Page 45 of Now and Forever

“You can take those to the bedroom,” Contessa instructed Armando.

Dario took Armando’s place in the elevator, and the doors closed without a goodbye.

Ignoring my stupid feelings of self-pity, I pressed forward, doing my best to smile. “Contessa, please call me Catalina. I hope we can be friends.”

The temperature seemed to drop as Contessa pressed her lips together with a curt nod. “Would you like to see the apartment first or go directly to your bedroom suite?”

“The apartment, if you don’t mind.”

“Very well.” Contessa led me into the spacious living room. Dario’s taste of furnishing was opulent without extravagance. Grays and blues interrupted the mostly white décor. Plush white shag rugs filled the seating areas, covering the marble floor. She took a step toward a hallway. “The theater room is through here.”

“Dario has a theater room. I don’t picture him as a man who takes time to watch a movie.”

“It wasn’t constructed for him.”

Who was it constructed for?

Contessa forged ahead, opened a door, and turned on a light. The room consisted of eight reclining leather seats arranged like a theater. “The controls are over here” —she pointed at a cabinet— “as are a wide selection of DVDs. With cable, virtually every station you’d want to watch is available.”

“I guess I could catch up on some series I’ve been too busy to watch.”

Contessa huffed.

Or maybe not.

Across the hallway, she opened the door to a beautiful library. The scent of books permeated the air.

“Oh, this is more like it,” I said, walking toward the built-in bookcases that extended to the ceiling, complete with a ladder. Three walls were lined with shelves. The fourth had tall windows on either side of a fireplace. I ran my fingers over the spines of the books: biographies, autobiographies, political titles. A smile came to my lips as I found fiction titles. There were thrillers, mysteries, and even romances. “Dario reads romance?”

“No, ma’am.”

When no more information followed, I said, “I do. And there are titles here that I’ve been wanting to read.”

The centered pieces of furniture were two chaises. “I could spend my free time in here.”

“It was…” Contessa shook her head, not finishing her sentence. “Mr. Luciano appreciates the quiet serenity of his library. It’s his escape.”

“So this room was constructed for him.”

Contessa turned to me, puzzlement in her eyes. “Yes, of course. This is, after all, his home.”

I walked to a long glass case slightly out from one of the walls of bookcases and peered inside. It reminded me of something from a museum. Within the glass enclosure was an eclectic collection. Antique weapons, Fabergé eggs, figurines, stamps, and coins.

“Mr. Luciano is a collector of rare and beautiful things,” Contessa said before leaving the library.

Her comment reminded me of something Ariana said. “My son is a collector of sorts. You should know that we’re happy he’s finally decided to collect a woman of worth.”

Am I now part of his collection?

The tour continued into the kitchen. Armando was seated on a tall stool at the breakfast bar with a sandwich half-eaten on a paper plate and a glass of iced tea.

“Mrs—” Armando smiled. “Catalina, your things are upstairs.”

“Thank you.”

Contessa made a face that suggested disapproval at the use of my first name. “Mr. Luciano wouldn’t be pleased.”

“It’s all right,” I said. “I prefer my first name.”

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