The only way I knew of to resist it was to immerse myself fully in the city I now called home. It was a beautiful summer’s day with vibrantly bright blue skies overhead. A few puffy clouds floated lazily above me as I watched a heron dipping through the air.
The city was well and truly awake now, unlike how it had been when I’d ventured out before sunrise that morning. I didn’t know what time Marco got to his office, and I’d wanted to make sure that I beat him there. The job meant everything to me. I’d needed to make a good first impression, and I figured a superb place to start was to show him how seriously I took it.
The warmth of the cobblestones beneath me ghosted across the bare skin of my legs. Somewhere in the distance, I heard opera music being played and the ringing of church bells. The scent of exhaust and cappuccino mingled with wafts of damp plaster and truffles as I walked past ancient buildings and food trucks.
My heart had found a home here. It was exactly what I’d needed to be reminded of, and while I still missed Kyle, I no longer felt nostalgic for Portland.
A smile made its way to my lips as I walked along the same streets the people of Firenze had walked hundreds of years ago. Nowhere I’d been had nurtured my soul quite like this place.
By the time I got to my apartment, Elena was lounging on the couch. Her toes were separated by foam pillows as she brushed lime-green polish onto her nails.
She looked up when I walked in. “Where did you go off to so early?”
Sticking two fingers into my pocket, I extracted the cash Marco had given me and held it up for her to see. “Getting this. It’s my share of the rent for the month.”
Her eyebrows went up as she eyed the money. “Did you suck the landlord’s dick after all? Where the fuck did you get that so early in the morning? You were only gone a few hours.”
“Again, the landlord is a woman. She doesn’t have a dick for me to suck. I got a new job. Rent shouldn’t be a problem for me again.”
Elena’s lips spread into a slow smile. “Come sit down then. I want to hear all about it.”
Chapter 9
Marco
I hit send on the email to Addy and sat back in my chair. There. I had fulfilled my promise to her. Now I had to wait and see what her feedback would be.
Scrubbing my hands over my jaw, I wondered if I’d made the right call by hiring her with so little background about her skills and experience. I had a gut feeling about her, though. All I had to do now was trust it, just as I had done so far.
I couldn’t prove myself right or wrong until I heard back from her anyway. It would probably take her a few days to work through the information I’d sent, and we could take it from there.
If the liaison position didn’t work out, perhaps I could fit her in elsewhere. I didn’t know where yet, but I would cross that bridge when I got to it.
Midday sun streamed in through the windows in my office, and a pang in my stomach told me it had to be around lunchtime. A quick glance down at my rose-gold smartwatch confirmed it.
Stretching out with my arms above my head, I mentally ran through my options for lunch. I wasn’t in the mood to grab something off the street, but I also didn’t feel like eating alone.
Luckily, I had a twin brother with too much time on his hands and a thing for any meal I paid for. I picked my phone up as I rolled my chair back and pushed to my feet, grabbing my jacket as I hit the call button on Aldo’s name.
“Please don’t tell me you’re calling to say you’re leaving town again so soon,” he said instead of a greeting. “Mama would definitely kill the messenger. I know it’s for business, but she wouldn’t do well if you left again just after getting back.”
“It’s not my fault I’m her favorite,” I joked as I walked to the door. “But you don’t have to worry about it for now. I’m not going anywhere except out to lunch. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up with me?”
“Sure. Where?”
“Culinaria?” It was a firm favorite of ours and close enough to my office to walk there.
Aldo smacked his lips. “I could do with their Bistecca alla Fiorentina. I’ll meet you there in ten.”
“Just once, I wish you would have something other than the steak,” I grumbled as I headed out. “They make other food too, you know?”
“Yeah, but it’s known as the king dish of Florence for a reason. Why eat anything else when I can have the king dish?”
I rolled my eyes before lifting my sunglasses out of the case and sliding them on as I stepped outside. “Whatever. One day, you’ll learn to try new things and appreciate variety.”
“The only area in my life where I like to try new things and appreciate variety is sex, brother.”
“I didn’t need to know that.” I cut him off before he said something that was really going to make me need to scrub my brain with acid to get the images out of it. “I’ll see you there in ten.”
Aldo was still laughing when I hung the phone up in his ear. Bastard.
Still, I smiled as I stuck my hands in my pockets and started walking down the street. My brother’s ability not to take himself or life too seriously was one
