Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
V eronica
“Hi, Rupert. Sorry, I didn’t know you were already there. I thought you were joining them later,” I said, staring at his handsome, sun-kissed face and muscular chest.
Both Spencer and Rupert were gorgeous, but there was something about Rupert that warmed my heart and instantly brightened my mood. He was kind, thoughtful, and more controlled than his hot-headed brother who most women in this country swooned over.
“I think we need to talk, Veronica. Where are you?” Rupert asked as he grabbed Laura’s phone and walked away.
I’d been in Rome in the past few days. Right then I was sunbathing by the pool at my hotel. Earlier, my mother had asked over the phone why some random, yet elegant looking man had taken her to a private clinic for a checkup. Apparently, a few days ago she was also moved to a hotel by some lady who’d announced that Banks Construction was renovating her flat, claiming that my boyfriend had arranged it all. Mum got so emotional, and I didn’t know what to say.
Rupert must have made the arrangements when he was with me in Gloucester. I felt so down that I’d intentionally avoided him for a few weeks. I just didn’t want to face him after Vincent had threatened to ruin him and his family.After spending all this time thinking about everything, I still wasn’t sure how to approach the situation.
“In Rome, handsome, but we’re going to head to Sicily in a couple of days. Just don’t say anything to Laura. She’ll hate me, plus I don’t want to bother her while she’s clearly enjoying herself out there. Maybe your brother will finally make a move and shag her.” I chuckled.
He marched off with Laura’s phone to talk to me in private. I didn’t even know why I was suddenly so nervous and a little jealous of Laura. My roommate had two gorgeous men with her while I was stuck with Jess who’d flirted with every available guy since we’d gotten here.
Rupert dragged his hand over his jaw, and it seemed he was frustrated with me. Maybe even angry, which didn’t surprise me.
“What the fuck are you doing in Rome? And what’s with all the secrecy? I thought we were fine and then you suddenly stopped taking my calls. What the hell is going on?” he asked frustrated.
All right, so he was angry with me. Luckily, Jess was at the bar, so she wasn’t eavesdropping, as usual, when I was talking on the phone with someone.
“Listen, I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you, but I needed some time to think. I knew you were going away with Spencer, so I didn’t want to interfere too much,” I explained, but his expression didn’t change. “I knew we were going to see each other soon, and I just thought it would be better if it were a bit of a surprise.”
“You say you are coming here … to Sicily? When? Fuck, woman, you were driving me bloody insane with all that secrecy. I miss you, baby,” he growled.
I shifted on my lounger as an unexpected heat enveloped my core. I’d missed him so much, too, but the Russian beauty brand still hadn’t contacted me about that brand deal. I had a feeling they weren’t going to offer me this job, which meant I’d have to keep working in the club until I’d saved enough to quit.I didn’t look forward to that conversation with him. He already gave me the ultimatum with how things were to work with him.
“Please try to enjoy yourself. I’m here with Jess, who is kind of annoying. I’ll text you when I’m on the island, but for now you have to trust me. I have a plan in place,” I assured him.
Jess had no idea what I was planning, and yes, I’d missed him like crazy in these past few weeks. There was so much I wanted to talk to him about.
“Fine, whatever, Veronica. Just answer the phone the next time I call you,” he said then added, “Show me your bikini. It’s killing me that you’re parading in that thing outside while other guys are ogling your gorgeous arse.”
I giggled then lowered my phone to show him my body. I knew I looked hot wearing one of my latest skimpy purchases that I’d snapped up online, and it was fun to see how Rupert’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He was making me wet looking at me with that pained expression.
“You have no idea what you’re doing to me. I think of you constantly, baby. You know there isn’t anyone else, and I’m not working at the club right now,” I assured him. “I’ll call you later in the evening. Maybe we could have some fun through a video chat.”
“Damn it, you’re going to make me insane. I can’t walk around the pool with a massive erection, woman.” He looked so hot when he was angry. “I’m hanging up now. Goodbye, Veronica.”
I leaned back on my lounger, worried. Vincent’s threat loomed over me, and whenever I thought about it, I got really anxious. He wanted to get his hands on all the recordings, and I still had no idea how I could gain access to Rupert’s laptop. I didn’t even know if he had them with him.There was so much that was unknown.
Rome was a fabulous city for a break. Jess and I had visited all the historic sites, tasted the most amazing Italian food, and met interesting people. Unfortunately, this morning she mentioned she was already bored and we needed to head somewhere else. We’d hardly been in Rome a week and we didn’t have anything planned, so I suggested heading over to Sicily. A night before, Jess had gone out to a party without me. She came back in the early hours of the morning completely wasted, basically ruining my vibe. Jess was wild, and if she kept this up, I’d leave her sooner than I’d intended.
I stayed by the pool while she slept, then went on to grab some food as she was still fast asleep by midday. Then in the evening, she showed up unexpectedly with two Italian guys, all dressed up and ready to go out.
“Veronica! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Come on, these guys are taking us out for a party,” she said.
“What party? We agreed to leave tomorrow. Remember the plane and Sicily?” I asked, thinking she must have lost her mind if she thought I’d go out tonight.
“Oh, come on, Veronica, you’re such a party pooper. These guys are hot, and I really want to shag Federico, the tall one. You can have the other one for yourself,” my already slightly tipsy friend said.
The guys looked too young and high—and I wasn’t interested. I was done with summer flings since my past trip around Europe.Look where that ended up.
“No, Jess, we are not going with them. They are high, and God knows where they might take you. This is too risky,” I insisted because I was looking forward to being tucked in bed early, so I could have video sex with Rupert. He was probably waiting for me already.
Jess was only twenty-two, and she had plenty of disposable funds. Her father was an oil tycoon and owned a multimillion-pound corporation. Plus, she was an only child, and she’d told me flat out that she wanted to party through this whole trip.
“You’re acting like my mother, Veronica, and she was a total bitch by the way. Come on, I really want to shag some Italian hottie,” she complained.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. She’d started to get on my nerves, acting like a spoiled brat. On top of that, Jess was the most stubborn person I’d ever met, and there was no way I could talk her out of it.
“For God’s sake, Jess, I want to have a night in. These guys are not even that good-looking,” I pointed out.I would let her go out on her own, but I was concerned she’d get herself into more trouble than she bargained for.
“You’re so boring, and I really like Federico. He’s sweet and funny. Come on, and let’s have some fun,” she said.
In the end, I gave in and went to change. It seemed that Jess’s new friends were very proactive because there was a car waiting for us outside. Once we got in, I was relieved to see the driver looked more mature and sober, so I cheered up a bit. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t have my sexy chat with Rupert this evening, but maybe Jess was right. I needed a good night out for a change. Once the car started moving, I pulled out my phone and texted Rupert.
Sorry, my immature friend dragged me out tonight. She’s completely wasted, and I have to look after her.
Rupert texted back straight away.
All right, I’m down at the pool with Spencer. Just make sure you text me when you get in. I don’t want to worry about you, Veronica.
I smiled to myself. Rupert was such a good guy. Which made things so much worse. I sighed.
I’ll be fine, it’s Jess I’m worried about. She always gets into trouble. How are things with Laura and Spencer?
The driver put on a song and the two guys, along with Jess, started to sing loudly, giving me a headache.
I read Rupert’s text.
I just gave him permission to go all in with her. Told him to get it over and done with.
I bit my bottom lip and sent him a few emojis before I put my phone back into my bag. Jess was kissing one of the guys—probably Federico, if I remembered correctly. I glanced out of the window, knowing that maybe I should have taken the trip to Rome on my own because now I would have been in my room having fun with Rupert.
On the work front, I’d been honest with Rupert. I didn’t even remember the last time I was required to have sex with a client. It’d been a while, and I wondered if my new boss had anything to do with it. Rupert must be continuing to mess with my schedule, but he would never admit to it. This made me pine for him more. I was so horny. I’d never gone so long without sex, but in the end, this was all going to be worth it because I couldn’t even imagine sleeping with someone else after my experience with the one and only Rupert Banks.
After that party, Jess and I ended up staying another three days in Rome. We both got food poisoning and couldn’t leave our hotel room. I felt like death warmed over. For a few more days, we were both cooped up in our room spewing our guts out. At least we were lucky that the room had air-conditioning, otherwise I didn’t think I would survive in this heat.
I was officially done with my travels and was ready to head back to London as this trip was slowly turning into a nightmare.I didn’t even get a chance to have any video sex with Rupert because I was so ill, and it seemed he had been quite busy, too.
On the fourth day, after getting a full night’s sleep, I finally felt more like myself. I exited my room. Jess lay on the sofa in the living room, texting someone.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, glancing at my reflection in the mirror.
“Good. Should we go and get some breakfast?” she suggested.
“Sure, but right after that I want to catch a flight to Palermo. I’m so over Rome,” I whined, massaging my temple and feeling sorry for myself. My stomach was empty, and I was really hungry after several days of not being able to hold anything down.
Jess got up and tossed her blonde hair behind her. She looked much better than yesterday and seemed in a good mood, too.
“I’m not going anywhere. Federico is taking me down to Positano. He has a yacht there, so I’ll go with him,” Jess announced, to my total and utter surprise.
I couldn’t believe she was ditching me for some random guy she’d just met. Clara would have never done anything like that, but I reminded myself that Jess was much younger than me and she wasn’t Clara.
“Are you sure about that? You’ve only just met him, and I thought you said you wanted us to stick together?” I asked, even though in reality, I was kind of happy that I didn’t have to constantly worry about her. Maybe it was time to enjoy my freedom.
“I thought you’d come with us. Fred said we can drive to Positano tonight and in the morning, we could sail somewhere else, maybe even to Sicily,” Jess suggested with a smile.
That was not a bad idea, and in the past few days after the party, Federico had proved to be a good friend. He even brought a doctor to our hotel room because Jess was severely dehydrated, and he took care of her when I came down with food poisoning, too, so I’d kind of warmed up to him now.
“That would be great, but I want to make sure that your boyfriend is on board with these plans because we’re meant to be in Sicily already,” I reminded her.
“I know but I feel like he might be the one, Veronica,” Jess said.
I laughed, thinking she still lived in dreamland. She’d talked about every guy she met during this trip being the one.
“All right, tell him I’m in, but he’d better have the yacht because I’ll be catching the first plane home if he turns up in a fishing boat,” I quipped.
“He has one. He showed me a picture of it, and it looks amazing. Let me call him now,” she said, sounding so cheerful.
After that, we went down for breakfast. I quickly texted Rupert, telling him about my change of plans. I was so excited that we were finally going to see each other. We’d been dancing with each other for over two years, but the wait was over now. Rupert was my guy, and once I was in his arms, naked, I’d know meeting him in Mykonos was the best thing that had ever happened to me.