I stride towards her and reach her in two steps cupping her cheeks in my hands.
She startles at my touch. “Oh! Caio, you scared me.” Her eyes are red around the edges when she looks up at me.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I swipe a rogue tear away. “What happened?”
She looks up at me with conflict swimming in her eyes like she’s not sure whether she should share anything else with me.
“I was on the phone with my brother.”
“Okay…”
She looks everywhere but at me, her eyes scanning our surroundings before her gaze finally reconnects with mine. “I just miss him, I haven’t seen Miles in a really long time, and I was supposed to see him on this holiday.”
I nod, not wanting to interrupt her.
“He was who we were supposed to stay with you know,” she gives me a watery smile, “He’s that accommodation in Sorrento that fell through.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to thank him profusely when I meet him.” I let my hands fall from her face and step back, giving her a little space now that I know she’s somewhat okay, even though all I want to do is wrap my arms around her and stay like that for as long as she’ll let me.
“You probably know who he is anyway,” she says. “Miles Beckett.”
The puzzle pieces slowly connect in my mind, I should’ve guessed from the last name. I’ve met Miles before, shook the guy’s hand at a function in Sorrento. He’s a high-profile pilot, if I remember correctly, and a really nice guy at that. I look back at Isla now taking notice of their similarities, or their lack thereof. I like knowing this small piece of information about her, about her family.
“I do,” I say simply.
“Well, that’s my brother, now you know.” She says she misses him, but something in her manner and the way she’s speaking feels almost resentful?
“Anyway,” she diverts the conversation. “We should probably get back out there.”
“So you’re okay?” I need to be sure.
She nods giving me a forced smile. I hate those, I want the real ones, the ones she can’t hold in even when she tries her hardest.
I know in my bones that she’s not really okay, but she’s right, we need to get back, and I don’t want to draw any attention to her being upset.
“Okay, then let’s go. I have to make my speech soon.”
“Your speech?”