The football players were head butting a soccer ball back and forth. At this time of the night, the beach was empty save them and us. The small pinpricks of light from the city barely illuminated the rocky shore and the water. Higher up on the mountain, the lights reminded me of flames.
The air was soft and warm. The beach chairs could’ve been king-sized beds. All of the emotional turmoil and the hundreds of steps made me yearn for sleep.
Brando plopped my beach bag down next to one. Since the sun hadn’t come out yet, I left my shorts on but took my sandals off.
Some of the men gravitated toward the soccer players, making small talk and looking at the ball with want. I wasn’t sure the turf here would be conductive to kicking a ball back and forth, but I could see it was coming.
Handing me his shirt, Brando gave me a quick kiss before he took off for the men and the water. Night swimming never bothered him, even when he couldn’t see what lurked below his legs.
I took out one of our towels, rolling it up and using it as a pillow. I used the thin blanket from my bag to spread over my legs. It was bliss having an unobstructed view of the stars right above my head. Sometimes I yearned for a glass ceiling in our villa in Tuscany.
Over the next few minutes the girls all seemed to have the same idea. Violet took the chair next to me. Chiara claimed the one on the other side. Rosaria took one a few seats down, keeping to herself. We hadn’t talked much since the incident with her sister—when my fist met her nose. Rosaria was being quieter than normal, almost hiding inside of herself. Valentina was acting the same way, but her melancholy seemed to have to do with Mitch.
Chiara and Violet started chattering right away, discussing what dresses they were going to wear to a formal dinner Lothario and Bela had planned at a friend’s restaurant.
I let the peace of the night settle over me, opening my eyes to the stars every once in a while, but not feeling the need to add to the chatter or the night in any other way. Among the soothing sounds of the water, a light ping could be heard, one body part hitting the ball or the occasional crackle of the rubber against the rocks.
When my eyes opened again, I knew I had fallen deep asleep, but I wasn’t sure for how long. The world was still dark, but it was growing softer with the oncoming light.
Instead of Violet and Chiara next to me, it was Rosaria. Violet and Chiara were walking along the shore, and Valentina had moved even further down and was asleep. Dario and Carmen must’ve arrived at some point while I was sleeping, and they were hightailing it toward the steps. Her tangerine-colored bikini glowed against her tan skin and wavy black hair. She had the smallest waist I had ever seen, curving into vivacious hips and an ample bottom.
“You almost hum in your sleep,” Rosaria said, looking at me. Her crimson bathing suit complimented her in the same way Carmen’s did. It made her skin glow fierce bronze, setting off her dark, silky hair and green eyes. But Rosaria was more statuesque in build. Her long legs were pulled up to her chest, elegant arms hugging them.
“Are we on speaking terms now?” I sat up some, trying to wake up again.
Rosaria flicked her eyes in my direction. “I suppose.” She grinned. “My sister was wrong for what she said.”
“She was,” I agreed.
“However—” She lifted a hand and then let it fall. “She is still my sister, though she is spoiled and used to getting her way. It will take time for her to get over Dario. She…cares for him.”
We both became quiet, letting the situation with Abree go, attempting to become comfortable with each other again.
Through the fading haze of sleep, I noticed that the world had changed. The men were still at it with the ball, but what had started out as a friendly game seemed to have taken a turn for the serious, sweating, grunting, and in some instances, bleeding.
Rosaria opened her mouth and then closed it. She nodded toward the men. “Pride is at stake now. One of the football players did not realize that Carmen was with Dario. She laughed at one of his jokes.”
Turning to each other, we both raised a brow and grinned knowingly.
“Let me guess,” I muttered. “Dario is off to claim Carmen in some caveman show of ownership?”
“I believe so,bella. He will probably find a secluded spot and make her screamhisname until she can no longer scream. I broke glass once.”
A sigh escaped my lips and then hers. Then we laughed.
I held my arm out. “What about the rest?”
“Our men do not like the football players, after everything that happened in Ireland and Spain. Our men feel they must show them who runsthisplace.”
“I see.” I sucked in a breath when one of the men bit it against the rocks.
“Brutes,” Rosaria remarked.
She watched Rocco more carefully, a look in her eyes and on her face that I couldn’t understand. Longing tinged with regret? Sadness and an air of indecisiveness seemed to emanate from her. “I am leaving him,” she whispered.
I plucked at the thin fabric of the blanket over my legs for a while before I could answer. “Is it…the football player?”
“No. You should know better. We do not leave that type—” she nodded toward Rocco “—for another.”
