Stella
To his credit, Matteo kept his shit together when Mariano raced me on his horse. Then Marciano on his dirt bike. Maestro, keeping up with the fun, raced me on foot. None of them beat me, even though I had a feeling even Maestro could beat me. I laughed until I cried at how ridiculous they were to let me win, but they were all game for it.
A grin lingered on my face as the Vespa threw up dust and I followed a line of tall, slinky looking cypress trees.
Matteo had pointed and called onecipresso. He also said they were known as Mediterranean cypress or Italian cypress. He said they were common in this area, especially striking, and were used as windbreaks. I loved them. Seeing one would always bring me back to this place, and maybe because this was my first stop after my prison break. Tuscany felt like home. It felt safe, even with the nutter with the gun from yesterday.
The line of trees I was following climbed, and so did the small bike, but it didn’t seem to have a problem with the haul. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but Matteo didn’t give me directions, so I just went wherever the land took me. It was pretty cool how the villas were so spread out, but it didn’t take long to get from oneto another. Wherever we were going seemed to be directly across from Matteo’s parents’ place.
The last one I’d ventured to belonged to Apollonia, Scarlett and Brando’s neighbor, who was a good cook. She was going to give us a bunch of what she calledbaccellito bring back to Scarlett. But when she noticed no basket on the Vespa, she gave Matteo a frown, then said she’d bring them over later. I had no clue whatbaccelliwas or were, but when I asked Matteo, he told me they werefavebeans. I knew what beans were, but I’d never hadfavebefore.
I stopped the bike for a second. “Should I go back?” I asked.
“Up to you,” he said, kissing my neck.
I lifted a shoulder and smiled. I loved going down, because I could goweeee, and gravity did most of the work for me, but I was wondering what beauty was up ahead. “I’ll keep going.” The bike continued forward with my touch, and at the end of the long driveway, I stopped, allowing the dust to settle, and in awe at what was standing before me.
A breathtaking villa.
“Who lives here?” I whispered.
“That I’m aware of, no one.” Matteo pulled out his phone and spoke with who I thought was maybe Saverio, then hung up and stepped off the bike.
I couldn’t take my eyes away from the villa. It looked almost like a castle. It was so romantic and timeless, but I could tell it needed a lot of work to bring it back to its original time of glory. I happened to look over at Matteo, wanting to see if he was as awestruck as I was, but he was looking at me, holding his hand out. I set my hand in his, and after he enveloped mine in warmth, I entwined our fingers together. He took the helmet from my head with his free hand and hung it on one of the handlebars.
“Are we exploring the property?” I whispered, a thrill going through me at the thought. I wanted to. I wanted to see what it looked like on the inside, and what was planted all around the property. Apollonia had an extensive garden, like Scarlett, and not even going to lie—it made me a bit jealous that they could make things grow and then feed their families from the harvests.
A serious look had come over Matteo’s face, and I wasn’t sure why. “Sì.”
I used my free hand to wipe a bead of crystal sweat from his forehead. He seemed to melt into the simple touch, and I seemed to melt at him melting. One touch, intimate or not, and his eyes told me he was falling even harder for me. I didn’t think there was a net in this galaxy big enough, or strong enough, that could catch me. I was too far gone, already crashed into his arms.
It was almost scary to think about.
Somewhere along our short journey, I had come to an irrevocable conclusion.
Without Matteo Leone Fausti, I couldn’t live.
It didn’t even feel like a choice.
I followed his lead, and we checked out the outside of the property. From one area, I could see his parents’ villa, and he laughed when I waved. No one could probably see me, but it felt right. It was hard to look away from the view. Tuscan hills seemed to roll on for miles, all different colors of green, mixed in with the bright colors of wildflowers, spread out before us like a real-life painting.
Matteo took my hand, though, and we explored.
The property seemed to have five buildings, a main one surrounded by smaller ones, all made of golden stone and stucco. Some of the shutters were hanging askew, and the gardens were all in ruins. But Matteo said the olive trees were in good condition, and the fig trees were too.
“In the states,” he said, pointing at a fig tree, “that’s the mark of an Italian house. Fig tree in the backyard and a stone statue of Mary praying in the front.”
I let out a warm breath, releasing it to the even warmer air. I looked around. “All we would need is a statue then.”
I felt the heat of Matteo’s stare and met his eyes.
“What?” I asked.
His thick eyebrow cocked up. “All we would need.”
“Oh!” I laughed, realizing what I’d said. “I was just thinking aloud, playing the pretend game.” Something I was too…not embarrassed, but something close to it…to admit to him. I played the game a lot when I hated cleaning for Régine and her daughters, or I had too much time on my hands in the dungeon of their French mansion. “It’s been fun to see us here. It’s so peaceful.”
He led me to another area and pointed. “Prime spot for a pool.”
