Turn Towards the Sun (31 page)

“Give me your hands.” I whisper. I take both his hands, entwining my fingers in his for support. He arches his back, causing him to push even deeper in me. I cry out.

I begin
to
rock back and forth
forcefully,
bringing both of us to climax. I throw my head back and scream out his name as I orgasm for the second time tonight.

I hear En
zo call out, “
m
inchia
che bella.
”

I fall back in a
slump,
releasing him from my body. For some
reason,
I start laughing hysterically.

“Why are laughing?” He looks alarmed.

“I’m so unbelievably happy right now!”

He starts laughing too. “So am I bella.”

“What does that mean,
what you said?” I do my best to
repeat it.

“Roughly translated, fuck she’s hot.” We both fall into a fit of laughter once more.

“Come on bella, we have to get your parents and friends to the airport.”

I stir, groggy from the previous evening’s festivities. Everyone has to go back home early this morning since it was such short notice.
Still,
I’m thankful everyone could be here for my birthday. What an amazing night.

I brush my
teeth,
touching the necklace around my neck. This thing probably cost more than my previous salary. Sobering. This is your life Ava.

We swing by Girasole to pick everyone up and head to Sky Harbor. My mom keeps saying she can’t believe it’s already 103
degrees,
and I’m pretty sure she’s in shock. My dad is surprisingly comfortable with
Enzo,
and I know he too has been seduced by the Italian charm. Chris sits comfortably staring at Cassie. And Cassie.
Well,
she’s just Cassie.

We hug and
kiss,
and my heart warms as I watch Enzo embrace my father and him, hesitantly at first, return the gesture.

We drive
away,
and Enzo grabs my hand. “Happy?”

“Immensely.”

“Stay with me?”

“Always.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Love you.”

“Love you back.”

We walk into my
apartment,
and I realize how small it really is after being in Enzo’s house. Still it’s
nice
and it feels like home. Especially when he’s here.

“You will need to go shopping for Italy soon
,
no?”

I didn’t even think of that. I need a ton of stuff for a trip like this. 

“Yes
,
I think so.”

“Why don’t you go tomorrow? Thursday I’m taking you to meet with Checca to discuss the changes for Girasole.”

“You two haven’t let that go yet huh?” I feel completely intimidated by this proposition.

“No
,
and we’re not going to. It’s perfect really. Checca will teach you everything you need to know. You will learn a new skill and have a job to do, and I will keep you with me.”

I guess it is perfect when you look at it like that.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

I swing by to pick up Gabby for our shopping expedition. Enzo insisted I take his American Express card and use it for whatever either of us needs for the trip. I don’t know how Gabby is going to feel about
it,
but I know better than to argue.

We head back to the massive mall. I have a list of things we should have and know that we’ll find everything we need there. Florence summers can be cool in the mornings and evenings and warm during the day.
Plus we need our shoulders covered if we want to enter any churches, which of
course,
we will.

We chat about the sights we want to see while in Florence.

“I know for sure I want to go to the Accademia and see the David and of course, the Uffizi art gallery.” Gabby says.

“Me too. I can’t wait to see t
ho
se sites in person.”

I
don’t know if Francesca
has
plans for me as her new assistant or
not,
but I hope I have plenty of time to hang out with Gabby
.
We walk to
Northland
armed with a credit card and an open credit limit burning a hole in my pocket.

“Enzo insists that he pay for our purchases since the trip is his idea.”

Gabby
purses her lips. “I think it’s enough he’s buying the tickets and hotel room.”

“I
know. But he insists and trust
me
,
when he insists we should listen.”

She sighs. “Okay.”

“It was hard for me at first but over time I’ve just come to accept it. A couple of butt chewings from Cassie helped the process along.”

Gabby laughs. “You hit the jackpot Ava.”

“In more ways than one.”

I swear we clear out the Northland shoe department. I don’t even know how many pairs we each have but I know I have flats, sandals, walking shoes, wedges and evening shoes. Gabby did her share of damage too
.
I follow our salesman to the front and hand him the American Express. He glances at the name and his demeanor changes.

“Oh Mrs.?” He pauses
,
unsure of how to address me.

“No, not Mrs.” I reply. “Miss Bradshaw. I’m an authorized user.”

“Of course madam.” He is suddenly quite formal. He rings up our purchases and announces the total.

“$2
152.78.” I choke and
look over at my friend who has gone pale.

“Shall we keep your bags at valet while you shop?” He asks.

I nod, numb.

“Ava, w
e spent too much.” Gabby whispers.

A woman wearing a very sharp business suit approaches us.

“Miss Bradshaw?”

“Yes?”

“Hello, my name is Teresa Knowles. I’m the store manager here.”

She’s
smiling,
but I’m nervous. Is something wrong with the card?

“I just want to make sure everything you need is taken care of. We have a personal shopper who can make your experience more pleasurable.”

A personal sh
opper? I glance at Gabby, who nods
enthusiastically.

“That would be lovely.” I reply.

“Wonderful. Please come this way.” She escorts us to a sitting area on the third level. A thin woman who looks to be in her mid-forties steps out from the back room.

“This is
Nahla. She’
ll
be assisting you today.” Teresa explains.

Nahla is tall and slender with rich chocol
ate skin. Her hair is cut short,
reminiscent of Halle Berry back in the day. She isn’t wearing any
makeup,
and her skin is flawless. She flashes a magnificent pearly white smile. She is wearing a form fitting white sheath dress and impossibly high stilettos. How does she work in those?

“I’m Ava and this is Gabrielle.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Her voic
e is as rich as her complexion.

“What are you looking for today ladies?”

I hand her the list.
“We already covered
footwear,
” I add.

She
e
xcuses herself and makes a call. Moment
s later our shoe purchases are delivered,
and she begins to open our packages.

“We’ll start here.” She smiles and
lines up our shoes
,
separating them by owner. She asks our dress sizes and tells us to sit back and relax. We sink into the cushy chairs and discuss the day’s events.

“I’ve never been treated like this before Ava, have you?”

“No
,
but I like it.”

“Do you think it’s because of Enzo’s name?”

“
Possibly. Could be
the
two thousand dollar
purchase in shoes!” We laugh. A woman approaches and hands us two cool bottled waters.

My phone vibrates.

Hot and Bossy: Enjoying yourself?

Me: Thoroughly.

Hot and Bossy: Not as much as you will when I get my hands on you again.

Me:
J

Three hours later we’ve tried on at least a hundred outfits and we both have fabulous wardrobes complete with jewelry, accessories, and undergarments. Nahla knows her stuff. I shudder to think of the total.

“Can you sign here Miss Bradshaw?” I glance at the receipt and can’t believe my eyes. We’ve spent over
eight
thousand dollars. Is that possible?

I realize Nahla never told me the price of anything and just kept bringing beautiful clothes.
S
he’s good. I hope Enzo doesn’t mind.

“We can have your purchases delivered to your home Miss Bradshaw.”

“Thank you. That would be helpful.” I don’t think the Mercedes could handle the load anyway.
Besides,
if I were a
crook,
I would totally jack us on the way to the car.

Walking back to valet, Gabby grabs my hand.

“How does it feel to be rich?”

“I have no idea. I’m not rich. Enzo’s rich.”

“Well from what I just experienced that makes you rich too.”

I guess she’s right. This is strange.

I drop Gabby off at home and park the car. I find Enzo in the middle of a call. He
paces
back and forth as he speaks but I can tell this is his work mode. He lights up when he sees me.

“I have to go Calvin. Just be ready okay?
Ciao.”

“Ciao amore.”

“Ciao Enzo.”
I kiss him on the cheek.

“Where are your bags?” He asks, looking behind me.

“They are, um, being delivered.”

“You did some damage then?” He grins.

“Too much. I spent a lot of money Enzo.” I’m worried.

He pulls me towards him
and
kiss
es
my neck. “It’s not too much.”

“I spent over
ten thousand dollars
.”

He doesn’t even flinch. “Good. I’m proud of you. Did you both get what you need?”

I nod. He’s still nuzzling and sucking on my neck. My knees start to feel weak. He releases me and winks.

“I feel like a nap. Care to join me?”

I smile and let him lead me to the bedroom.

“Yes, bring them in.” I hear Enzo instructing the person at the door. I’ve slept
in,
but Mr. Morning Guy is awake and cheerful as usual. I walk into the living room and watch in shock as bag after bag is loaded into the room. Enzo stands by the door smirking. I grin and
retreat
into the bedroom.

I set about the massive tasks of unwrapping everything and separating mine from Gabby’s. Would you look at that? Nahla labeled everything
,
making it much easier.

I bring all my new purchases in the bedroom and lay them out across the bed. I don’t know if I even have enough room in my closet for all these clothes. I notice Nahla has removed all the tags and included them in a little silk bag. I look through the tags, shocked at the prices. A blouse somewhere in that stack costs $525 dollars. One. Effing. Blouse.

Enzo enters the bedroom looking around at my purchases. “If this is how you shop I’ll have to make sure the closets at t
he new house are expanded.” He teases
me and
picks up several items
.
“You have excellent taste Miss Bradshaw.”

I
sigh
. “Are you going to call me that the rest of my life?”