Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Maybe, she'll give him his inheritance early, if I sell this ruse all week.
So, it's not just his business with his brother. Or his brother's wedding. Or his family's respect.
It's half the profits from selling this enormous house, too.
Well, this enormous house minus a villa in Italy. But that's got to be a big number.
Fuck.
So much is riding on us, on me.
I'm not sure I can do this.
I take another sip of limoncello. Then another. Then the drink is gone. "Would it be terrible to ask for another?"
Amara smiles, back to full throated charm. "So American to want a second helping of dessert." She looks to Romeo. "Latin American and U.S. American." She motions for him to fetch a second round.
He does.
Which leaves us alone in the big, empty room.
"This is a beautiful house," I say.
"Is that really how you met?" she asks. "At this divorce party?"
I nod.
"Did he feed you one of those ridiculous lines?" she asks. "You know he hit on one of my friends that way. Not quite my age, thank goodness, though it's not quite as unusual where I come from. Women don't disappear the day they turn forty the way they do here. Still…" She shakes her head, lost in her own world. "It's not what you want to hear from your friend. 'I think your son tried to get me into bed.'"
Was he trolling for clients? Or maybe that's what he does in his free time. Maybe he likes older women.
It's really none of my business.
"I think it was line," I admit. "But it didn't sound ridiculous. But then, again, he's very handsome, so I'm not sure how much I was listening."
She laughs. "He takes after his father, yes."
Romeo returns with the bottle of limoncello. He tops off their glasses and refills mine.
"Your girlfriend was telling me what a ridiculous line you used to get her into bed," Amara says.
"Really? Is, 'baby, are you a WiFi signal, because I'm feeling a strong connection' a bad line now?" He teases her.
She mutters something in Italian. "You're lucky you look like your father."
"He looks like you too," I say.
"His father's height though," she says. "Thank goodness. Women are obsessed with tall men here."
"Mama, how can you talk? Dad was six-foot two," Romeo says.
She takes a long sip. "So, you flirted, propped up by your father's good looks. And obviously Ivy is a striking woman with a lovely figure."
My blush deepens. I guess flattery runs in the family.
"Romeo's type too," Amara says. "Tall. And unconventional."
Romeo raises a brow. "What in the world does that mean?"
"You like girls with unusual jobs. Like that Russian girl. What did she do… work for a sex toy company or something?" she asks.
"Sasha?" he asks. "We're just friends."
She waves her hand of course not. "She's pretty. And smart too. But he was foolish. Didn't want to settle down."
He shakes his head can you believe this?
"Marriage can be hard. You know that, Ivy. You know how painful it is to divorce, even when it is time. But when you find someone that fits…" She looks to the wall, were a painting of her and her husband is hanging. He really does look like Romeo. A little taller, a little darker, a little more serious.
"No one thought we made sense as a couple, but we knew it was love. And that's what mattered. That we both wanted to be in love. To stay dedicated to each other. If you marry a good man, and you both stay dedicated to making it work, you will have a happy marriage." She finishes her drink and stands. "Now, Romeo, grab your bags and let me show Ivy to her room. I'm sorry. Part of the pre-wedding festivities. Daniel can't see the bride right before the wedding, so that means separate rooms for everyone."
Surprise spreads over Romeo's face. This is news to him. "I have to suffer because Daniel suffers?"
She says something to him in Italian.
He replies in kind.
I don't catch much of it. Finally, she waves her hand. "If things go well tomorrow, I'll talk to him. Okay, Romeo?"
Romeo nods, okay.
Upset because his brother is dictating our sleeping arrangements?
Or because he really wants to be in that room with me?
After all, if we don't have all night to learn, he can't really pay me back for my share of the, uh, experience.
But it might be fun, sneaking to his room, trying to stay quiet. It might explain why we're acting secretive too.
All in all, it's a good thing for us.
I think.
Probably.
I take my last sip. Amara motions for me to leave my drink on the table, then says, "follow me, Ivy."
She takes me back through the living room, up the angular stairs, past the overlook, all the way to a room at the end of the hall.
"I reserved the best space for you," she says as she opens the door. "It's not the biggest, but it has a view of the ocean."