Tangled In Strings

Chapter Nine

"Giovanni, darling... Go inside and let me speak with Scarlett."

"What? So you can probe more information from her? So your curiosity gets peaked?"

As his anger unleashes onto her, I cut in, not wanting him to say something he'll regret before our last day here. "Giovanni, it's alright. Go say goodbye."

He remains frozen, his eyes locked on mine for quite some time, lacking any restraint. He turns with a fury, storming toward the house. I watch him, blinking slowly.

"I'm sorry. He's just upset with me," I apologize, hating that my cheeks are aflame. I hope she can't tell in this dim light. She shakes her head, smiling a small smile.

"I haven't shown you my garden yet, have I?"

Garden? She wants to show me her garden—now? "Um, no. No, not yet."

"Come." She links her arm with mine to bring me close. It's just a swift turn of the corner of the villa, and we're surrounded by fragrant flora. She leads me over the stone pathway, pointing at certain plants, divulging their growth patterns, interesting facts about them. I listen intently, and somehow, her voice, which she's lowered to a calm, soothing coo, makes the shaking, the frantic heartbeat slow considerably.

I know it's a calming mechanism. She's distracting me, and it's working. But at some point, she's going to come forward with the real reason she's talking to me.

I enjoy the relaxed banter while I can, even finding a way to smile at her obsession with white truffles, a rare delicacy that miraculously grows with abundance on her land. Those little shapes of pungent fungus are enough to support an entire home-based business.

"Tomorrow is your last day. I will make sure I make dinner with some truffles. Your life will not be the same... see how aromatic they are?"

She hands me one, urging me to smell it.

"I sell these at cinquemila... I'm sorry, five thousand per pound."

My head cocks in disbelief. "Five-thousand? Really?"

She nods, smiling. "Giovanni's help with money can only go so far with a place of this size. This helps me live nicely."

I'm not surprised at all to hear Giovanni sends her money. I hand her back the truffle and she places it into a seal-tight tin container. I twist my fingers neurotically, preparing myself for a conversation I'm not ready to have.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I never fall asleep like that. It must have been a carb overload or jet lag... I don't know. I hope I didn't ruin the night."

"You shouldn't apologize for something you had no control over. You didn't ruin anything." She gravitates to a stone bench, patting the space beside her. "I, however, owe you an apology."

"You?"

She nods, crossing her hands on her lap. "When Giovanni told me to refrain from asking you about your life, I figured he was doing so because you were shy. I figured I could shake you from that, simply because I want to know the woman my nephew has chosen to share his life with. It's occurred to me now, after seeing what I did earlier, that... you are secretive about your life for a darker reason. Am I right?"

Shit. I swallow, flushing. "Yes."

"Your father too? As well, your husband hurt you?"

Resentment for them builds in my torso, and somehow that initiates tears to be shed. I wipe them quickly. "Yes."

She reaches out, grabbing my clenched hands with one of hers.

"It must have been hard for you to come here."