Chapter 7
L EILANI
The sun fades into the sea as the man I most admire walks away, giving me hope.
His words feel like arms pulling me into a warm hug.
As much as I’d love to linger a little longer, I know I have to leave.
And rush.
I know it’s late.
They’re probably getting ready for dinner and asking around if anyone has seen me.
Holding my little purse against my chest, I try to compel myself to move.
I wish I could turn around and walk the other way. Away from this life. This town. The obligations in my family.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to walk away from everything?
Borrow a sweater from an old lady, spend the night in a cheap motel, and then go to a train station in the morning?
Hop on one, and ride it until I reach Rome. Lie about my name and history. Assume a different identity.
A bitter smile tugs at my lips. I probably wouldn’t make it outside Syracuse, let alone mainland Italy.
Someone would snatch me out of the crowd and bring me back.
I’ll never be free.
Struggling to push back my bitterness, I try to shake off that feeling and focus on the present moment.
I need to go back.
Move, Leilani. Move.
I finally snap out of my daze and look around the crowd, looking for a familiar face.
Maybe a man who is supposed to follow me.
One of his men.
All faces look the same to me. And he is no longer visible behind a wall of moving people.
I begin walking, head tilted down, eyes vacant.Bumping into people.
I apologize mechanically, not making eye contact, not keeping track of who is walking past me.
And then something makes me lift my gaze.
As I slide away, cutting my way through groups of people, an omnipresent face seems to be following me.
A strange sensation gnaws at my awareness, prompting me to pick up the pace.
Head on a swivel, I leave the crowds behind as quickly as possible to be able to tell if someone is following me.
If Callum has his men follow me, it’s hard to tell.
It’s even more difficult as the first shadows of the night creep onto the narrow streets.
I opt for a less-traveled path, one that takes me through areas with diminished human traffic and noise.
Choosing that could be good. It could also be bad.
The quieter the street, the spookier the feeling that I’m not alone. Glancing over my shoulder, I check the street.
Anyone could hide in one of those alleyways.
My pulse races as I move my eyes back to the path in front of me and stay focused.
A few steps later, I look back again.The street is empty, a few faint lights glowing behind the windows.
Somewhat relieved, I shift my gaze back, not stopping, not slowing down, and damnit , I run straight into a man.
A scream peels off my lips, swiftly drown out by a man’s chuckle.
Two arms loop around me, and seeing the familiar face in front of me rattles me to the core.
“Julian,” I exclaim, panting, cheeks burning. “What are you doing here?” I ask, stepping back to remove myself from his hug.
A wicked smile tugs at his lips.
“What are you doing here?”
The emphasis on ‘you’ makes my stomach clench with apprehension.
“Nothing. I was taking a walk.”
He drags his stare down, taking inventory of my dress and chest. A sly smile tilts his lips as he narrows his eyes at me.
Julian would be quite a catch if he weren’t the asshole that he is. He’s also not right in his head, and that’s not only my opinion. Anyone who knows anything about him agrees that the man is a sociopath.
Had he started killing, he’d be well on his way to becoming a certified psychopath.
“Do they know you’re here?” he asks maliciously.
He wears summer pants and a white linen shirt open at the neckline with the sleeves rolled up.
A few bangs fall into his eyes.
I stare at him for a moment before setting myself in motion and sliding past him.
“It’s not their business where I am,” I toss at him, pulling away quickly.
“It might be if they knew the truth,” he retorts behind me, and I gesture at him dismissively.
Without looking back, I keep walking.
His footsteps ring behind me before he grabs me by the elbow and spins me around with such a force that I crash into his chest, the swell of my breasts rubbing against his torso.
His eyes dip to revel in the jiggling of my chest.
I pull back, horror-stricken.
“It doesn’t matter whether they know the truth or not. I’ve got nothing to hide. I walked downtown. So, what? What is wrong with you, people? You all act like I’m a spy or something.”
Derision spreads over his face.
Annoyed, I dismiss him with a flick of my hand and walk away again.
“I saw you and Callum,” he barks behind me, this time not following me, only gauging my reaction.
I stop in the middle of the road and turn to him, a hand connected to my hip.
“What exactly did you see? And what exactly are you doing now? Are you spying on me? Don’t you have anything better to do?”
His eyes glint with a naughty smile.
“Everybody knows you have a crush on the man.”
I close the space between us with a few steps.
“So? Why are you so smug if everyone knows I have a crush on him? They also know it’s not real. It’s all a silly joke, Julian.”
His smile freezes on his lips as his stare darkens.
“It didn’t look like a joke to me,” he says seriously, reading my eyes. “Are you two fucking or something?”
“I wish,” I say, the mockery blatant in my voice. “Maybe then you’d know to keep away from me. When did you arrive, anyway? I didn’t see you last night.”
“I’m not here for you,” he replies, no longer smiling.
“No kidding. Yet you’re following me around and questioning me. I’d know my place if I were you, Julian. And try some diplomacy for a change, instead of harassing me. It doesn’t do you any good.”
He stares at me in silence before I deem our conversation over, my warning to him more than fair, and I turn around and leave.
A few steps later, his voice tears into the air.
“Be in my room tonight at ten, or I’ll tell Giorgio and Sylvia that you kissed Callum O’Hara.”
“I didn’t––”
My voice breaks through the air like a broken arrow.
Fuming, I turn around to chastise him, but just as fast, I realize that he is provoking me on purpose to feed the beast in him.
I add something, though.
“Stay away from me, Julian, or you may end up dead like your father. And stop lying, for fuck’s sake. No one kissed Callum O’Hara. You’re delusional. No one will believe you.”
With that, I spin and dash away from him, not once looking back.
Half an hour later, I sneak into the house, run to Rory’s room, and frantically knock on her door.
After a few moments of silence, I try the door, push it open, and peek into her room. Everything is in order, and Rory is nowhere to be found.
As I pivot and head to my room, voices drift through the air.
I need to change before I join them. They’re eating dinner on the terrace.
Depending on how things go, I could say I had an indigestion, fell asleep––it wouldn’t be the first time––or visited town.
Yes. Why not?
No matter what Julian thinks, his word doesn’t bear more weight than mine or Callum’s.
There’s no way anyone will believe him.
Besides, he only used that information to blackmail me.
Sure, dickhead.As if I don’t know your ways.
And speaking of Callum.
This is not the first time the three of us have been part of a disgusting story featuring Julian.
Julian has been lurking in the shadows for a while.
Always moving his eyes over my body. Always looking like he’d like to get a taste of me.
The man makes my hair stand on end. Not because he is an ugly beast–he’s not–but because I have zero tolerance for that type of behavior.
I don’t like his touch on me because I know what it means.
What it’s always meant.
This type of behavior has always come from entitled men who thought they could do whatever they wanted to me.
The door flies open as I push through and walk into my room. Before I get the chance to turn around and close it, footsteps echo in the hallway.
I hope it’s Nona.
She enters the room and quietly closes the door behind her. Her face is blank, her eyes neutral.
“So, how are things?” I ask impatiently as I drop my purse onto a chair and head straight to the walk-in closet.
She sighs first, which means things are not that bad.
“They’re having dinner,” she says, following me into the closet.
“Turn around, please.”
She does that as I remove my dress and review my clothing options. I pick up a pair of shorts and a blouse.
The shorts are not that short, so they might work, and the blouse is like a cloud of silk blown by the wind.
The fabric is cool against my skin, the sleeves moving like serpents around my forearms.
I tie it at the waist and turn to her, fastening my shorts.
“I’m listening,” I say as her gaze dips to my shorts.
“Those won’t work.”
“I know,” I say with the giddy voice of a rebellious child.
She moves toward the rack and picks up a few hangers.
“Don’t be silly. The last thing you need right now is some extra attention on you.”
She speaks and moves quickly, tossing a long pair of pants and a couple of skirts my way.
“The longer, the better,” she suggests.
Her eyes meet mine as I look at her expectantly.
“Aurora told them you took a nap in her room before you went out for a walk. They believed her.”
I sigh with relief.
“Good. Because Julian followed me into town and saw me with Callum. He’s already started to spread lies about Callum and me, which no one will believe. The man was on a date with his girlfriend. What Julian saw wasn’t what he thought he saw. Did they ask you about me?”
“No.”
“Excellent.”
Her eyes move slowly over my face.
“You found him?”
Her voice is quiet, filled with wonder.
I smile.
“When I almost lost my hope. Yes. He refused to talk to me in the beginning, but he eventually did.”
“And?”
“I told him about the party in Taormina. He said he wouldn’t come.”
“That’s it?”
I nod.
“Why was it so important to talk to him?”
Sucking in a long breath, I move closer to her.
“Because other than you and Rory, I have no one to talk to about these things. Although it’s not quite clear to me how all this will work in the end, I’m trying to get his support.”
She arches an eyebrow at me.
“I’m hoping to get some help from him. His word against Giorgio’s means something, not like mine. I have no doubt the man they picked for me is a terrible choice. I’m trying to get out of that, or at least have Callum negotiate the terms of my departure, not my grandfather.”
I dip my eyes to the skirts.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll need to put this red skirt on.”