Chapter 5
Francesca
“We're here,” Stefan's low voice summoned from—somewhere. I was currently walking down the aisle on Nick's arm. Stefan's eyes had just caught sight of me—and I watched his expression change.
“Chesca, wake up.”
The nighttime wedding faded before my eyes as I blinked.
Bright sunshine hit me, and I shut my eyes again. When I opened them back up, I saw Stefan's door was open. A small brick building stood there. “Is this your apartment?” I asked and poked my head around him. That was when I saw a glass window with the block letters, “FARMACIA” on it.
“No,” Stefan answered with a laugh. “It's a pharmacy. I have to pick up a couple of things. Come in and meet the owners.” He undid my seat belt and slipped out. Then, he reached out his hand to me and helped me out.
The small pharmacy was attached to a long row of similar buildings. People moved from one shop to the next, talking and laughing as they went. Stefan pulled me toward the door. A bell jingled as we entered.
Stefan was right. It definitely was a small pharmacy.
Two walls on either side were filled with various products on bookshelf-type cabinets.
Down at the end of the narrow store was a small counter with a register.
A gray-haired woman looked up from what she was reading.
“Ah, Stefan! Ciao!” she said in an excited tone.
She hurried around the counter and came directly to him.
Stefan didn't let go of my hand but still embraced the woman with his other arm.
He said something in Italian to her that I didn't understand. Obviously.
The woman stepped away and smiled at me. She grasped my left hand, her eyes widened. More Italian words and then a loud, “Elio!” And more fast-spoken words I didn't understand.
An older man—who I assumed to be Elio—emerged from the back and spotted us.
“Stefan!” he said even louder than the woman had.
And then he, too, hustled around the counter and made his way to Stefan.
He hugged him and patted his back. Stefan said a few words to him, and then the woman held up my hand.
The man stopped dead.
And stared.
An enormous smile covered his face as he let go of Stefan.
Both of his hands shot up as he let out an enthusiastic yell and moved over to me.
Elio wrapped his arms around me and hugged the heck right out of me.
For real. I could barely breathe while a flurry of Italian words flew out of his mouth and the old woman's, too.
When he finally let go of me, she hugged me too.
Stefan laughed. “Grazie,” he said and then added, “Francesca, this is Olga and her husband Elio. Olga and Elio,” he slid his arm around me and said, “this is my wife, Francesca.”
I gazed up at him in shock. It was one thing to call me “wife” in private. But it was a whole other thing to introduce me as his wife in public. Especially to people it seemed that he liked. And who obviously adored him.
Olga said, “Congratulations, Francesca. You've found yourself a good man.” Her accent was strong, but I understood her without any problem at all.
“Sì, Francesca. My wife and I are overjoyed. Congratulations,” Elio said.
“We've been waiting many, many years for this man to finally settle down.”
Oh, boy. Did these people have this all wrong, or what? I couldn't exactly blame them. Stefan had started it. And these nice people only knew what they'd been told.
“Thank you,” I said in a soft voice. “Your store looks lovely. How long have you been here?”
Olga and Elio looked at each other briefly. “We got the store from my father. And he got it from his. So—” Elio started counting on his fingers, “A really long time.”
We all laughed. Elio was so animated when he spoke, it made me feel right at home.
“Anyway, what can I get for you two?” Elio clapped his hands together. And stepped back.
Stefan said something in Italian, and Olga nodded. She turned and headed back to the counter.
Elio led us to what looked like the pain reliever section. Stefan and Elio talked for a few seconds before Elio nodded and left us alone. Stefan picked up one box. And then he grabbed a different one. And then another one.
“What are those for?” I whispered quietly.
Stefan gazed down at me. “Pain relievers,” he said and then reached for one more box.
“Do you have a headache? Or an aneurysm?” I frowned at all the medications in his hands.
Olga laughed—right in my ear. I jumped. I hadn't heard her walk up behind us. “She is perfect. Is she not?”
Olga looked at her husband, who was also laughing as he nodded. “Perfetto!”
“Mia cara,” Olga said as she held up a few kinds of feminine pads. “Which ones do you want?”
My cheeks heated but I powered through the shock of being confronted about feminine hygiene products by a stranger—in front of Stefan.
I pointed to a couple of them. I wasn't exactly in a position to refuse. I had no idea how long I was going to be stuck here. All I had were the ones I grabbed from the plane.
“Thank you, Olga,” I said gratefully.
She smiled and nodded. “Of course, of course. Anything for Signora Sovrano. Is there anything else I can get?”
I wasn't sure if this was the right place to get it—but if not, Stefan would have to take me somewhere else. And soon. “Actually,” I said and bit my bottom lip. “There is. Do you have the morning after pill?”
Her smile dropped, and she looked at Stefan. He instantly said something to her in Italian, and she turned and walked away.
“They don't have that here,” he whisper-yelled at me and frowned.
“Fine,” I snapped back. “I assumed that since this was a pharmacy, that they might have it. That's all. You don't have to have a cow over it.”
Stefan shook his head and walked up to the counter with his billion bottles of pain relievers. I actually might need one now. I felt a headache start at the back of my neck.
Olga gave me a kind smile and put everything into a shopping bag. Stefan paid while they all spoke to each other in a language I didn't understand.
“Thank you, Francesca. Come again. Any time. Yes?” Elio said with a wave.
I nodded and thanked them both. “It was nice meeting you. Hopefully, I'll see you again sometime.” That made Olga and Elio burst into a chorus of laughter. I had no clue what they were laughing at, though.
“Oh, you'll see us, Francesca. You'll see us.” Olga smiled widely at me.
“Okay.” I gave them a quick little wave and turned around to leave. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. The bell rang again when I opened the door. Stefan followed behind me.
The door had barely closed when I said, “Where can I get the morning after pill?” I looked down the street to the right and then to the left. I couldn't read any of the signs. After a moment, I looked up at Stefan. He was just staring down at me—saying nothing.
“What?” I asked, but he didn't reply. “What's your problem?”
He swallowed. “Right now?” His eyebrows raised. “You.” Then he jerked his head toward the limo. “Get in.”
I stepped out of the way as a group of people walked around us. “There has to be a bigger pharmacy here somewhere.” My hands flew out from my sides in exasperation.
Stefan leaned down, inches from my face. “Get in the fucking car, Francesca. Before I pick your gorgeous ass up and carry you there myself.”
Yikes.
Stefan was mad.
And I had no idea why.
Jerk.
I rolled my eyes and stomped off toward the limo. Well, as much as you possibly could stomp in fabulous heels. The driver opened the door, and I said a quick, “Thank you,” and jumped inside.
I slid over and buckled my own seat belt before Stefan had a chance to. Let him chew on that for a minute.
He sat down beside me and opened the bag as the car started moving. “What kind do you want?” He dug into the bag and pulled out the bottles of pain relievers one by one.
“I don't know. Which one works best on a headache caused by a man?”
His eyes narrowed. “I'd assume any of them.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored him.
Or at least I tried to. The fact that he wasn't as panicked as I was about getting the morning after pill was really ticking me off.
Wasn't he worried? Wasn't he freaking out?
What if I'd been ovulating last night? This disaster could suddenly turn into an even bigger disaster if that were the case.
I turned to him. “This is just as much your fault. You could have worn a—” I peered up to make sure the partition between the front seat and us was still closed.
And it was. Even so, I whispered the word, “condom.” I swallowed over my dry throat.
“You can't tell me that a man like you doesn't have a stash of them somewhere. Don't you?”
He tossed the bag and the rest of the contents onto the seats across from us. “I do. What's your point, Francesca?” he said each word slowly.
My head fell back, and I exhaled in a huff. “Then why the heck didn't you use anything?” Stefan didn’t seem to care all that much at the moment. But I bet he would in nine months.
There was no delay in his answer. “Because I didn't want to.”
I shook my head and looked out my window. “Oh, my gosh. You're impossible.”
We drove like that for a while. The small town or village that we'd been in so briefly fell behind us. There was nothing but mile after mile of beautiful, bare land all around.
No pharmacies. No stores.
And the clock was ticking on how much time I had left before the pill would no longer be effective.