Page 15 of Twisted Obsession

‘I can’t believe that my whole life has been turned upside down in the space of a few hours.’ I took the offered water from Paulo and sipped at the cool liquid, not wanting to gulp in case I gave the rising sick in my oesophagus an excuse to force itself free. At the thought of being ill, which was something that had terrified me since childhood, my hands felt clammy. I rubbed the free one down over the skirt of my linen dress and watched the fabric crease in the dampness. Repeatedly, I rubbed against the material, until Dante placed his hand over mine trying to stop my hand’s relentless path. Lorenzo took a step forward and I lifted my head to glare at him, effectively stopping his progress.

‘It’s a feeling I know only too well.’ I turned my head to look at Dante and for the first time I saw pain behind the normallybright blue, playful eyes. One slow blink and it was gone, leaving me wondering if I’d imagined it.

‘You do?’ I questioned hopefully, desperate to think about something else other than the fact my family had dramatically fallen apart.

‘Hmmm,’ he replied. His tongue played with his two front teeth, and he appeared momentarily lost in thought.

‘I’m not sure I know how to do all of this.’ My ridiculously sheltered upbringing was shouting inside my head that I hadn’t the skills to deal with this sort of emotional fallout.

‘You can, and you will, because you must. I know how much pain one person can deal with. Look at Serafina. Our elder brother was killed, and our papa had a massive heart attack, which has damaged so much of his heart he now uses a wheelchair. Instead of going to university like she dreamt of, she married your brother at sixteen and lost their first child.’ He seemed to force himself to stop talking, leaving him with a tautness to his jaw and a flare to his nostrils.

‘I admire her so much. At least her marriage is a happy one.’ I smiled as I thought of them both.

‘At least,’ he offered, somewhat quizzically.

‘I mean, here I am at twenty and alone.’

‘Twenty is no age at all.’ He shook his head at me, making me feel unexpectedly like a silly teenager.

‘It might not be in England,’ I retorted. ‘But here, most of our marriages are arranged way before then.’

‘Touché,’ he countered, suddenly looking angry. Then he nodded, seemingly understanding where I was going.

‘Is your marriage already arranged?’ he asked.

I knew I didn’t know Dante well, if at all really, but I understood then that I felt him practically bristle with anger. His posture stiffened and the hand that had been gently caressing mine froze in place and then began to tighten over mine.

‘No.’ I all but whispered the single word as I turned to face him.

‘Good.’ He nodded, with a ghost of a smile pulling at the corners of those full lips I wanted to feel on me once again.

‘I’m not sure it’s good.’ His left eyebrow raised at me in question, and I carried on with my reasoning. ‘I think it must be incredible to have someone to rely on, not only for your own happiness, but also knowing that you could be the catalyst of theirs, too.’ I felt a flush of embarrassment as Dante gently caressed my hand again, and I attempted to rein in my tongue. ‘But apparently, I’m not good ‘Ndrangheta marriage material.’ I shrugged trying to appear more indifferent than I felt. ‘Maybe it’s my awkwardness or the fact I want more from my life than just marriage and babies.’

‘You’re not awkward, you just need the right person to be by your side.’ He cleared his throat suddenly as if he’d said too much. ‘Maybe the truth is you don’t want to marry because of the constraints?’ he questioned.

‘I do. But I’ll need someone who understands me,’ I answered.

Trying to appear nonchalant at his questioning, I watched as Lorenzo touched his ear to listen to something. When he walked a few steps away, leaving only Paulo up close and personal, I motioned with my head that he should step further back.

‘Go on,’ he encouraged.

‘I think it must be wonderful to have someone who shares not only your dreams and passions, but also your fears, worries and concerns.’ I let the words tumble hurriedly from my lips before I thought too much about the insight I was giving him.

‘It must,’ he agreed, before clearing his throat again, removing his hand from mine and unexpectedly standing.

I clutched my water tighter and watched as beads of condensation fell quickly down the heavy glass I was holding, as I tried to take the focus away from feeling bereft at his distance.

Rapidly, his large hand crossed the gap between us.

‘Come on, let’s take you to see your grandfather.’

I placed my glass to the floor and took hold of his offered hand once again, after grieving the loss of it for those few seconds. As our flesh connected, making my breath stutter, and his fingers tightened to enclose mine in a consolidatory grip, I stood to accept his help. Completely taken aback at the familiarity my body felt at our connection, I lifted my gaze to his. And there, in those few stolen seconds, Dante lifted his other hand and brushed across my cheekbone with the back of his fingers.

‘Giovanna, know this—you were made for me and me only. I want to be that someone for you.’ He spoke out confidently, setting off a chain reaction inside me of need and want. I appreciated then, that if he offered me more than just today’s hand of friendship, I would take it, with or without my family’s blessing.

Chapter Seven

Giovanna

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