"I wish you could have too."He tells me as he spools the window down."I think he knew about my sex life.Although I paid to keep it quiet, he could have paid more to know about it and probably did."
I lay my hand on his bicep and give it a gentle squeeze.As he enters the code for the gate and it swings open, I see a small sign that reads "English only."
"Why the English only sign?"
"Because Zita is American."
"Oh!I just assumed she spoke fluent Italian too."
"She does, but Bob and Ann don't."
"Oh!Well, that makes sense then."
"Affirmative."He grins at me and then says, imitating his Grandpa's accent."Welcome to the Farm."
I giggle at that."Can we ride with the windows down?"He doesn't answer.He puts my window down too.I look out over the beautiful landscaping."It does look more like a sprawling Texas Ranch with the white picket fencing than an Italian Villa."
"That's why we nicknamed it, The Compound."He smiles at me."My Grandfather loved his Texas Ranch, and when he moved home to Italy, he brought as much of it with him as he could.The main house is a replica of his ranch house, and the cabins are replicas of his first house.Mine is the first one.Ann's is the second one.Everyone else will be staying up in the Big House."
"How many will there be?"I ask curiously.He cuts his eyes at me, and my panic button is pushed again."Never mind!No need to know."
As we get closer, I see the sprawling ranch house sitting on top of a small hill.It overlooks the pastures and is made of white and gray stone with gray roof tiles.To the left are a giant red barn and matching stables.To the right is a rustic wood cabin with a front porch with rocking chairs.
Aurei takes the drive to the cabin and circles behind.It is surrounded by its own white picket fence and covers roughly 3 acres.It is breathtaking!
"Wow!This is a shocker."
The 'front' is actually a false facade, and the 'cabin' is a full-size house.We pull into a separate garage that's connected to the porch of the house by a trellis covered with ivy.
Aurei laughs."Yes, like I said, Grandpa didn't do anything small."He pops the trunk as the automatic garage door lowers."Stay."
"Yes, sir."Fidgeting, I watch as he hauls out my luggage, then comes to get me.
He leans in when he opens my door and offers his hand to help me up.My converse sneakers touch the ground of the compound first, and I place my small hand in his massive one.He pulls me easily to my feet and says."Come on, Shorty.Let's get you settled in."
Without my 6" heels, I feel completely dominated by his towering person, and the Godlike presence he holds in my mind is reinforced.I smile up into his laughing eyes."I prefer Petite Thang, thank you very much."I stick my nose in the air and give him a full drama queen hair toss.
He laughs, grabs my luggage, and tells me."Follow me, Petite Thang."
We exit through a side door and come out under the covered trellis.Early birds chirping fills the air, and the clip-clop of horses being exercised floats to me when we exit the ivy and go up the stairs to the porch.I know from the familiar sound that multiple horses are being ridden.
At the front door, Aurei enters the code.The locks open, and he turns around to tell me."Remind me later to reset this."
He pushes the door open and waves me in.I walk through, and I'm stunned again by what I see.The living area is huge and richly decorated with heavy, oversized, dark leather furniture—a man's decor.Off the left wall are a small foyer area and two closed doors.Probably bedrooms.My eyes travel clockwise and see that on the back wall, there is a small dinette set that adjoins a full-size kitchen separated from the living area by a full-length island counter with bar stools.Continuing my scan, I find a long hallway on the right wall.The end is out of my sight.
"Wow!"I utter, and he laughs as he rolls the luggage in and stands beside me.
"The door there on the left is the guest suite and a bathroom.The door at the end of that hall is my suite."He grins as I try to pass, eager to explore on my own like I did in his Rome apartment."Hold on."He scolds me and holds out his hand."I'm the tour guide this time."
I reluctantly give him my hand.
Opening the door to the guest bedroom, he leads me in, then stops and lets me absorb the details.I see raw, heavily lacquered wood furniture, with different sizes and colors of Mexican-style rugs littering the wood floor, and on the walls hang colorful Mexican blankets.The windows on the left run the wall length and are solid sheets of glass.They are framed as if they are pictures and the view through them is of the rolling pastures.It looks like a picture from a professional studio.The bathroom is across the room.Against the back wall on the right in the center sits a king-size bed.The headboard is large and has intricate wood carvings of Cowboys and horses.Surrounding the bed on the walls are western paintings from oilfields to cowboys.Very masculine.
"Sweet!"I tell Aurei."Who stays in here?"
"No one."He laughs."It's a 'just in case you want a guest' room, and I've never wanted one."
"Mmhmm."I give him my 'I find that hard to believe look.'
