Chapter 18
ROSE
Iam on the road trip of my life and enjoying every second of it. Julius is surprisingly good company, and I’m loving spending time with him. Part of me will be sorry when this is over, but I’m here now and intend on making the most of the experience – making the most of him.
After a few stops for food and drink, we pull into a hotel entrance where a valet is waiting.
“Where are we?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He shakes his head, and I roll my eyes. “Of course, but what’s the plan?”
I’m hoping like crazy he only books one room, and I’m shocked at that. I’m a virgin nun, not a harlot in training, and I’m mortified at the way my thoughts are heading.
“The plan is to book a room, shower, change and head out to the finest restaurant in town and eat until we can barely stand. Then return to our room, where I’ll run you the deepest bath, while I arrange our flights home in the morning.”
“It sounds–” I swallow my excitement. “Amazing.”
Julius flips the trunk, and the bellboy loads our luggage onto a cart that merely consists of one bag each, courtesy of our shopping trip. He tosses the keys to the valet, and as his hand curls in mine, it’s as if it has always been there.
We head inside the impressive lobby and, as Julius checks us in, I gaze around at the spectacle, noting it’s a world away from the Order of The Holy Mother of God.
I amuse myself by picturing the faces of Sister Agatha and my sisters if they could see me now, and I smile inside at how well things are working out.
I have one year ahead me of freedom, new experiences and Julius Ravera, and in this moment I have it all.
It doesn’t take long, and as we approach the elevator, Julius says in a low voice, “I hope you’re good with heights.”
“I don’t understand.”
I’m confused, and as we step into the empty elevator, despite the crowd waiting with us, he winks.
“You’ll see.”
The door closes and I whisper, “What about the other guests? Why didn’t they get in with us?”
“Because this elevator is only going one way, baby, and they don’t have access to that.”
“You talk in riddles, Julius.”
I laugh softly and almost jump when he reaches out and cups my face in his rough hands and stares into my eyes.
“I want you to have the best year of your life, Rose. I want to convince you to hang up your habit and face life headfirst with no fear. The thought of you confined inside a dark, gloomy convent appears almost criminal. It would be like caging a rare beauty in darkness who needs the light to shine.”
“Julius.” My eyes widen as his tender words wrap around my heart because he appears anything but gentle and kind to look at.
However, he is hiding a beautiful soul inside that tough exterior, and it melts my heart.
There is a danger in his eyes that softens when he casts them my way, and I can’t get enough of his attention.
I have never been drawn to the darkness, but I am drawn to the way he lets me see the light in him.
The elevator stops and it opens into a room, elegant and tastefully furnished, with a panoramic view of Madrid through the windows on all sides.
“Wow!”
I gasp in delight as I move across to the glass, and as I press my hands against the window, he chuckles behind me.
“I’ll take that as a no then.”
“No?”
I can’t tear my eyes away from the view, and he whispers beside me, “You don’t fear heights.”
His hand slips into mine, and he tugs me away from the glass. “Come, you can see it better from outside.”
“Outside?”
My eyes widen because we must be aligned with the clouds up here, and he pulls me toward a set of doors.
“There’s a terrace that runs the length of the penthouse. I’m assured it has the best view of Madrid.”
We step out onto the terrace, and as the warm air hits me, I turn my face toward the sky and bathe in the sunshine that heals even the most scarred heart.
Julius is quiet beside me, and I sigh with happiness.
“I love the sun; it makes everything better.”
He says nothing, and I turn to him, noting the battle raging in his expression.
“What is it?”
I’m concerned, and his eyes scorch my soul as he hisses, “If anything happened to you because of me, I couldn’t live with that.”
“Julius.”
I gasp, and he steps closer, grasping my face between his hands and whispering, “I would kill anyone who puts you in danger, Rose, and I’ll happily suffer eternal damnation for that. For you.”
I’m stunned. I have no words, and if ever I recognized a soul in torment, it’s his.
I should be scared, terrified even at the intensity in his expression, and then it fades almost as quickly as it arrived, and he drops his hand, stepping away with a soft, “We should shower and change. You must be hungry.”
He turns and I have no words.
What just happened?
Like a sheep, I follow him inside, and he sighs. “There are two rooms in this penthouse. You take the one over there, and I’ll set up in the other one. One hour should be enough time, but if you need longer, well, take as long as you need.”
He is gone before I can comment, and as I face time on my own, I am struggling to understand what just happened.
There is nothing to do but head inside the room, but what happened back there has dulled the joy of spending time in a place like this.
If anything, I prefer the beat-up old g?te rather than this opulent palace because I know he meant well, but this is old news to me.
My father was richer than most, and we lived in places like this.
I had everything money could buy, minus emotion.
The only love I experienced was from my sisters and the nuns at the convent.
Now I am once again in a world of material wealth with no emotion attached.
Julius is of this world and is like my father in so many ways except in the way he looks at me.
It’s different. Almost as if he has something to say but can’t form the words.
He is struggling, I sense it; hell, it’s pretty obvious, but I was so captured in the excitement of the moment I forgot to look.
I see it now. The danger, the pain and the darkness. Julius is a tortured soul, and I am not helping with that.
On auto, I head inside the bathroom, and the joy of the huge freestanding tub dims in comparison to my experience of the one at the g?te where Julius ran the water for me to make me happy.
I feel so lonely surrounded by luxury. I always have been. It’s bringing back sour memories that I don’t wish to dwell on, and yet as I sink into the warm sweet water, a lone tear trickles from my eye as I sense my new beginning is merely just revisiting the past.