Page 51 of Home Free

28

Elise followed Angel into a gourmet kitchen where Angel poured her a glass of limeade made from lemons and limes grown on the property. The other woman chatted about her home in New York and Boston like she and Elise were old friends, although Angel was vague on the details of her upbringing.

Elise tried not to stare, but Angel was super beautiful, with lush blond hair, big green eyes, and cheekbones that looked like they’d been brought to life by a master sculptor. She moved gracefully around the kitchen, her lean figure visible under the sheer coverup she’d thrown over her black swimsuit.

They carried their limeade back out to the pool along with a plate of crispy almond biscotti and Angel called out to the little girl swimming in the pool.

“Stella, come meet our guest. You can practice your English.” The girl heaved herself obediently from the pool and stopped, dripping water from her red bathing suit, in front of her mother. “Elise, this is my daughter Stella. Stella, this is Ms. Berenger.”

Elise laughed. “Please call me Elise.”

“Can I, Mama?” Stella asked, the slightest hint of an Italian accent in her words.

“You may call Elise whatever she prefers to be called, my darling.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Stella said.

She was almost a clone of Angel — same blond hair, same green eyes. It was only the way she stood that was different. There was something confident and bold in her posture, a quality that might not have come from Angel, who seemed like someone Elise might have met at community college, except for the ultra-gorgeous thing.

“It’s nice meeting you too,” Elise said. “That was a beautiful dive a few minutes ago.”

Stella’s face lit up. “You saw?”

Elise nodded. “I wish I’d brought my bathing suit. I think you could give me a few pointers.”

Stella grinned. “I’ll show you again.”

She bolted back to the deep end of the pool.

Angel sighed. “Sorry. She’s a bit of an attention hog.”

Elise laughed. “She’s perfect.”

Angel smiled at her. “I think so.”

“Are you watching?” Stella called.

“We’re watching!” Angel said.

She arced back into the pool, hardly making a splash.

“That was amazing,” Elise said when her head emerged from the water. She looked at Angel. “You might have a future Olympian on your hands.”

“Don’t tell Nico. He’ll have a private coach out here by dinner.”

Elise laughed. “How long have you been married, if you don’t mind my asking?”

She was being nosy, but Angel made it easy to forget she was sitting in the private compound of one of the world’s most notorious mob bosses.

“Not at all,” Angel said. “Let’s see… we got married in Bali almost eight years ago.”

“Wow, Bali,” Elise said. Another surprise. “That must have been amazing.”

Angel’s eyes clouded with memory before they cleared. “It was. It was… small. Just us and my brother David, which was perfect.”

“Did Nico always live in Rome? Or did you decide to move here together?” Elise asked. Surprise passed over Angel’s features and Elise hurried to fix her mistake. “I’m so sorry. I’m asking too many questions.”

Angel shook her head. “It’s refreshing actually. I just forgot not everyone knows everything about us. We moved here together. Getting out of the states was the only way we could really start over.”

---