“Ruby Mae, this is Claudio Morandi. He and his uncle work for my family.” Luke draped his arm over my shoulders. “And this is my…this is Ruby Mae Jewell.”
I stuck out my hand to shake, ignoring my fiancé’s choice not to reveal our relationship status. “Pleased to meet you.”
The young man accepted my offer, shaking once before releasing me and bowing. “Any friend of Luca is more than welcome.”
“Claudio, while it is just us, I would prefer if you called me Luke.” A wrinkle creased my boyfriend’s brow.
“Of course, as you wish.” The young man bowed again. “Although it will be a hard habit to break.”
“I have no doubt. But at least until I return home, I can dream a little longer.” Luke ran his fingers through his hair, and I did my best to soothe him with an extra squeeze around his middle.
A couple of airport workers hurried over to place our luggage in the trunk of the car. Claudio busied himself making sure they had everything before we left.
I took the brief moment to check in with Luke. Throwing my arms around his neck, I scrutinized the look in his eyes. “Is everything okay?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry for not telling him about us. It was a knee-jerk reaction and very ungentlemanly. But we have just today to live where it’s you and me. I want to make the most of it before, as you say in your part of the world, all hell breaks loose.”
Claudio returned and ushered us to the open doors of the back seat. “If you please, I have already alerted the staff of your arrival. Based on the time of day, we should be there in about an hour.”
Luke assisted me into the car, and I settled against the soft leather of the seat. He buckled the belt over me with a sly grin, knowing I hated being fussed over. When he finished, I shot him a mock annoyed glare, causing him to laugh. Some of my own tension eased away at the sound.
“Andiamo!” he declared as he sat down in the seat next to me.
I recalled the word during our brief Italian lesson on the jet. “That means let’s go, right?”
“Very good.” He nodded in approval. “And do you remember how to say good day?”
I struggled to remember the right phrase. “Bon Jovi?” I teased.
He chuckled. “Great band, but not close enough. It’s buon giorno.”
“Bon jorno,” I butchered, sighing at my mistake. “How about I just say hey and howdy to everybody. It’s probably what everyone would expect from a Southerner like me.”
He grabbed my hand and held it in his. “That’ll work. I want you to feel free to be yourself while you’re here.”
I grimaced, gazing out the window as we drove away from the airstrip. “It’s going to be hard to feel comfortable knowing the little that I know about your family and how they feel about witches.”
Luke’s thumb rubbed circles on the skin of my hand. “It has been a long time. I don’t think they would risk hurting relations with me on my first return.”
I mulled over his chosen words with care. He didn’t say with any clarity what position they would take once they found out I was a witch. Nor did he reassure me of what his plans were if his parents did come out directly against me and our impending wedding. I touched the spot where the token lay against me, hoping time would give me more answers.
Once we got closer to the city, the traffic built up around us. “Holy hexes, everyone is going so fast. And it’s like they don’t even see the lines on the road.” I flinched away from the car that grazed by us.
Claudio laughed from the driver’s seat. “If you think this is bad, wait until we get to the middle of the city.”
Despite riding in a luxurious car, my nerves jangled the more the traffic grew. Luke checked his phone and typed out a few messages like nothing was happening, but I cowered and suppressed squeals of alarm every time a car came close or a scooter buzzed right past my window.
Luke unbuckled his belt and scooted closer to me. “Try not to focus on the vehicles. Start looking at what’s surrounding us.”
Not sure if I could calm down, I did as he suggested and gasped at the architecture towering above us.
“Think about all the history that exists in this tiny section of the country. The Romans established an empire right here, but they were not the first to settle here. The Etruscans, the Sabines, they lived here many millenniums ago. It is the oldest occupied city in all of Europe, and it’s right out there for you to see.”
Luke did his job of distracting me with great ease, pointing out specific landmarks or buildings and giving me some basic history. He talked of all the historical figures who clawed their way into power but never kept it for very long.
“And I suppose you were there when Caesar was in charge,” I teased, bumping him with my shoulder.
“Ancestors of my family were alive during those times, but no, I was born during a different era,” he replied, missing my joke. As soon as he caught on, he tickled my ribs. “I may be old, but I’m not ancient.”
We cuddled together as he continued to explain the Italian way of living and how he missed the fast pace of it. “You will see when we walk around. It’s both fast and slow at the same time, like a heartbeat can be. Full of vitality and richness, for this city is alive.”
By the time we made it to wherever Claudio took us, I was ready to ignore the bit of exhaustion hitting me and go exploring. I expected to be ushered
