Page 80 of Stolen By the Enemy

I book an appointment for her and give Jane the details, adding a hair appointment for her as well, as a thank-you for helping me arrange all of this.

The old woman touches my cheek and smiles before she leaves.

Next, I need to put together my plan for the date.

I call up an old contact who does date set-ups and explain what I would like.

She is fully on board and promises to have everything set up by eight o’clock, which works fine for me.

With everything sorted out, I have five hours before I need to be at the beach to meet Grazia, and I don’t know what to do with myself.

If I stay here, I might just talk myself out of this whole thing, so I get into my car and take a drive, not quite sure where I’m going.

Weighing up my options, I realize there is a place that I haven’t been in ages, since there has been so much going on, and today is the best time to go there.

I drive over to the cemetery where my parents are buried and find their graves. They were buried next to each other.

I tell the headstones the PG version of everything that has happened with Grazia, and the deal, and my plan for tonight.

I know that they can’t answer me, or react to my stories, and I don’t even know if they hear me, but it always feels better when I can tell them about my life.

I have a feeling they would have approved of Grazia, although probably not about all the things I have done in the last few weeks.

I used to come here to tell my parents every big event that happened in my life, and it always made me feel better that they knew what was happening.

Then as I got older, I’d come and spill my worst thoughts and feelings, knowing they wouldn’t judge me.

I got very good at imagining the advice they would give me, and then using that to fix whatever was bugging me.

It’s worked more often than it hasn’t.

I leave them flowers, tell them I love them, and then drive back home to get ready.

This is one date that I don’t want to be late for.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Grazia

I’m surprised that Marco is allowing me to leave the house and go to the beach alone. But at the same time, we’ve both increased the trust that we have for each other.

I know he’s not going to hurt me, and he knows that I want him to succeed. At least, I hope he knows that.

His note was a sweet surprise. And having Jane join me for a day of pampering was a nice break away from the boredom of the beach house.

It felt like it had been forever since I’d given my hair any kind of TLC, and I’m feeling a lot sexier tonight.

A big part of me hopes that this wasn’t all for nothing.

The note said to dress up, so I put on the new dress that I bought on impulse while I was out shopping.

It wasn’t part of my list of things to buy, but I saw it just before I paid and decided to get it in an attempt to manifest better days.

The dress is white and flowy, with lace sleeves and an open back.

It’s the most gorgeous dress I’ve worn in a while, and it feels fitting for whatever surprise Marco has in store for me.

The sun is low in the sky and casting an orange glow across the ocean.

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