Turn Towards the Sun (9 page)

T
he sound of frantic knocking on my door
startles me awake
. Groggy I rise and answer.

“Enzo?” I’m a little confused. What time is it?

“I tried your phone, you didn’t answer. Are you alright?”
His handsome face
fills
with concern.

“I guess so. I took a nap.”

“It’s ten after seven. I started to worry something had happened to you.”

“No, I’m fine. I just felt really hot and tired when I got back.” I run
my hands through my hair. A four-hour nap?

“How much water did you drink today?” His brow furrows. I think back and realize- none. Oh dear. He knows my answer without me saying a word. He walks across the
room and opens the small fridge. He grabs a
bottle of water
and twists off the top
.

“Drink
.” It’s an order.

I
gulp it down.

He hands me another one. “Drink.”

“I’m drinking.” I roll my eyes but have to admit the water feels so good going down. Already I’m feeling better. I look up and smile.

“Better?”

I nod
.

“I have an idea.” He grins. “Just put something casual
on
and I’ll take you to the best place to eat. You must be hungry.”

“Starving. Just give me a few minutes.”
I grab some black capris
and a blue sleeveless blouse.

“Do you want me to leave?”

I look directly in his eyes. “Nope.” I saunter to the bathroom.

I pee, brush my teeth, throw on some deodorant, and spritz with perfume. I fluff my hair that still looks amazing despite my nap. I put on my clothes and finish with lip gloss.

“I’m ready.”

He
looks up
and smiles, eyes twinkling. “I like casual Ava. It’s refreshing. Let’s go.”

We walk towards the valet
who
must have seen him coming since the car is in front of us before we reach the sidewalk. Anna is standing at the far end of the sidewalk smoking a cigarette. I cannot help
myself,
and I loop my arm through Enzo’s. He looks surprised but accepts the gesture, rubbing my hand in return
,
as he opens my door. I look up at
Anna,
and I know she knows I’m looking at her. I don’t know what her problem is. I wonder if I should just shake it off. Or not.

“Enzo?” He glances at me keeping one eye on the road.

“Anna seems to have a real problem with me. She gives me pretty ugly looks.” I stop there
,
leaving out our heated exchange.

“Anna is unimportant.”

That’s all he’s going to say. I sigh.

“She probably doesn’t like you.
A few years ago, she came onto me. I
had to tell her I wasn’t
interested,
and I don’t fraternize. She’s been aloof but professional since. I would assume she is simply jealous of you Ava.”

“Why doesn’t she quit? I would be embarrassed to face you after that.”

“I pay very well Ava. I make it worth it to work for me. Besides, she’s a very good manager.”
Oh,
she’s the manager.

“Don’t let it bother you.”

“It doesn’t. I just noticed.” He touches my hand again lightly. I really like that.

We are on the 101 freeway heading north. Enzo pulls out his phone and presses a speed dial button. He launches into
Italian,
and I can tell he intentionally doesn’t want me to know what he’s saying. I can’t pull my eyes off of him as he speaks. What a sensual language. We exit and continue driving up a narrow road with nothing but desert ahead of us. We round a corner and suddenly the barren landscape is dotted with expansive homes.

“Where are we going?”

He ignores me, grinning lik
e the cat that ate the canary. We approach
a large
wrought-iron gate,
and
he
punches in a code. We drive up a long driveway and stop in front of what I would describe as a mansion. It looks like a beautiful Tuscan farmhouse, with stacked stone and a
terra cotta
tiled roof. On the left of the rounded driveway is a
four-car garage
with huge wood doors that resemble antique barn doors. The driveway is paved with cream colored cobbled stones in a circular pattern. There is no landscaping
yet,
and I can tell it’s still very unfinished. He stops the car in front of the steps that lead up to the large front door.

“Stay.” He tells me as he jumps out of the car and around to my side.

He opens his arms towards the structure. “This is my house. We’re having dinner here tonight.”

“It’s beautiful Enzo. It looks like Tuscany.”

“Wait until I’m done with it.
I’ve had most of the materials
imported from Italy. Those doors, for the garage, came off of a 15th century farmhouse that fell into ruin.”

Oh,
they really are antiques. “But the house is empty isn’t it?”

“Not for long.” He smiles, leaning against a column on the front porch. A van roars up the driveway and pulls up behind us. Grayson jumps out with two other men.

“Hi boss.” Grayson nods at me.

They open the van and pull out a small table, two chairs, three huge pillows, and a
large
basket
.
A woma
n steps out from the back seat and smiles. She is very short and very thin with long straight
jet-black
hair and blue eyes. Her resemblance to Enzo is striking. She’s wearing a bright pink strapless dress and black wedge sandals. She says something I can’t hear to
Grayson,
who nods and grabs a rug from the truck. Then she walks towards
Enzo and me
.

“Ciao Enzo!” She kisses him on both cheeks,
and then
she turns towards me and smiles.

“Ava, this is my little sister Francesca. Also known as my interior designer.” Francesca hugs me and kisses both cheeks.

“Yes, pleased to meet you.” Her throaty voice drips with Italian accent.

“Yes, Enzo I know it’s hot, but wait ten minutes for me. Okay?
”
Francesca clearly has a plan.

“Let’s wait in the car Ava.” Enzo opens my door
.
We wait outside in the coolness of the
air-conditioned
car. I’m all twitterpated with excitement wondering what is happening in the house. Moments later
,
Francesca steps outside and waves us in. I feel tiny as I walk through a massive wood door that must be twenty feet tall. The grand foyer culminates in a dramatic mosaic design in the center surrounded by
pale yellow tiles. My breath catches as I step into the main room. Francesca set up an
incredibly
romantic scene in this unfinished, unfurnished home.

“Casa mia. My house Ava.”
Enzo leads me by the arm into the living room. Francesca put the vast throw rug on the floor surrounding it with the pillows. Soft music
plays
in the background. The table is set with candles and
dishware
and Grayson is setting out our Chinese takeout.

“This is perfect.” I grin at Enzo.

He beams and walks to hug his sister. He is so warm and affectionate with
her,
it warms my heart.

“Yes, well you two, I’ll leave you to your dinner.” Francesca looks satisfied. Walking close to
me,
she leans in, “Ava, take care of my big brother.”

“I will.” For
some reason,
I don’t want to disappoint her.

“Okay everyone, clear out. Thank you for your help.”

I stand looking around as Enzo walks everyone out. He comes back into the main room.

“Well this is it. I would show you around but there’s not much to see yet. The walls are
up,
and
the
air is on but that’s about it. I hope you like it here.”

“How could I not like it here? It’s amazing, even in its unfinished state.”

“Let’s eat.” He pours me a cold glass of water. “Only water for you tonight.” He grins and plates my food. “Buon appetito.”

We eat quietly, the heat generating between us hotter than the blazing sun in Phoenix.

“Let’s move over
there,
Ava.”

We move to the fluffy pillows. I lean myself up against him for support and lay my head against his chest. He strokes my hair and I tilt my head up to him. I know we need to talk about what happened earlier.

“Enzo, about today.”

He looks down at me. His blue eyes seem to glow in the candlelight.
“It’s my fault Ava. You barely know me and I’ve been quite ungentlemanly toward you.”

How can he say that? I’ve never met a man more chivalrous.

“We started off wrong. I
shouldn’t have been so blunt with you at Milano. I just couldn’t help myself. You are a very beautiful
woman,
and I’m afraid my interest in you overrode my manners. I don’t blame you for being upset with me.”

“Enzo, I don’t think you’ve been ungentlemanly. Direct yes, but I can appreciate that. The gifts are overwhelming though, the dress, the jewelry, and then the card today. That’s a lot to take in. I don’t know how to react.”

“You don’t need to react. The gifts are just that, gifts. I have no ulterior motive other than to please you.”

I don’t know what to say. Any lingering anger just dissipated into thin air. I want him now. More than anything.

“Can I have my kiss now?” I ask, as seductively as I can. He looks in my eyes, studying me.

“I want you Ava. All of you.” He caresses my cheek. “I want your kisses. I want your body. I want your heart. And yes, you can definitely have a kiss now.”

He pulls me up to him engrossing me in the heat of his body. His words bounce around in my head as we kiss. I want to give him all of those things. How is this possible? I just met him a few days
ago,
and I have this connection already? It’s exhilarating and scary and every exciting emotion all at once. I run my fingers through his thick hair savoring every moment of his closeness, exploring his mouth with mine. I would climb inside him if I could. He moves away and continues staring into my eyes, holding my face in his hands.

“You are so desirable Ava. I don’t know if I can control myself.”

“So don’t Enzo. Just trust yourself. Trust me.” I try to convince him. He looks so conflicted. He kisses me again and shakes his head no.

“We need to wait Ava
.
A little bit longer.” He pulls me to
him,
so I can’t look at his face anymore and cradles me in his arms.

“What I said before
Ava,
you’re not a woman who should be fucked. You should be made love to. You have to know that every ounce of me wants you right now. I want to be the one t
o make love to
you,
and I hope
one day I will. Very soon.”

I don’t know what to say to
that,
so I say nothing. I feel excited and
confused,
but I also feel something new. Respected maybe?

Why am I throwing myself at him? Maybe he’s just too hot to
believe,
and I want to connect with him before he realizes he should move on to someone more…sophisticated.

He obviously runs in crowds out of my reach. I have nothing to talk about with these people. I still can’t even figure out why I’m here. Why me? Why does he want me around? I’m pretty enough but based on the women I’ve seen him with he’s used to super skinny, done up women and that’s not me. And why the sudden passion and just as sudden shut down. I just don’t know that I’m enough for him. I twist to catch a look at his face. He’s gazing down at me.

“Enzo I have a question.” I just have to know. “Am I enough for you?”

His body tenses underneath me. “What? What kind of question is that? It’s obvious I find you attractive isn’t it?”

“Yes, I mean…it’s just that—”

“Ava, what are you trying to say?” Enzo’s eyes are soft, coercing me to spill my guts to him.

I take a deep breath. Let me just get this out in the open. “I know what you said about why you want to wait for
sex,
but I can’t help but wonder if there’s something about me you’re not sure of, something holding you back. I just feel sort of plain in comparison to the other women I’ve seen you with. Maybe I’m not exciting enough for you.”

“It’s just the opposite. You are different than the other woman I’ve been with, better. The only thing I’m unsure about is if I’m good enough for you, if I have what it takes to make you happy. I know I can give you everything you need materially. I just want to make sure I can give you what you need emotionally.” He pulls me tighter.