Turn Towards the Sun (5 page)

“Va bene. Vino, er, wine Ava?”
Enzo asks
,
switching back to English. I start to speak when Enzo
waves his hands and
turns
back
to his brother.

“Chianti per favore.”

His brother nods and leaves us.

“I don’t know if I should have any more wine after this morning.” I frown.

“A little wine will be okay. You’ve adjust
ed to the heat now. Just sip it.”
He grins.

I nod. A silent moment passes.

“I like hearing you speak Italian.” I blurt out.

That was smooth Ava.

He
looks
at
me,
and I feel all squishy inside like I’ve never been on a date before.

Y
ou’re
not
on a date now
, remember
?
Be polite but stop flirting.

“So you like the Italian language?”

“Well
,
I like what I just heard. It’s beautiful. Sexy even.”

Cut it out Ava.

“Yes Ava, it is beautiful.”

So are you Enzo. He could talk about dog shit and I would think it was hot.

What are you doing here Ava? How can you keep a man like this interested? What do you have in common? He’s rich, devastatingly handsome, mature, established. You’re a girl stuck in mid-flight. What would he possibly want with you?

“What are you thinking Ava?”

I shake my head and… oh no! My parents! I forgot to call. I dig my cell phone out of my handbag
,
panicked. Eight missed calls, four voicemails. Shit
!
I never turned it back on after the flight.

“I forgot to call my parents. Give me a minute okay?” I step away from the table into the courtyard.

“Dammit Ava, we’ve been worried sick! We called the airport and the apartment office. They said you came and got your
key,
but that was it. Where were you?” My dad is so
mad,
and I don’t blame him.

“Daddy I’m sorry. I forgot to turn my phone on after the flight.” Something tells me I shouldn’t fill in the rest of the day.

“How could you forget?” 

“I just got caught up dad, sorry. I’m fine really.”

Softening, he says, “Okay Ava
,
just don’t do that again. As it is your mom’s a mess.”

“I know. Can I say hi?”

“Ava?”

“Hi mom. I’m sorry I made you worry.” My mom has been
high-strung and
prone to crying jags since I announced I was moving.

“Are you okay?” She asks.

“Yes, just grabbing a bite to eat.” I
look at Enzo, who sits comfortably waiting for me
.
He’s so handsome, he looks like he is part of the scenery.

“Tell dad I love him. Love you too.” I hang up and walk back to the table. Enzo’s eyes are on me the entire time.

“Everything alright?” He asks.

“Yes. My parents worry. I’m an only
child,
and I’ve never moved away before.”

He nods. “Have some wine. Dinner will be here soon. Then I’ll get you back to your room.” He pauses. “To sleep.”

He knows he’s messing with me doesn’t he? I sit back in my chair
and
try
to relax. I
take a sip of wine.
It’s smooth and rich. Just like my dining companion.

“So, Ava. Did you move here for a specific reason?”

I look up and feel flustered when my eyes meet
his.
“I always have a reason for the things I do.”

He smiles. “Yes, I would imagine you do. Are you going to tell me the reason or do I have to coax it out of you?”

His tone shifted to pure
seduction,
and I feel a little flutter in my stomach. “I needed a change. This seemed like a good place for it.”

“
Interesting.
Tell me, do you have a man in your life?”

I almost spit my wine across the room.

My heartbeat quickens. “No, I don’t.” I don’t elaborate. I have no idea what else to say.

He sits
back in his chair
, blue eyes surveying me, saying nothing. A hundred years pass or so it seems before he opens his delectable mouth.

“That’s a shame.”

What? Is that a compliment? Or an offer? I’m clueless. Enzo pours himself another glass of wine and grins.

“Is it?” I ask.

“Well yes, a beautiful woman like yourself should be fucked nightly.
But e
very day is a new opportunity, no?”

My body prickles with heat like I just walked into a burning flame. The bluntness of his comment shocks and excites me all at once.

“So is that what this is all about? You want to fuck me?”
 
I can be
blunt too.
He doesn’t flinch.

“Of course I want to. I expect every man that sees you would like to as well.” He delivers this comment as casually as discussing the dinner menu.
His eyes shift up and that intense stare of his burns through me.
“But I’m not going to. Not yet anyway.”

I glare at him. What the hell is this game? I don’t know if I should feel insulted or relieved. He knows what he’s
doing,
and it’s pissing me off. He’s not even looking at
me, which
pisses me off even more.

“Have you considered that maybe I don’t want you to fuck me so it doesn’t really matter what you want?”

He
runs
the tip of his finger over the rim of his wine glass. “Why don’t we just see how it goes?”

Bastard. He knows damn well I’m bluffing. I lower my head when the server appears with our food. I know my face is bright red from anger and lust. Damn him.
He’s
obviously not gay.

I’m
starving so I
’
m thankful for the distraction as a variety of small dishes, all tastier than the one before it, arrives at the table.

I don’t even know what to say at this point. My mind races thinking of how the rest of this conversation is going to play out
.
How dare he talk to me like that? Still, it’s so sexy.
I want to
be
mad,
but it’s hard when I’m so turned on. Dammit.

I distract myself from the tension by focusing on my food. I look
up,
and Enzo is watching me stuff a fried rice ball in my mouth. It has melted mozzarella cheese in the
middle,
and it
is
gooey and creamy goodness.

“What?” I
ask
, my
mouth full as I chew.

“Nothing at all Miss Bradshaw.” He sits back in his chair chewing a small olive and holding his wine glass in the other. Feeling
self-conscious,
I swallow and sit back.

“Please don’t stop on my account.”

“I think I’m full now.”

He leans across the
table, grabs a small rice ball,
and pops it in his mouth
,
chewing slowly and deliberately. My my my.

“Please have another one.” He
hand
s
me another rice ball. I reach for
it,
but he stops.

“Open your mouth.”

Huh?

I open my mouth as instructed. He reaches over and puts the rice ball in my mouth. I chew slowly, keeping eye contact with him, feeling electricity shoot through my body.

“There’s nothing sexier to me than a woman enjoying her food.” He holds my stare for a moment.

He sits back in his seat and takes another drink of wine. He’s completely
calm,
and I am practically jumping out of my seat with excitement.

This man is so frustrating. He knows he’s seducing me yet he tells me he’s not? If he keeps this
up,
there will be no way I can stick to my plan. Not sure I want to at this point even after his earlier comment.

Paolo returns
,
interrupting our food
play,
and we enthusiastically praise the dinner.
A
fter saying our goodbyes to Paulo and Sylvia
, w
e rise to begin our short walk back to my room.

I try for lighthearted, non-sexual innuendo conversation.

“Where are you staying Enzo?”

“Next door to you.”

Oh. He stops at my door and opens it for me.

“Ava, what I said earlier, I do hope I haven’t upset you. I always just say what I mean. It avoids confusion.”
His tone still smacks of arrogance.
He’s not really apologizing as much as just explaining himself.

What do I say to this? I don’t even know if I am upset. I’m a jumble of emotions right now.

“I can handle
you
Enzo.” I’m not at all sure that’s true.

“Yes, I believe you can. I do hope you sleep well, Ava.”

What? No kiss? After all that.
Wait, I shouldn’t want a kiss. Oh Lord, this is so confusing.
 

“I’m sure I will. And thank you.”

“My pleasure Ava.” He
takes my hand
and plants a chaste kiss on both cheeks. I inhale his closeness.
Man he smells good.

“If you need anything I’m right next door.” 

He pauses and stares at me, holding my hand a moment too long.

“You know Ava, you’re really quite stunning. Buona notte.”

He watches me
go insid
e my room
.
I’m stunning? Enzo thinks I’m stunning. And beautiful. And fuckable!

I can’t stop thinking about all that happened today and the things this man said to me. Maybe he wasn’t trying to seduce me, maybe that’s
just how he talks
.
Still,
he did ask me if I had a man so that must mean something right? I don’t know what to think.

What I do know is that this man is probably trouble capital T for
me,
and I should avoid him. Tomorrow, if I even see him, I’ll just make it clear that nothing is going to happen between
us,
and I’ll be gone by Monday morning. Yes, that’s a good plan. I settle into bed, satisfied with my clarity.

31

Turn Towards the Sun

Chapter
two

A hint of sunshine streams
into my eyes.
I stir, moment
arily unsure of my location.
Oh yes, the hotel. And Enzo.

That was honestly the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. I wonder how I should spend my Sunday. My furniture should be here tomorrow so I just want to enjoy my last day in this paradise. I’ll spend some time at the pool. Yes, that sounds like a good plan. 

After a quick
shower,
I survey my reflection. I frown at what I see. The pool will do my complexion some good I hope. I quickly brush my teeth and pull my hair up in a bun on top of my head. I dig in my suitcases looking for my swimsuit- there it is. I bought it just for Phoenix. It’s dark yellow with brown accents in the middle and on the sides, like a sunflower. I
boldly
purchased a
two-piece
even though I’m not the skinniest girl. But I like my curves. Why not show them off. I throw on a t-shirt and shorts and slip on some sandals.

I head out to explore the hotel grounds. Everything you could want is just inside the main hotel, from shoes
and
clothes to books. There is a hair salon and full spa as well. This really is paradise, a wom
a
n’s paradise anyway.

Standing in front of the salon
,
I watch the women insid
e getting set up for the day. I
wonder how impossibly expensive a haircut and color would be in there.
Suddenly,
I feel someone standing behind me. I turn to see Enzo gazing down at me, looking relaxed and casual in tan linen shorts and a
short-sleeved
white polo.

“Good morning Enzo.” I try to keep the excitement I feel out of my voice.

“Buon giorno, Ava. Would you like to get your hair done?”

Well
yea,
but I can’t possibly afford this.

“Um—” I start. He waves his hand to stop me and grabs my wrist
, as we
head towards the door of the salon. The girl at the front desk welcomes us.

“Mr. Milano, good morning sir.” She looks to be all of eighteen years old, with a pierced lip and bright magenta hair.

“Good morning Lucy. Is Camilla here?”

“Yes, she’s in the back. I’ll go get her.”

“Listen Enzo—” I start again.

“No you listen. I own this place, all of it. While you are staying here you can have anything you want or need, understand?”

His tone startles me into sudden submission, his eyes piercing through me. I don’t understand any of this but one thing is clear, I
better
accept his generosity.

“Yea, sure I understand.”

“Good. Then Camilla will do what you want. She’s very good.” A tall, blond woman comes out from the back and sm
iles when she sees
Enzo.
Her smile calms my nerves immediately.

“Ciao Enzo.” They embrace and kiss on both cheeks. Camilla is pretty and looks to be close to fifty. She has delicate features with pale blond hair.

Enzo
introduces me. “Please take good care of her Camilla.”

“Of
course,
Enzo.”

“Okay then
,
I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you later Ava?”
He looks at me with warm eyes.

I nod my head, feeling unable to speak. I have no idea what’s happening to me right now.

“What would you like today Ava?” Camilla asks. I unleash my hair for her to survey.

“Oh my
,
you have a lot of hair here.”

“Yes, the color is grown
out,
and my ends are dry.”

Camilla takes a chunk of my hair in her hand and studies it.

“Yes
,
the ends are a bit dry but not
too bad.
What kind of color would you like?”

“I don’t know. What do you think?” I ask, somehow knowing she knows what Enzo would like.

And why are you thinking about what Mr. Rich and Bossy would like?

“Well, you could go darker, closer to your natural color. I could put some chestnut
low lights
in it to give it some dimension. It would bring out the olive tones in your
skin,
and it would be easier on your hair in the dry weather.”

“Okay sounds good.” I sit
down,
and Camilla begins to work on me. I see hair falling all around
me,
but for
some reason,
I don’t worry about it. If Enzo trusts
Camilla,
she must be worthy of it. I can already tell he has very exacting standards.

He’s intense and demanding, yet every now and then softness comes through. I still can’t shake the feeling I’m being seduced but for
now,
I just want to enjoy it. When else is a girl on a budget going to get this kind of treatment?

Camilla wash
es
out my color and snips more of my hair. She begins blow
drying,
and I start to feel excited about the finished product. She swings me around in the mirror. She’s cut my hair in long layers so it swoops down across my face framing my eyes. It just touches my shoulders now, considerably shorter. My natural wave is
back,
and it’s a deep
dark-brown
color. It’s very elegant and dare I say it, sexy.

“Oh Camilla, I love it.”

“I’m so glad. The darker color really suits you.” She adds. The whole time I’ve sat in Camilla’s
chair,
we were
silent,
I lost in my thoughts and she in her task.
Finally,
I decide to pry a little.

“You must be used to this, Enzo bringing women here?” I keep my tone light.

Her eyes widen in surprise. “No Ava
,
not at all. You’re the first.”

“Oh I guess I just thought…” My voice trails off as I realize I don’t know what I thought.

“I don’t know how you
met,
but I do know Enzo very well. He’s my brother in law. He doesn’t bring women around. I know he’s in the paper
often,
but those women are just dates as far as I know. I’ve never met one.”

I’m the first? Very interesting.

“
A
re you Paolo’s wife?” I ask.

She laughs. “No. I’m Franco’s wife. Enzo has four brothers and two sisters. You really don’t know anything about him do you?”

“No I don’t. I had to look him up on the internet.”

She laughs again. “Well then, enjoy getting to know him. He is guarded and can be very focused on his
work,
but once you get to know him, you will find he is very passionate about the people and things he cares about. And he’s very generous as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

I nod. I don’t know how to react to this new
information,
so I won’t. Yet.

I jump up and flip my hair around like a shampoo commercial.

“It’s awesome. I really do love it.”

“Your hair is lovely, Enzo will like it.” Camilla winks at me.

“Well I don’t know if that matters. It’s not romantic or anything. He’s just helping me out.” I insist.

“I don’t know about that Ava, based on the look in his eyes when he talks to you, I’d say he’s interested in you.”

I look down, unsure of how to answer. “I should
go.
Thank you for my hair.”

“I’m glad you like it.” She winks again and floats off.

I glance once more at my reflection before heading back out into the lobby. I wander down the hall of shops and boutiques gazing in through the windows and stop in front of a store called Sassy. It looks too expensive for
me,
and the sizes look small. I’m just dying to take a look at the clothes close up.
Anyway,
it doesn’t cost anything to look. I’m going in.

A petite woman with stark black hair cut in a chic bob looks up from her paperwork at the front desk. She’s dressed in a form fitting black dress. Her skin is
pale,
and her
make up
heavy. She glances at me sizing me up and offers a stiff good morning.

“Hi. I’m just looking around.”

“Take your time.” She says without looking up. I roam around the boutique. The floors are pale blond
wood,
and everything is sleek and modern. In the middle of the
room
sit two large round sofas. It’s deserted and seems more like a museum than a clothing store. I spy an appealing looking skirt and hope it comes in my size. One thing I have noticed is that the women in this town seem to be universally skinny, with a lot of obvious plastic surgery. My curvaceous figure seems large in comparison.

“Mr. Milano.” I hear the girl at the front desk and whirl around to see Enzo entering the store, mouth pursed.

“Anna.” He does not look happy. He keeps his eyes on her as he walks towards me.

“Ava.” He speaks my name softly, wrapping it in his textured accent. He kisses me on both cheeks. “Your hair is beautiful. I knew Camilla would do a great job.”

He reaches out and strokes a small piece of hair draped
over
my shoulder. It’s very intimate. A heated flush creeps onto my cheeks.

“I’m so glad I found you here.” He continues. “I wanted to ask you something.” His voice
lowers,
and he moves closer to me. I hear the clanking sound of Anna’s heels moving in our direction.

“I have a dinner to go to
tonight,
and I’d love it if you would join me.”
His eyes meet mine, completely pulling me
in
to
his energy.

Anna reaches us at this point and tries to get Enzo’s attention. He continues looking at me, waiting for my answer, ignoring Anna.

“Yes
,
I’ll go.” The words fall out of my mouth.

Enzo grins.
“Perfect. Anna, Miss Bradshaw needs a gown for this evening.”

Gown!
Oh,
it’s a fancy dinner.

“
O
f course Mr. Milano.” A strained smile is the best she can do. I can tell right away that Anna here is not a fan of mine.

“Miss Bradshaw, do you have any idea what you might like?” Anna asks.

Enzo speaks first. “May I offer a suggestion Ava?”

I have already learned refusing this man is not an option.
Besides,
I wouldn’t have a clue what to wear.

“Of course.”

He points to a gorgeous deep purple chiffon creation. It’s long and flowing with a cinched waist. The bodice is one shouldered with a lovely chiffon knot at the top. It’s demure but alluring. It’s perfect. I light up right away.

“Oh yes
,
I love it.”

“What size would you like
?”
Anna asks.

Before I can speak, Enzo grins, looking me up and down.

“I’
d say a size six or… an eight?”

I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended that he knows my size just from looking at me. He clearly knows his way around a woman.

“Yes that’s right, depending on the dress. Petite please.” A satisfied smile spreads across his face.

Anna’s lips press into a thin line while she selects the dress in both sizes.

“How did you know my size Enzo?”

“I
studied fashion for two semesters before I decided on architecture. The lines of the body always fascinated
me,
so I thought I might like to design clothing.”

“What changed?”

“I found that for me, I was more interested in designing structures professionally.

“And personally?” Well well, look at who’s being bold with her questions.

A grin spreads across his face. “The female body continues to fascinate me.
But I must admit
I’m more interested in the unclothing of a beautiful woman.”

I’m fairly certain my mouth hit the floor.

Anna arrives with the dresses. It’s obvious this situation is completely annoying to her. I step into the dressing room and slip out of my clothes and into the size six first. It’s a bit
tight,
so I try the eight hoping this amazing confection looks good on me. I stare at myself in the mirror
and can’t
believe my eyes. My hair is so different and this dress! It hugs my body in all the right places. I look so, womanly. Watch out Enzo, here I come.