Deluca

THREE

Eleanor's head pounded as she found herself waking up in the center of the bed. The curtains on the floor-to-ceiling windows were open, streaming warm sunlight directly into the room. She winced at the brightness and covered her head with the pillows in the bed.

"Buongiorno." She heard Francesco purr from the corner of the room. She looked over to see him only wearing a towel. Water dripped from his body. His curly hair hung just about his eyes, giving him a boyish look.

Eleanor covered her head in the pillows again, crunching at his looking at him that way made her feel. She couldn't deny how beautiful Francesco was, the man was cut straight out of a cologne ad.

"What time is it?" Eleanor asked.

"It's nearly noon. My sister and mother are on their way now. I wanted to let you sleep." Francesco answered, walking over to the dresser, and pulling out underwear and a tank.

Eleanor sat up, turning crimson when she realized Francesco had dropped his towel. Did this man not have any sense of shame? Eleanor wondered. Looking down, she could see why he wouldn't.

Eleanor looked away, "Okay, I'll shower and come down."

There was a ring at the doorbell and Francesco looked towards Eleanor, now wearing underwear and his tank. "Looks like they're already here, I'll be downstairs, come when you're ready."

Francesco pulled on a pair of jeans before making his way downstairs. Eleanor climbed out of the bed and quickly walked over to the bathroom. It was still humid from Francesco's shower. Eleanor climbed into the shower turned on the water and let it drench her from head to toe.

Eleanor took her time washing her thick and dark hair, making sure it was perfect. Once she climbed out, she toweled it dry and blow-dried it fully. She then took her time applying make-up before pulling on the sun dress that she had bought yesterday.

Once she was finished, she made her way down the stairs nervously. He could hear the sounds of Francesco's family in the kitchen, and it made her nerves kick in. What if this experience was awful and she would have to suffer through an afternoon pretending that she wanted to be there?

Eleanor cautiously entered the kitchen and immediately made eye contact with Francesco, blushing before making her way toward the island. Eleanor found it convenient that both Giuseppe and Francesco failed to mention his mother would be there.

Eleanor had only just convinced herself she could woo his sister, but the look that his mother gave her depleted any meager confidence Eleanor had managed to build up. Eleanor walked over to the fridge noticing that while they had only just arrived, they were already in process of preparing breakfast.

For a moment, Eleanor got a chance to see for herself the childhood Giuseppe had described. Giselle, Francesco's sister, was standing at the counters arguing with Giuseppe in fast-speaking Italian. Francesco stood silently at the island, a green drink in his hand as his eyes went from the argument to his mother who was focused on cooking.

It took a moment for Giselle to truly realize Eleanor was in the room, but when she did, she shoved Giuseppe away and skipped over to Eleanor.

"You must be Eleanor!" Eleanor was shocked that out of all of the people she had met here so far, Giselle's accent had been the weakest of them all. Giselle was a short woman with eyes that matched her brothers'. Her hair had been lighter than both Francesco's and Giuseppe's, with light artificial highlights throughout.

Her skin was perfectly tanned, making her bright smile even brighter. Giselle's smile when from ear to ear as she pulled Eleanor into a hug and squeezed her tightly. Eleanor couldn't even help but admit that Giselle even smelled expensive.