Page 49 of The Strength Of A Woman

I’m not even jealous.

I’m just scared and afraid for my life.

Completely disconnected from the beauty surrounding me, I walk feverishly, without leaving one street unchecked, when I round a corner and bump into a man.

“Che cazzo fai?” ~What the fuck are you doing?

The man dips his eyes while I step back.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asks, and that’s my clue.

He knows who I am, and not many people do.

I step forward and touch his forearm, the tension in my grip more than telling.

“Take me to him,” I say, my eyes pinned on him.

“Excuse me?”

“You were with him this afternoon when I talked to him. Take me to him.”

He mulls over something.

“I’ll wait. Just go talk to him, call him. Do whatever you need to do, but take me to him. This is very important. And I don’t have much time. Please.”

“Wait here,” he says, and then he looks around. It’s a fairly deserted area. “No. Come with me.”

We take a few steps together, turn left and then right, and then I glimpse the sea in the distance, and a wall of historic buildings.

“Don’t move,” he barks as he breaks away from me.

He moves with urgency and, before long, enters a beautiful building with a large terrace.

Maybe I’m dreaming, but up there, on the last floor, a man seems to be looking in the distance.

It looks like him. It could be him. His white shirt stands out.

He doesn’t wear a suit jacket, only a fitted waistcoat highlighting his athletic physique.It can only be him.

I drag my eyes down, refusing to hold my hopes high, and wait.

A few moments later, I hear noise in the house and look up at the terrace.

The man is gone.

Shortly after that, a couple of men walk out of the building, but only one heads my way.

Cosimo.

I feel much better.

Shivering inside, I let him walk to me, without moving an inch.

“Come with me,” he says quietly and evenly, which seems reassuring to a degree, giving me hope that nothing bad will happen next.

Within moments, we stride into a beautiful house.

It’s just what I had in mind when Nona said it was a house that belonged to a noble family.