Page 13 of The Strength Of A Woman

I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t play a role in this story, too. And since I didn’t volunteer to be part of it, as she did, the two of us must be connected somehow.

She and I, as well as the person she had talked to, must be entangled in some way.

“Yes. Something did happen,” I say as calmly as I can. “Do you know anything about a party in Taormina? Two weeks from now. It celebrates the beginning of the summer.”

Her eyebrows slide up.

“No. It’s the first time I’m hearing about this.”

She studies my frozen expression.

“What?” she murmurs.

“It was everything they talked about at lunch after they rambled on about some other unimportant issues. It felt like a setup.”

“I have no knowledge of this.”

I gesture weakly in response to her defensive stance.

“I’m not questioning you. I just need to know if you have heard anything about it. Something important will happen at this party, and I want to know what. I need to be prepared.”

The woman shakes her head in confusion, waiting for me to elaborate.

“What do you mean?” she eventually asks.

I ponder whether to tell her.

Do I trust her all the way? Is Nona safe from my family’s pressure? What if there is something they can hold over her and force her to play their games?

Will it serve me in any way if they know that I know about their secret conversation? No, I don’t think so.

It wouldn’t change their plans, but it might make my life even more difficult and stop me from fighting them.

I shrug.

“Nothing. I thought you could help me with this,” I say, and my eyes break away from hers.

She quickly closes the space between us and touches my arm.

“You do believe me, don’t you?” she asks, and I lift my gaze to her. “I don’t know anything about it,” she reiterates, eyes glinting with apprehension.

“I believe you. Don’t worry,” I say softly, the ghost of a smile pulling away from my lips.

The moment of distrust between us is brief before I shift the topic.

“I need your help with something.”

Her eyes enliven in response.

“Sure. Anything,” she says. “What do you need me to do?”

I sigh before I speak again.

“It goes without saying that this conversation stays between us. That’s one. And then, I need to know where I can find Callum. I assume he stays in town.”

An expression of defeat slides over her face.

“Is he still in Italy? I thought he’d left,” she says, and my pulse races.