While he walked towards his office, something on the floor caught his eye. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to see his wife's wedding gown lying on the cold marble floor. He walked closer then bent down in front of the delicate, stained dress and picked it up. He rubbed the silky, lacy material between his fingers and sighed. He caught the reflection of light from his wedding band and for a moment, he just stared at it. He was married now and he honestly couldn't believe it; he'd married Katrina.
He needed to find out what his wife wanted to do with her wedding dress. Should he send it to the cleaners just in case she still wanted it? He knew that women were very sentimental over things like this. He was simply going to throw his tux away, there were plenty others out there to buy.
His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth set in a thin line. Would he be able to make Katrina happy? It seemed just as things were going good between them, something or someone had to come in and disrupt things. He felt himself getting a headache. He threw the dress over his shoulders and massaged his temples while walking towards his office. He married the woman carrying his child, to find out the next day that his ex-girlfriend had lost their baby; he hadn't even known she was pregnant. He still needed to find the person trying to kill his wife as well as who had kidnapped her in the first place.
With every step he took he felt his head beating, was he having a migraine? He kept his head down and followed the movement of his feet; he didn't have to look up to know where he was going. The coldness of the marble floor seeped into his feet and all the way up to his pounding head; he didn't have time for fucking games today. He already had so much that required his attention, and he had questions he wanted answered; Veronica was going to feel his wrath today. Once he saw the brown wood of his office door, he opened the door and walked in to his spacious, plain, cold office. It was beyond cold, unlike his father, he didn't have pictures grace his grand desk. That just seemed too personal to him.
He had lived in this house for the past eight years and he hadn't put anything of himself into it; he had hired someone to come in and decorate it. The only thing he made his was his bedroom because that's where he lay his head at night. He sighed to himself, he just knew that Katrina was going to come in and turn his life upside down. He'd come home from a business trip to see his desk decorated with pictures and baby toys lying around on the floor. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, he could see her waddling around the house with her growing belly or her chasing after their child with a big smile on her face.
Thinking of Katrina made his headache calm down and he was finally able to make his way to his walk-in closet; he needed to be dressed in more than boxers, he didn't want Katrina having a heart attack. He walked into the closet and put her dress down on the chair, with his wife heavy on his mind. He wanted to get this Veronica business over with; he didn't need Katrina worrying about this and getting herself all worked up. He cared about her and her health, his heart couldn't afford for this baby to pass too; it just couldn't. He pulled on his black slacks, black socks, and went in search of his black Gucci shoes. He grabbed a black and white polo shirt and pulled it over his head, then ran his hands through his hair; how he wished he were still in bed with his wife right now.
He walked over to his speaker box and paged the butler.
"Good morning Mr. Riccardi what can I do for you sir? He heard Charles say in his aging voice. Charles had been his personal butler ever since he could walk and talk, and when he decided to move out of his parents' house Charles followed suit. Charles insisted that he come because no one and he meant no one would be able to take his place. Charles was loyal to him and that's what he liked the most.
"Buongiorno Charles, can you please bring me a glass of water and have breakfast delivered to my wife as soon as she wakes up."
There was a knock on the door, "Come in" Alonzo said as he walked out of his closet and towards his desk. Xavier, Charles’s young son walked in with trembling fingers, making the tray rattle. Alonzo took a deep breath and beckoned the boy forward. It wasn't a bad thing to instill fear in people, but it bothered him when those he held close to his heart feared him. He had told Xavier time and time again not to be afraid of him. People afraid of something or someone always had something to hide. As long as he wasn't hiding something, or didn't cross him, there was no reason for him to be afraid.
Alonzo narrowed his eyes on the boy as he took his glass; was he hiding something? Lately he had every right to be on his p's and q's, and look at everyone as a suspect. After analyzing the poor boy, he flicked his hand towards the door, dismissing him. Alonzo walked over to his arched window and looked out on the Tuscany landscape. His eyes roamed over green hills and olive trees as he brought the glass to his mouth, he could hear the ice bouncing off the side of the glass. He watched as the sun rose over the dark green hills, caressing them with its rays of light.
He placed his hand on the windowsill and leaned forward as the sky changed colors. He watched in amazement as the once dark sky, started to turn pink and the once dark grass started to become lighter. The fog was clearing away and joining the clouds in the sky once again. He closed his eyes and let the silence overtake him. The house was so quiet, that if he tried hard enough he could probably hear his wife breathing.
There was a knock on the door and his once silent atmosphere was slipping away.
"In" was all he said, all he needed to say.
He knew it wasn't her that entered his office, he didn't smell the rose perfume that she always wore; it was predictable. Instead, he heard a man’s footsteps, rather loud footsteps, and he knew right away that it was Gabe. Why in the hell was Gabe coming in his office and not Veronica; his day was already shot to hell, what else could possibly go wrong?
"Al, Dr. Ponti insisted that he come. He needs to talk to you about Veronica’s situation." He heard Gabe say. He felt his fingers tightened around the glass; he was seething inside. About her situation, it was their situation. She should've told him dammit, matter of fact she shouldn't have done anything so stupid. He spun around on his feet and looked his friend right in the eyes.
He spoke through clenched teeth "I sent you to do one fucking thing Gaben, and you come back with another. Just send him in before I lose the little patience that I have left," he said as Gabe flinch and then toughened up again; if he wasn't about to completely lose it, he would consider taking back the words he spat at his friend, but fuck it he should've known better. Gabe nodded his head and walked swiftly back out the door.
Alonzo kept his eyes trained on the door as it opened again and in came the doctor. He was trying his hardest to keep his anger and frustration in check, he didn't give a damn if the doctor went crying back to his parents, but he did care if his wife was woke up. The doctor's posture was stiff except for his hands; he kept twiddling them back and forth. Alonzo wanted to snatch his hand and rip it off his body, why was he just standing there. He insisted on coming and talking to him and now he stood in front of him as a mouse would if standing in front of an eagle. He took a sip of his water, letting the cold liquid slide down his throat, hoping that it would cool him down.
"Well" he said and watched the doctor flinch in terror. So, the doctor was a man to talk big but when faced with danger he cowered back; he hated those kind of men. He was glad that his wife insisted that Maria fly over to take care of her and the baby.
Dr. Ponti played with his fingers repeatedly and wouldn't look him in the face as he said, "Mr. Riccardi, you must understand that Ms. Smith is in a very delicate condition and situation. She just lost her baby, and she is falling into depression; she must not become stressed."
Alonzo's face hardened as he looked at the doctor with deadly eyes "You just be on standby doc, because I don't feel like being gentle at the moment. So if she becomes too stressed, I'll send you in, but I'll promise you nothing. Now get out and send her in.," he said while sitting down behind his desk, he needed to sit down before he did something he'd probably regret. He followed the doctor’s robotic movements as he made his way out the door, and so help him God, if Veronica wasn't the next person to come in he was going to shoot someone.
The door opened silently and finally she walked in. Alonzo felt himself stiffen as he took in her appearance. The once blonde Australian model that had kept him on his toes stood in front of him a different person. Her once tall postured frame was slouched, and she looked as though she were losing weight fast.
Her bleach blonde hair that used to bounce with every movement, now laid flat on the side of her face and along her forehead. Her lips were pale and her skin appeared to be lacking the blood needed to pump through her veins. Her big blue eyes looked dull and she had dark circles under her eyes. Che cosa ha fatto? Oh Dio, she should've told him, he looked down at her rounded stomach, which was now empty. His child no longer safe in her womb, he looked up at her with cold eyes.
-
Veronica's breath caught in her throat. This man was looking better with each passing day. What had it been, almost four months since she saw him last? His day old stubble made her knees weak, and it looked like he kept running his hands through his hair. His un-kept eyebrows made her want to roll her eyes. She stiffened as she looked into his cold grey eyes. The same eyes that looked deeply into her own and told her no; flat out, no more talking about having a family.
Her hands immediately went to her rounded stomach, and she watched as his eyes followed her movements. A silent tear escaped her eyes as she realized that her baby was no longer there. She couldn't understand what went wrong, she'd read all the baby books and followed every instruction. Even her doctor said that her baby seemed completely healthy. She'd waited until she had passed her five-month mark before she came to tell Alonzo. She was paranoid that he would make her terminate the pregnancy, not that he'd ever go so far as to say such a thing; but she wouldn't take any chances.
She knew she was pregnant when she so boldly brought up having a family on their eight-month anniversary. She should've waited, she should've seen the signs, but when he stiffened and began to pace in front of her, she knew having a family was out of the question for Alonzo Riccardi. She couldn't sleep in the same bed knowing she was pregnant and knowing that it wasn't something that he wanted. She'd so foolishly broken off their relationship and went back home to Australia.
Even though she hadn't kept in touch with him, she continued to look him up. Trying to see if there was another on his arm, she knew Alonzo wasn't one to dwell on things for too long. If it was over then it was over, he really didn't care. To think she'd fallen in love with this man and gave him all of her for eight months and he hadn't even thought to call and check up on her. About a week ago, her Google alert went off about him and she froze at what she saw. After months of reading nothing but bullshit and looking at pictures of him by himself, something finally came up.
He was holding hands with someone, paparazzi hovered heavily around them; she didn't get a good look at the girl because dark glasses hid her face. Her brown hair waved loosely in the wind, her face hidden in his chest as she clutched his hand tightly. The picture made her face flush with heat but the title made her sick to her stomach; 'The Bachelor taken off the market again? He's traded in His Blonde for a Brunette, but who is this lucky lady?' She ran to her bathroom and threw up everything she'd eaten that day. At that moment she'd known she waited too long, she had to hurry up, get to Italy, and tell him about the baby before it was too late and her chances ran out. And she did, she flew here as soon as she could and two days ago she arrived in Italy and last night she lost her baby boy; her own little Alonzo Riccardi.
She walked stiffly to a chair in front of his desk, her thoughts weighed heavily on her mind. She wanted to meet the new girlfriend, and rip her head off. She'd taken away the two most important things in her life, her boyfriend and her baby. It all made sense to her, if she could just get his new lady out of the way, she could have Alonzo back and he would surely give her a baby again; it was his child as well that she lost. The doctors kept saying that she wasn't thinking rationally and that she was falling into depression, but it all made sense to her. Her body was on high alert and once she removed the threat, then so be it. She was so mentally involved with her vengeful plan that when Alonzo started to talk, she almost jumped out of her own skin.
"Why?" he said in a low voice that made her heart skip a beat, it was almost similar to the voice he used when taking her over the edge, but this voice scared her a little. She tried to calm down and get her thoughts together, she knew he wouldn't hurt her; he loved her. Sure, he hadn't said it verbally but he had let her know in so many other ways.
She prayed that her heart would stop beating so loudly, surely, he could hear it "I wanted to have a family with you." It was the simplest answer, but she was being completely honest. She watched in horror as his beautiful grey eyes glazed over and became dark, like the midnight sky.
"After I specifically told you, that I didn't want a family with you or anybody else." Veronica flinched at his voice; she could feel her heart trying to bolt out of her chest. That was a real low blow, when she was already at her lowest. Of course he wanted a family with her, he just didn't want one at that time; that's all he was trying to say or that's how she took it.
"I was already pregnant when you told me that." She said and cast her eyes towards the grand window, afraid of the expression on his face; she quickly turned back around when he spoke next, his voice deadly and low.
"How far along Veronica?" he asked and her breath once again caught at how his accent caressed her name. She had to keep chanting to herself that he cared about her, so that she would have the guts to go on with this conversation.
She wrung her fingers together as a distraction when she spoke "Two months, is still early enough to terminate the pregnancy." She said and immediately became sad, or was she feeling depressed, she wasn’t sure, all she knew was that her baby was no longer and tears were on the verge of falling.
His fist hitting the desk brought her out of her thoughts "I would've done no such thing, Veronica, I would never dismiss a child of mine." He said furiously and she tried to hide the small hope in her eyes. Was he telling her the truth, could she have confided in him, told him about the baby? She closed her eyes and tried not to cry, oh God, what had she done? She should've just told him and she would be happy with him and still have their baby.
"How did this even fucking happen? You were on birth control; I put you on birth control and I trusted you to take your pill every day, specifically so that this wouldn't happen." He said his voice no longer a mere whisper but booming with anger. She tried her best to hold in the whimper that wanted to escape her mouth.
"I stopped taking the pills." She saw his eyes darken and his brows furrow, she continue to explain her case "Don't be angry with me, baby. Please, I just wanted to have a family and be with you forever. I was madly in love with you Alonzo, I still am." She said breathless.
The look he sent her made her clutch her stomach, she bowed her head as pain over took her. She should still be in the hospital, in fact, she had begged that stupid doctor not to call Alonzo. She wasn't feeling well and she knew that with the news she just delivered his wrath was going to come down on her hard; she wanted to leave and she stood up to do just that when his cold voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Sit down" he said and his voice both scared her and knocked the wind out of her. She stumbled into the chair in haste, not wanting to make the man she loved angrier with her. "Don't you dare fucking move until I say you can. How could you be so foolish to try to trap me, you know what kind of life I live and yet you defy me? Veronica, how could you be so stupid?" she flinched at his words and became teary eyed. She held her tears in though; she knew it was her fault that he was being so cruel to her right now. He loved her and she hurt him, took away his trust, he had every right to be upset with her, but with time she would make him trust and love her again. He would give her another baby; she was just waiting patiently for that moment to come. She just needed to get rid of this new girl.
"Now look what you've done, on one of the most important nights of my life. I would rather not have found out that my ex-girlfriend had lost our baby, a baby that I had no idea she was carrying."
Why was he speaking like that, what most important night did he have last night? She and their baby were the most important things, well just her right now. What did he mean by ex-girlfriend; she was still very much his girlfriend, they were just taking a little break was all. This new girl was nothing compared to her, even though she hadn't gotten a good look at her, she just knew how Alonzo felt about her. She had eight months on some girl who had only been around for a week. Maybe they had sex, but she could forgive him for that, he could make it up to her in so many ways.
"Have you seen yourself, Veronica what have you done?" she smoothed down her hair and skirt, trying to make herself look presentable. Why hadn't she put on some make up before she came to see him? "Do you take this situation lightly Veronica? I have plenty of things on my list that I have to do and I wasn't expecting you to be one of them. I'm trying really hard right now to control my temper and have patience with you, but it's slipping through my fucking fingers."
Veronica felt her anger rising and for the first time she felt herself becoming angry with Alonzo "Of course I take this situation serious Alonzo. I lost our little boy...,” she screamed at him but immediately calmed down at the sound of his fist hitting the mahogany wood desk.
"I fucking lost a baby too Veronica and you sit in front of me trying to fix yourself up and tell me how much you love me. You don't love me and stop calling me baby, because if you loved me you would've told me about my son; my son." He said and his voice broke at the end.
Veronica felt her heart crack, why was he doing this to her? Why was he yelling at her when he was the one to blame as well? He was the one with the girlfriend. "You didn't love me, because if you did you would've came looking for me, but instead you found yourself a new girlfriend. Where is that bitch Alonzo? Where's the bitch that cost me my baby and my man?" she spat at him with tears running down her face. Alonzo was looking at her as if she'd gone crazy, she didn't mean to say he didn't love her of course he loved her.
"You watch your mouth and lower your voice Veronica." He said through clenched teeth, while pointing his finger in her direction.
Then she saw it and the oxygen was knocked out of her body, and she felt as if her heart had stopped beating. She tried to gasp air into her lungs, it felt like she was having a panic attack. What was happening to her, what had he gone and done? Why did she have to be so late? She looked on in horror at his wedding ring; she couldn't believe her eyes. He'd gotten married, was it to her, that skank she'd seen on the front page of the tabloids with him?
"You're married?" she asked to make sure as she stared at the ring on his left hand; maybe she was just seeing things, this just couldn't be. It was supposed to be her that he married, not another. Getting the girlfriend, now wife, out of the picture didn't change things, her anger just drove her to do it more.
He looked at her confused, then looked at his wedding ring. He crossed his hands together in front of him, while looking her directly in the eyes "I am." He simply said. Why wasn't he showing her any sign of remorse, he wasn't supposed to go and marry someone else. Was it that he was trying to hide how he felt because she had hurt him so badly? If that was the case then she could understand, but she knew deep down inside that he loved her, he was just trying to protect himself.
Why had he married her though? There had to be some reasoning to this, he wouldn't have done it just to do it. Her mind was reeling with ideas, trying to figure out why. It couldn't be because of love, because he was in love with her. Could it be because he had gone looking for solace in another woman’s arms; because of the heartache she had caused him? Was it a mistake that he had to correct? He had once told her that the only reason he would marry was because of... Why hadn't she believed him at the time, now it was too late. She gasped and placed one hand to her now beating heart and the other on her empty round stomach.
"Is she pregnant Alonzo? Are you having a baby with her?" she asked and prayed to the lord above that his answer was no, she would really hate to get a baby involved in this drama, after she'd so recently lost her own.
"She is my wife and my business alone. I will not answer any of your questions and after today I'll have nothing more to do with you." He said through clenched teeth and she closed her eyes as tears seeped down. He'd answered her question by denying the answer; he was having a baby with someone else and she'd waited too late. Someone else was living the life that was meant for her, could still be meant for her if she could bring herself back in the picture; maybe she should play the sympathy card.
"Alonzo please give me another baby. That way we can be together, I'm the wife that you truly desire. Once she has the other baby we'll take it away from her and raise it as our own. I can make you happy; let me make you happy. Give me another baby, plant your seed back into me," she said desperately, oh she so desperately wanted his child inside her again, and she didn't care if she had to raise another woman's child.
Alonzo looked at her as if she'd become Medusa "Have you gone insane Veronica? Why would I do something as stupid as that? The first time I had not known and if I had it wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't be so careless as to do it on purpose. You keep my wife out of this silly game you were so fucking foolish enough to play. After today you had better not step foot in any part of Italy again, I'm already cursing myself for letting you just walk away so easily. If you were anyone else, you'd be six feet under right now. I know the girl you use to be and that girl isn't the one who sits in front of me today. Be lucky that I'm letting you go, you've been through enough already, and even though I didn't want a child. I can't believe you were so stupid as to keep that from me. I'm mentally worn out and I'm tired of bringing yesterday's news into today..." his words were cut off by a ruckus at the door. This pleased Veronica; she couldn't take any more of his burning words.
She thought she was happy until she heard a female voice coming through the door; she looked up at Alonzo who was staring at the door as well. His attention was solely on the door, and not directed at her anymore. Whether it was bad or good didn’t matter, she loved his attention, It showed that he cared and loved her. The voices were getting louder, and getting on her nerves; make the wife shut up already, send her away. Her husband was otherwise engaged, she thought to herself.
'Why can't I go into my husband's office Gabe? Who's in there with him? Let me through the door damn you.' There was a pause followed by 'yeah well I'll kick you up and down these hallways with my pregnant feet if you don't let me see my husband.'
Veronica wanted to laugh, Alonzo's wife was feisty, she liked that, she didn't want a girl she could walk all over. She wanted Alonzo back with every bone in her body and she wanted someone who was going to give her a challenge.
"Dammit just let her in Gabe." He said, his voice booming throughout the room. She wanted to scream no at the top of her lungs; she wanted to keep him all to herself. The noise quickly died down, and then she realized that she wanted to look the woman in the face, the woman that had so boldly stole what was hers and married the man she loved.
She heard the door open and she could smell his Axe body wash fill the room, was she bathing in his body wash? She felt anger rising, how dare she bathe in his body wash? He would never let her do such a thing, who in the hell was this wife of his?
She looked into his eyes and what she saw made her dizzy. What was she seeing in his eyes? It couldn't possibly be love could it. NO! She couldn't, she wouldn't believe it; he was in love with her. She couldn't mistake it; it showed in his eyes. No matter how many times she tried to block it out, he looked at his wife with so much care and adoration.
"I'm sorry for interrupting you; I know you're a busy man. I just wanted to say thank you for breakfast and I wanted to say hello to my husband post wedding day." She said in a cheery but hesitant voice and Veronica wanted to rip her head right off of her shoulders. She could hear her approaching and the small hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she came closer.
She watched with fiery eyes as Alonzo stood up to greet his wife, she stepped right into his arms and leaned on her tiptoes to graze her lips with his own, before he fully descended on her mouth. Veronica turned her head away in disgust, how could he display such a thing in front of her. She just had to keep saying that he was still in love with her, and that measly wife of his was nothing but a distraction.
She chanced a glance back at them to see that his arms were securely on her waist, and she was looking up at him, allowing her brown wavy hair to flow down her back. Veronica cleared her throat and they immediately broke apart, as if awakened from a daze.
"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners; I'm Katrina, Alonzo's wife." She said while making her way towards Veronica with her arm out stretched, awaiting a handshake. Veronica looked back at the hand directed towards her and for a split second, she wanted to snatch it and dislocate it; she quickly thought better of it. She looked up into the face of this Katrina and had to admit that the woman was beautiful, but could she even be considered a woman? She looked young, oh God was Alonzo looking for someone with more spirit, if so, she could be that for him.
She looked into the light green eyes of Katrina and tried hard to stay civil, they could bring out their cat claws later. She looked her up and down and her eyes froze on her stomach. She took a deep breath and tried to relax, to a normal person she wouldn't look as though she were expecting, but to a woman who had recently lost her child, she could tell; she could see her small bump where Alonzo's baby grows safely. She blinked her eyes quickly to stop the tears from falling; she missed her baby.
"Veronica" she said not bothering to shake her hand, she watched as Katrina's face paled a little. She looked at Alonzo before looking back at her. Veronica sat up in her seat, so little Miss Sunshine knew who she was. She furrowed her brows as she walked over to her husband and stood beside his chair, her hand splayed protectively over his shoulder. This caused Veronica to smirk, so the wife wanted to bring out the claws already, well two could play at this game.
"I couldn't help but notice that you're pregnant. How far along are you?" she asked and knew that the question threw her off guard by the surprised looked on her face.
Her hand immediately went to her stomach as she spoke "Oh, I just hit the two month mark." She said and smiled down at Alonzo who was looking at Veronica with cold eyes; warning her to tread carefully.
"Be careful of that morning sickness, it will kick your butt. I was at my five month mark when the sickness finally went away." She said and although she felt sad, this bitch had it coming.
She smiled inside as she heard Katrina gasp and looked at Alonzo, who had stiffened. Aww so he wasn't going to tell his little house wife about their baby, well she’d be damned.
"You're pregnant?" she heard her ask in a whispered tone.
"I was pregnant; I lost my son last night, while his father was getting married to you." She said in a furious but low tone. She smiled to herself as she watched Katrina's face drained completely of blood as she backed away from Alonzo. She saw the tears well up in her eyes and Alonzo immediately got out of his chair; she swayed and he rushed to catch her. Veronica felt the envy climbing up in her, why he couldn’t have been there for her and did this with her.
"GET OUT" he spat at her and she flinched, fine she'd leave for now but she'd be back. She started to stand when she heard the doors to the office burst open. "Get her the fuck out of here right now, or so help me God, I'll fucking kill her." He said. The bodyguard roughly pulled her to her feet and escorted her to the door.
"Be careful not to stress too much Mrs. Riccardi, it's really easy to lose a baby." She tossed the words over her shoulder as she was escorted from the room. Before she knew what was happening, she was spun around on her feet, the move almost knocking the wind out of her. Hands roughly turned her towards a seething Alonzo and she flinched.
"Are you threating my wife and the safety of my child Veronica? Don't test the patience I have for you." He said in a menacing voice, and her heart was slowing breaking.
She held back the tears as best she could "Not at all Alonzo. I'm simply letting her know that losing a child is unexpected. I had to find out the hard way." She said with her chin held high and tears streaming down her face. He released the tight grip on her arm and waved his hand to his man. Once again, she was being escorted from the house. Little did he know this wasn't the last he would see of her. She wanted him back and there was nothing she wouldn't do.
"I want her on the next flight out of Italy." She heard him say before his voice drifted off and so did her mind.
-
Veronica was seconds away from crying herself to sleep when there was a knock on the door. Could it possibly be him? Was he coming to apologize for the heartache he had put her through? She made her way out of the hotel bed and wiped away her tears. She smoothed down her hair as she made her way to the door. She opened the door with a small smile on her face, which disappeared altogether when she realized that it wasn't Alonzo at the door.
A man wearing glasses that she didn’t recognize stood in front of her. He wore all black and carried a snake cane to match. Something about this man made her skin crawl. "Do I know you?” she asked curious to see if Alonzo had sent him, maybe with gifts?
"No, we haven't met, but I hear you just lost a baby, my condolences." He said while slightly bowing "I came to discuss business with you."
She looked at him wearily "What kind of business?"
"I'm told we have an interest in the same enemy. Mrs. Katrina Riccardi, to be exact," he said, she felt the blood in her veins turn ice cold; now he had her full attention.
He took off his glasses and she stared into chocolate brown eyes "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Marcello may I come in?" He said. She opened the door wider so that he could come in, and then closed it behind them.