I reach over and squeeze his clenched fist. I hate that he feels that way. No one should be made to feel that way around family.
“I’m sorry you feel like that, Lucca. You and Gio seem to have a good relationship.”
“We do. The best.” Lucca sits forward and covers my hands with his. “What Giovani did last night, spoke up for you to our father, he has never done that before. He always tries to keep the peace. But when I heard him sneak out late last night… well, I was glad he did. It was a big fuck you to our dad.”
“I don’t want to hurt Gio, Lucca. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to jump into a relationship again. What’s that saying, ‘once bitten, twice shy’? Well, I guess you can say I’m bloody petrified of being in that position again.”
“The difference is that Gio will never hurt you, and if he ever did, I’d kill him for you.”
We both laugh and the dark cloud that loomed over us is lifted and the sun is shining brightly.
“So, Gin-ology, huh?” Lucca takes another slice of pizza, changing the subject.
“He told you?” I can feel the heat creep up my cheeks, because I hate being put on the spot. “I didn’t think anything about the name when I said it out loud.”
“Stop being nervous, it’s only me. And he did tell me. We both love it. I haven’t told Gio that I love it yet, but I’ll let him sweat it out a bit, wondering if I’m going to contest the name.”
“You’re mean.”
Lucca shrugs and winks at me. “Gio would think there was something wrong if I wasn’t a wind-up merchant.”
We sit in silence for a few moments, eating the remainder of our meals. It’s nice to have company other than my family. I might have been on the edge about coming on holiday myself, but it has opened a multitude of opportunities for me. Opportunities I’m looking forward to exploring more of over the coming weeks.
***
I’ve spent a couple of hours here at the pool while Lucca and Giovani work. Lucca didn’t want to leave me alone after our lunch, but I made him go because I’m a big girl. I love spending time at the pool. It’s one thing I do a lot of on holiday, but this time I’ve had so much keeping me entertained that the pool has been the last thing on my mind.
My phone rings in my bag and I reach under my lounger to retrieve it. I don’t look at the caller ID and just answer it. The sun is so bright where I’m sitting. I sit up and put my hat back on.
“Hello.”
Silence. Heavy breathing soon startles me, and I pull the phone from my ear and see caller unknown written on the screen again. This is the first time I’ve had anything other than silence. The heavy breathing rattles me.
“Who is this?” I ask rather abruptly.
I’m getting pissed off that this is happening on holiday. I’m supposed to be relaxing, but these calls are putting me on edge. I look around the pool, but all I see is elderly people sunbathing, people swimming in the pool, and kids playing on the grass. There is nothing out of the ordinary and the phone call goes dead.
I pull the phone away and look at it like it’s going to eat me. I just want to know who the hell is calling me several times a day.
“Hey.” I don’t look up. I’m transfixed on the phone in my hand. “Harleigh?” Someone’s hand lands on my shoulder and I jump, dropping my phone to the floor. “Shit. I didn’t mean to make you jump.”
The figure bends down in front of me. The fogginess clears from my head and I can see clearly.
“Gio…” I breathe out with relief.
My heart is racing, my throat is dry, and mouth feels like it has sandpaper in it.
“Hey. You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I shake my head. “I’m okay.” I straighten up.
“Babe, talk to me. Who was on the phone that’s got you so worked up?”
Gio sits down on the ground and takes my hands in his, rubbing circles over the back of my hand.
“It was just the silly calls again, heavy breathing and nothing else. It just got my back up. I’m being silly.”
“And you’ve no idea who it is?”
