“Why not? Think of the fun we could have dancing the night away.”
He closed his eyes. “Do you ever give that mouth of yours a rest?”
“Oh dear, am I annoying you?”
He clamped his lips together.
“The last time I danced was at Siena’s engagement party,” she said. “I don’t remember you being there.”
“I was unavailable.”
“Why?”
“Work.”
“Did you go to the wedding?”
“No.”
“Unavailable or not invited?”
“Unavailable.”
“I didn’t go either. I was really looking forward to it and all the parties and fun stuff that were being organised for it, but I came down with the flu the day we were supposed to travel to Accardiano. How unfair is that? Still, at least I didn’t have to see my uncle dying in the church.” Lorenzo Esposito, the most powerful man in Italy, had suffered a fatal cardiac arrest minutes after discovering his daughter had been jilted at the altar. “Did you know him well?”
“Well enough.”
“I didn’t. I only saw him for big family events that he insisted we go along to. My parents couldn’t say no, what with him paying for our home and stuff, but they never wanted to go. They were always worried that one of us would be abducted. Ironic, right?”
“The only ironic thing is that you’ve lived long enough to be abducted.”
“That’s not what ironic means, Mr Vicario.”
He sighed. “I know. I’m just amazed no one has drowned you.”
“I’m sure Artu would love to drown me. Normally I save my annoying behaviour for him because he’s an arsehole, but I’ve never had to actively work at being continuously annoying like I am now. It will be a challenge keeping it up for a whole week, but as a lowlife gangster said only an hour ago, nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“And what do you hope to gain by being a complete pain in the arse?” he asked roughly.
“Let me think… No, I can’t think of anything other than having some fun at your expense.”
He’d twisted his body and put his face right in hers before he could stop himself. “Just because I cannot physically harm you does not mean there aren’t ways I can damage you, so do not push me.”
“And how are you going to damage me if you can’t touch me?” she asked without a shred of fear. “Lock me in a dark room? Put headphones on me and force me to listen to screaming babies? I’m not afraid of the dark, and I can tune sound out…” She smiled. “That’s what you need to learn. How to tune out noise. I would offer to teach you, but then I’d lose all my fun.”
“You have a very warped idea of fun.”
“So I’m learning.” She inched her face forward so they were eyeball-to-eyeball. “Who knew being kidnapped could be so much fun? And to think, our fun’s only just starting.”
Francesca stopped torturing Gino when they reached Milan. She’d spent the last hour explaining in minute detail the plot of the crime series she was currently reading, very much enjoying his rigid body language as he tried to ignore her, but the lights of the big city at night were just too spectacular for her not to want to soak it all in.
“It’s beautiful,” she commented, awed as she glimpsed the Duomo in the distance. “And look at all the people…” The streets were bustling with groups and couples out for the night, the energy strong enough for her to reach out and touch. Everyone looked so stylish and glamorous, too. Francesca had always longed to be stylish, especially when in the presence of her effortlessly chic cousin Siena.
“Can we go shopping while I’m here?” she asked, keeping her face virtually pressed to the window.
“No.”
It was the first response she’d had since she’d started boring him with book plots.
