Page 152 of Marcello

“Uh… I don’t know,” she said with a shrug.

“Do you not have the app?”

“I already asked the front desk to call it,” she said in exasperation, then tugged on my hand. “Come on.”

We stood outside on the street. The moon glinted beautifully off the Bay of Naples, but we were too busy kissing to notice.

“When do I get to see you again?” I asked when we finally came up for air.

“I don’t know… but I’ll try to make it as soon as possible.”

A taxi pulled up in front of the hotel.

Giulietta was reaching for the door handle when I pulled her back to me. “Hey… I meant what I said earlier.”

“About moving in?”

“That… and I love you.”

She gazed up at me with the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. “I love you, too.”

We kissed one last time…

Then I opened the taxi and she got in the backseat.

She smiled up at me as I closed the door…

And the taxi pulled away.

I watched it go, my heart swelling with the bittersweet ache of missing her already.

I was a goner…

Completely in love.

It was the best feeling in the world.

46

Summer turned into fall, and the next few weeks passed in a blur.

My days were consumed with grueling practice at the motel…

And the nights were filled with passion.

Giulietta was able to sneak out more often. We met at the same hotel every time. We often ate dinner together – and we always had sex, usually two or three times a night.

I kept bringing up the possibility of her moving in with me.

She kept saying ‘no’… but she always said it with a smile, so I kept asking.

I had no idea how I would hide what I did for a living, but I knew I would figure it out.

Cesare wasn’t the main problem.

Fausto was.

If I left Naples, Cesare wouldn’t come after me.