The party was only getting merrier with time, but I found myself still wanting to keep to the shadows. Mrs. Beaumont had left me at the top of the stairs to join her guests. The hallways to my bedroom was right behind me. I could take off and hopefully no one would notice. There was a ridiculously huge library back there that I could entertain myself in. It strangely felt like just talking to the Riccis had drained me of most my social energy.I headed towards the stone balustrade and placed my forearms on it, leaning forward a little to look down at the scene. It felt very Baroque, as if royalty of the past had come back to life and held a grand ball. Although, I’m sure their parties were a lot bigger.What would it be like to live in a world less complicated than this one? Although I was sure the world before had its own set of unique issues that I wouldn’t want to put up with either way.I needed open space, though. It felt like my ribs were slowly starting to constrict around my l
The darkness in my room was peaceful. I’d pulled the curtains together to keep the moon out. It reminded me too much of him, and that night. The only source of light was the slit of yellow from the slightly ajar bathroom door. My stomach was full from the lavish dinner we’d had an hour after my argument with Cristo. Jenna and Aubrey stuck close by me as I avoided being around Cristo. I didn’t have to try too hard, because he’d apparently left right after I’d abandoned him on the balcony.I lay there with my eyes closed against the comfortable mattress, the soft linen and silk sheets feeling a lot like the ones back in Korea’s hotel.Gosh, it sucked to be there.Sucked to be me.Two more days, I reminded myself. Two days and I’ll be away from all the drama here. I can go sightseeing, have nice food, sleep in a place so different I’ll be completely disconnected from Cristo and Blair.For once in a very long time, I was excited to do my job. Maybe I should work for foreign clients more.
The next day was a whole day of studying the Ricci family and their preferred suitors and family affiliations in the library. He was born in Italy but brought up in Spain with his cousins until he was 12, and then they moved to Netherlands. The mother was loving but strict. The father was more involved in Guasparre’s day-to-day activities. He was the youngest of the three. Loved riding horses, experiment with food, travelling, and clothes. Used to drive sports cars and race on the track until he was 22. Had gotten into an accident when during a race, hence the scar. He had to undergo some major reconstructive surgeries to his arm, and some minor ones to his skull. It was a miracle he survived and retained all of his mind. The most he suffers from is the occasional dissociation and minor gaps in memories which he regains every now and then.They moved him to Italy immediately after.I found the abruptness of their move very odd, with no explanation other than the fact that Guasparre wa
Cristo had showered and left the moment I fell asleep. I felt bad for soiling the very nice sheets of Mrs. Beaumont’s guest room, and I hoped her servants wouldn’t tell her if they found out. Other than that, I’d never slept better in my whole life. I was a little disappointed that my favorite black sweats were ruined, but I just rinsed them out, dried them, and shoved them into a bag to throw into the laundry when I got to Italy.I understood that our troubles weren’t over. Did the sex mean anything? I wasn’t sure, but I had time to figure it out later. It was a confusing place to be in, but Cristo hadn’t let go of Blair, and there wasn’t space in my heart to endure pain from her through Cristo. I could never come to trust Cristo until she left. Plus, after everything that had happened, we still barely knew each other. I didn’t have to confine myself to a hope that one day we’ll get to know each other better. There were no promises.Our one-night stands were accidental at best. Well…
My body was too excited to waste a second in the place. I rested well and woke up early in the morning for some coffee and reading in the garden. There was a waterfall off to the side that emptied into a wonderful multi-level jacuzzi/pool. A river ran in the middle of the garden which had a small pond in the way, housing some beautiful koi. The garden bloomed with lilies, roses, and hydrangea hanging low from the trees. If there was a place heaven looked like, it was this.I watched the sun rising slowly into the horizon as I sipped the last of my tea. My phone beeped quietly next to me and I checked it.‘If you’re awake, we’re gathering for breakfast’, Ariana’s text read.‘Will be down in a minute’, I replied cheerily and slipped into my furry flip-flops. Mrs. Beaumont had told me to treat them as normally as I could, as if it was my own place. We all needed to get used to each other in our natural way of being. It made sense. I knew Mrs. Beaumont would often walk around in the Caron
It had been almost a week to my stay here, and it was only one lovely day after the other. Guasperra was really cooperative in his interviews with me. I had a very solid personality profile to go on and a good understanding of his preference. I also now knew the kind of partner he needed.“Are you ready?” Bellona asked at the door way, leaning against the frame. Her light blue floral dress rested delicately on her frame, cinched at the waist to accentuate her beautiful curvy figure.I nodded, “Almost. Just need my earrings.”My hands flailed around the dresser top, in search of the familiar smooth surface of–got it! I pushed the earrings on quickly and stepped back to take a nice look. It wasn’t anything too fancy. A white turtleneck paired with a long satin dress the color of sapphire, and Doc Martens boots. I draped my tan overcoat onto my arm, incase it got too cold.“Is this okay?” I turned to her nervously. She smiled at me softly and pushed herself off the door frame, walking be
“You’re kidding me.”“I’m not kidding you.” He insisted.“You came on a jet ski?”“What?” Rio said a little defensively, “I can’t enjoy a little fun?”“You’re in an expensive suit and you’re exposing it to sea spray.”“Are you saying I can’t afford to wash my suits?”“Jesus Christ.”“Hah,” he chuckled, “That’s funny coming from a Lilith.”I was immediately hit by a truckload of memories with Cristo, back when I was in NYC. The park, his parent’s party, the restaurant after he’d dragged me away from Emily.“What in God’s name–”“You can’t take God’s name, you’re Lilith.”Strangely enough, I…I felt like I missed him. Shaking myself out of my trance, I sighed, “Fine, just don’t drop me into the water.”He smiled and picked up a helmet, tossing it to me, “As long as you hold on tight, you’ll be just fine.”I grabbed the helmet and put it on securely. I just hope the sea spray wouldn’t ruin my clothes. I was so glad I’d pulled on warm thermals under my dress. I walked closer to his jet ski
Another week passed with another party in the midst of it. I couldn’t believe how busy I was each day, but it was enough to keep Cristo off my mind. By the time the weekends came around, I was drowning in paperwork, pinning up pages on a corkboard and working out their personality types, setting them in categories, studying their attachments styles and love languages. It was just five suitors so far but Italians were really particular about the kind of families they would be intermingling with on a regular basis. Out of those five, two were crossed out simply because of the personal interviews I had with them. One of them wasn’t interested in Guasparre at all. The other two girls were interested, but Guasparre couldn’t connect with them after I’d set them up for a small meet-up.While monitoring their interactions on a screen from another room, I started to realize in the next week that maybe there was more to Guasparre’s celibacy. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about to ensur