Though Vincenzo hadn’t been around to overhear our conversation, he seemed to understand the situation without it having to be explained to him. He collected the two babies and stuck them back in the box, heading back toward wherever they were being held.
Then I bolted.
Sometimes, I surprised myself. How fast I could run, how light I was on my feet. And when being chased by an even quicker Italian who was not only taller than me but had five times the amount of muscle, or more, my feet sensed the threat. I was not so dense or so inexperienced to know that he couldn’t catch up to me though.
Still, I refused to make it easy on him.
I was angry. So damn angry! Running felt like the right thing to do. It sent a message—You’re here! Well, I hope you didn’t expect me to come fawning just because you decided to show up. I was the one who had been left behind to wait, to worry, and nothing was worse than being the one left behind to wait and worry.
He had given me his word that he would discuss any major decisions. Using himself as a decoy constituted a major decision.
Surges of wind blew against me and the skirts billowed out, flapping like a parachute. This should’ve slowed my momentum down, but I was so full of rage that nothing short of a tree trunk to the face was going to deter me.
Wrong, but just about the same thing. He hooked me around the waist right before I made it to the edge of a small hill. My feet caught air, and he swung me around, skirts whirling.
There were times when I realized that marriage had matured me. Other times…I wasn’t so sure that it hadn’t made me unsteady. Unhinged, was probably the right word. It brought me back to those times when I was still that young girl being chased by her brother’s best friend.
I attempted to pry his vise like fingers from around my waist, but it was no use. Settling was my only option at this point. So I slapped at him.
“Let me go!” I yelled.
“It’s good to see you too, Ballerina Girl. A bit colder reception than I like, but not totally unexpected.”
“You jerk! You ass!” I went on and on, until I had exhausted all the words I was willing to call him. My legs dangled and every so often I tried to kick him.
He backed us up, taking rest underneath a lone almond tree full of white blooms. It was bare at the bottom, all of its blossoms isolated to the top, like a bush of hair.Mandorla, as they are called in Italy, were dotted all over the hillside, pretty pops of white and pink against the rolling slope terrain.
“Finished?” He asked, but it wasn’t really a question.
I dangled like a rag doll in his hands for a few minutes, neither of us speaking or moving. Once the red haze of anger faded some, I felt something stabbing me from behind and realized…the thrill of the chase had turned him on.
At least he missed me… No, I refused to be sidetracked by his almost inhuman charm. He could entice a panther into submission. Or use physical force if that wasn’t enough, which it usually was.
“Put me down.”
“You’re going to run.”
“No.”
“Hit me then.”
“Inyourdreams.”
He silently shook with laughter. It pissed me off. He thought I was cute when I was mad. My temper tantrums were one big joke to him, which meant that he didn’t take my feelings seriously.
“Tell me if this is going to be a calm and rational discussion.”
I lifted my chin up, refusing to answer.
He tucked his face in the curve of my neck, and I tried to move but there was nowhere to go. If I was being totally honest, I didn’t try much. He felt so good to me, so warm and so comforting. He squeezed again, this time to bring me closer. He inhaled, breathing me in, placing gentle kisses along my neck. “God, I’ve missed you. I love you, Scarlett.”
“Put me down or I’ll be forced to go back onmyword.”
“You’ll run.”
“No, hit you.”
He sighed but let me go. I rocked on my feet, regaining my sea legs after a short but intense storm.
