Sighing, I followed Atta to the bar. Remo followed me.
Sam, the silver-haired owner of Gold Rush, met us and asked what we wanted to drink—they were on the house, since Ms. Atta was getting married. This was a celebration. Then he asked if she would sing.
“Get a drink in me first, Sam.”
He laughed and slid a couple of shots on the bar. Remo eyed Sam and the drinks suspiciously. I would have set my arm on his, letting him know Sam was okay, but I knew better than to touch Remo. Mariano would have his arm for that.
I spoke to Remo in Italian and told him Sam was a family friend of the Watt family. He did not say anything, only gave me a subtle nod, although it did not change the look on his face. After the burn of the first shot fizzled out, a glass of Jack and Coke slid toward me.
“For you, Ms. Sistine.” Sam smiled at me.
I did not drink often, but it felt like a night for it. I needed something to smooth the rough edges out. My eyes hooked on the dancers, and my feet started to tap to the beat.
Willa laughed next to me. She and Atta’s friends from Nashville were already flirting and having fun. If Willa’s theme song was an upbeat tune, mine was one of those weepy ballads where the woman lost the greatest love of her life, and she pined for him by smoking, although she did not have the habit, and going home and letting her dog fill the emptiness.
I did not do any of those things, but…the melody was the same. I was, perhaps, boring enough to lose the greatest love of my life, because even he had an exciting past.
TheCasanovaPrince.
I caught Atta by the arm before she made it to the stage. She looked at my face and grinned. “Easy on those Jack and Cokes, Sis. I see it in your beautiful eyes already. The dance floor isn’t ready for you.”And neither is your husband, I thought she added in a whisper.
“I am boring,” I said.
“You’re hot?” She leaned in and still shouted.
“No, I amboring.”
Her eyes searched mine. “You are not! Who told you that? Willa?” She went to charge toward Willa, but I grabbed her arm.
“No one told me that. I just figured it out.”
“You’re already drunk, Sis. That’s the whiskey talking.” She pulled me in for a hug. “You know I wouldn’t feed you bullshit. I’m not that kind of friend. If something doesn’t look good, I say,Try something else.You’re too good for those clothes.There are enough clothes out there, you know? Why settle?”
I looked down at my outfit.
She smiled at me. “That dress is lucky to haveyou,” she said. “Look…whoever you feel you are, Sistine Fausti,” she whispered, “own it. So what if you’re not like Willa? I could spend the rest of my life by your side. I can only tolerate her for a little while. She’s not the easiest pill to swallow. And not everything is as it seems. Sometimes people cover who they really are with glitter and fun.” She squeezed my hand. “You want to sing one with me? Sam would love it!”
I smiled. “You’re right. I’m already too drunk.”
“Lightweight!” She planted a smooch on my forehead and then, with five Fausti soldiers behind her, made her way to the stage.
I was not sure why I felt…not like myself. I had never considered if I was fun or not. It did not matter to me. I had a job. Create pieces of jewelry for my family, for the Fausti family. I had my side interest in attending all the country concerts Italy had to offer. Enjoying time at the Watt Ranch while in Wyoming. Even singing to the baby animals.
I laughed at myself when I thought of how some of them ran from me, except for Rocky, who gazed at me with a glazed look in his eyes, and I realized then…how odd I was.
Iwasodd.
Odd and quiet and reserved, although I was spirted, as my family called me. I did not do well with bullshit and had a temper when it rose to the surface.
Then Mariano Leone Fausti charged into my life.
He told me the earth bled for me—bled all its colors around me.
If so, it was not until he nicked, shattered, its skin for me.
He saw me in a different light than the rest of the world. Even than I saw myself.
Whenever I looked in the mirror, after his heart collided with mine, I could spot the difference. I could see the colors he so clearly saw, and perhaps they gave me a glow I had never had before. Still.
