Family was complicated—you could bitch about them, curse their name, and drone on to anyone who would listen about how horrible they were. But the moment someone from the outside did it, you bared your teeth. So rather than share how I really felt about Vince Ginocassi, I nodded and kept my mouth shut.
Eventually Juliette went back to staring out the window. “Can I ask you something about the story you told me earlier?” she asked a little while later.
I shrugged. “You can ask.”
“How long do you have to work for my dad to pay him back?”
I was quiet for a long time before meeting Juliette’s eyes. “Forever.”
She frowned. “That’s what I was afraid of. Once you’re in, he swallows you whole. That’s why I had to move three-thousand miles away. Is there anything else he required of you, aside from working as a bodyguard?”
I met her eyes again. “Yeah. Not to lay a finger on you.”
***
The drive from Catania-Fontanarossa Airport to the Ortigia causeway was about an hour. A few fishing boats bobbed close tothe bridge, and up ahead the village looked different than the ones we’d passed on the way. Terracotta roofs and pale stone buildings were stacked together tightly, and domed churches caught the end of the daylight.
When we reached the other side, I pressed the button on the rental car’s GPS, which hadn’t moved since we left the mainland. “I think this thing is frozen. It’s not giving me directions anymore. I’m going to pull over and see if I can get them on my phone.”
“It’s okay. I can get us there.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. My dad and I used to ride bikes down to this bridge all the time to fish.”
“I can’t picture your dad on a bike.”
Juliette smiled. “I can’t anymore either. A lot has changed since those days.”
Some of the streets in the village were so narrow, it was hard to believe they weren’t one way. Juliette’s grandmother’s house was tucked at the end of a tiny lane, hidden behind a set of heavy wooden doors that opened to a stone courtyard with a fountain running in the middle. I figured someone must maintain the place since everything was so neat and tidy. We parked and got out, and the smell of the sea carried through the air.
I looked around. “It’s quiet.”
“That it definitely is.”
I unloaded our suitcases from the trunk, and it dawned on me that Vince hadn’t given me a key. “Do you have the keys?”
She shook her head and pointed to a flowerpot next to the door with a lemon tree in it. “It’s in there. You might have to dig around.”
I raised a brow. “Seriously?”
Juliette laughed. “That’s where my grandmother always kept it. But my father also texted me before we took off. He said the caretaker was coming today to air the house out, and she’d leave the key in the usual spot. He also said she’d pick up some groceries for us, at least to carry us through the first day or two.”
“Oh. All right, good.”
After digging in the dirt for a few minutes, I found the key and opened the door. Inside, the ceilings arched high with dark wooden beams that were probably a hundred years older than I was. All the windows were open, the breeze blowing around sheer curtains. A long, heavy table sat in the center of the kitchen with mismatched chairs tucked in around it. One wall held an oversized cabinet filled with dishes and glasses, and copper pans hung from hooks above the stove. I walked around, making sure things were secure, then told Juliette to wait while I checked upstairs.
She laughed at me. “The tooth fairy can’t even find this place. Trust me, I lost a molar when I was ten and got stiffed.”
I was pretty sure she was right, but I’d much rather err on the side of caution. After I finished sweeping the three bedrooms upstairs, I came back down. Double doors leading to the backyard were open, and Juliette was looking out at a small in-ground pool.
“This is one of only a handful of pools on the island,” she said. “I’m not sure why more people don’t have them. Maybe because the properties are so small, and it’s unnecessary since the sea is within walking distance from wherever you are. But my father had it put in when I was little. I remember it was the talk of the town. Did you bring a bathing suit?”
I shook my head.
Juliette shrugged. “We can pick one up in the village tomorrow.”
While the gesture was nice, the last thing I needed to do was frolic in a pool with Juliette in a bathing suit. My eyes dropped to her T-shirt, and I immediately noticed that her nipples had come out to enjoy the breeze.Yeah, definitely not having pool parties with this woman.
