I hoped he knew in my own way I was saying thank you and that I cared too.
* * *
My feeling that the weather might get cooler in the evening was right. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t as warm as it was earlier. It was breezier, a slight chill in the air holding a smoky scent.
After Naz and I ate, we explored Rome for a few more hours, mostly the boutiques.
On the way back to his place, he gave me his word he was going to take me to Orvieto, only a day trip from Rome. He thought I’d enjoy it.
I nodded, but it did make me wonder…was he giving me his word because he knew he couldn’t break it and that meant he would have to keep me here longer or bring me back at some point—if he let me go?
Beni was hanging out on Naz’s side of the building when we got back. The weak spell had taken it out of me, and maybe the past couple of days had too, so I decided to take an hourriposo(Naz explained it was the Italian equivalent of the Spanishsiesta, though I wasn’t sure if I got the times right or the season; I just liked to use the word in a sentence to describe what I was going to do) before we left for dinner.
Naz was firm on the time and told me he would wake me up if I slept too long. He was anxious about feeding me again. I got the feeling he was going to put himself on a schedule—reminders to feed the wild bird before she passed out.
That was exactly what I did. I removed all my clothes, slid underneath the cool sheets in his room, because he insisted I’d be more comfortable in his bed, and knocked out.
When I woke up, Naz stood in the doorway.
“All is well,uccellino selvatico?”
“Yeah,” I croaked. “I feel much better.” It felt like I had slept for centuries and woke up as an Italian princess in this one.
The only thing I struggled to remember, though…was he with me at any point? I sort of remembered him running his hand underneath my nose, his fingers against my pulse… Damn. Maybe I knocked out so hard he thought I was dead.
“Molto bene.”
“Is it time for me to start getting ready?”
“Sì!” Beni shouted from somewhere in the penthouse.
I smiled and jumped out of bed—and froze. Naz’s eyes did a slow perusal of my naked body before he turned and walked away, shutting the door behind him. I dressed and went to run to the room he had put my things in, but my things were already in his room. I picked out my outfit, grabbed a robe and my things, and then jumped into the shower.
When I got out, I had my hair wrapped in a towel and my body in the silk robe. I spread my makeup on the counter and set my perfume down. I screeched when one of my favorite songs came on in the penthouse.
Neil and I joked that it was my anthem. It was fucking written for me.
I used my hairbrush as a microphone and started singing to myself in the mirror, dancing some. A dark shadow moved behind me, so fast, I flung my brush at a solid chest and smacked it with athunk!
My hand came to my chest in a slap. “Shit!”
Naz’s eyes were moving all over the place, like he was looking for something to kill. “Where is it?” he demanded seriously.
“Where is what? My heart? I’m pretty sure it jumped out of my chest and is hiding underneath your bed.”
“Speak clearly,” he said, apparently in no mood for sarcasm or witty metaphors.
It dawned on me. “You thought I was in trouble?”
“You screamed.”
“I screeched. A little.” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to sound like someone was killing me. I was just excited about the song.”
He became completely still, like he had just noticed it. “This one?”
“Yeah. It’s my anthem. I love it!”
He handed me my brush from the floor, and I started my routine again. He stood there watching me, like I was an entraining alien he was going to befriend or maybe send back to…planet Ava. I stuck the brush close to his mouth, hoping he would sing into it. His eyes moved slowly from mine to the makeshift microphone, and it was like he had no clue what to do with it.
