Page 7 of Bound to You

The town center was charming, but this is just…unreal. The taller buildings hint at subtle luxury with stone details, statues, and arched windows. There is an island separating the right side of the road from the left, with pink flowers billowing over the curb, while beautiful trees line either side of the street.

We come to a stop at the end of the street in front of the grandest building of them all. The place has to be at least ten stories high and is so large that it curves around the end of the cul-de-sac. It’s got those enchanting arched windows on the ground floor with forest green shutters that contrast beautifully to the vintage custard stucco of the rest of the building. Rectangular window boxes rest underneath them with a selection of plants and flowers spilling over the edges. It’s a designer’s dream.

“Did you forget you found us in a beat-up rental stuck on the side of the road, Caio? Like we are like poor,poortravelers,” May says. “We can’t really afford to stay in the Beverly Hills of Ruby Cove.”

She’s right. We could never afford a place like this. Not for more than a night anyway, unless we were bunking in the basement.

Caio doesn’t grant May a response as he cuts the engine and gets out, opening her door before rounding the car to open mine.

I step out and take a breath of what feels like the freshest air I’ve ever allowed into my lungs; the crisp feel a far cry from the smog-filled air of New York.

“Are you coming?” Caio asks from where he’s standing halfway up the cobbled path that leads to the hotel’s entrance. His accent is so beautiful, it makes everything he says sound so romantic. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

May comes to walk by my side as we hesitantly follow. “Did his English lag when I said we can’t afford to stay here?” She links her arm with mine.

“I’m pretty sure he heard you.”

Caio holds open the impressive arched wooden doors for us like the perfect gentleman as we walk through them and into the lobby. I’m careful not to scuff my feet along the elegant marble flooring beneath us.

Caio hands his car keys to the doorman before turning to us. “Wait here,” he says before waltzing up to the front desk and speaking to the lady in fluent Italian, hopefully trying his best to get us a room at such late notice.

I turn to wander as I take in our surroundings. A grand curved staircase is the star of the show, sweeping up the center of the room with its elegant banisters soaking up all the attention.

An elevator dings on the other side of the room, and a smiling family comes bustling out. I follow them as they head towards the back of the room and through the bi-folding doors onto a patio filled with sun loungers where they settle in for the afternoon.

My eyes pan over the lawn that stretches out to the edge of the property, and while the hotel itself is beautiful, the real killer is the view. It’s blue for miles as I look down over the edge of the hill. You can see Main Street of Ruby Cove, but the rest is just an endless ocean glittering beneath the afternoon sun. God, wereallycan’t afford to stay here.

I wander back inside and over to what seems to be a photo wall, featuring candids from formal events full of beautiful people in beautiful outfits laughing with champagne in hand. There’s a black-and-white photo of what looks to be this building, but different. I squint my eyes to read the words scrawled in ink below the photo, but it’s written in Italian. My eyes flick to a newspaper article with the hotel in its more updated fashion with “Hotel Dolce” written on a big sign across the top of the building. Caio is standing out the front, his arm propped up on a grand opening sign with an award-winning smile beaming across his face. I tuck that little tidbit away as I continue scanning the corkboard and land on an ad for a job vacancy. “Cleaners needed,” it reads. Hmm…

“Here’s your key,” I hear Caio say to May from behind me.

“No way you got us a room on such short notice in a place like this,” May starts.

“That’s because this is his hotel,” I interrupt, directing my eyes to his.

He raises a brow in question, but a small smile graces his lips.

“I saw your photo,” I say, gesturing over my shoulder to the photo wall.

“Ah,” he responds, glancing down for a moment as if he’s embarrassed about getting caught.

“Look, this was really nice of you, but we can find a place to stay on our own,” I say, taking the key from May and placing it back in his hand.

“In the peak of summer? You won’t have much luck here. You really don’t have to worry about it. Call it my good deed for the month.” He holds the key back out.

“We don’t need your charity,” I retort, my patience quickly wearing thin.

He turns to May. “Is she always this stubborn?”

“Yup,” she responds. “Since the day I met her.” Caio chuckles to himself.

“No, seriously. She has zero capability of allowing someone to do her a favor, so she’s probably about twenty seconds away from an emotional meltdown here.”

“Okay, can you stop talking about me like I’m not here?” I interject. “I’ll find a way to pay you back,” I promise, but he just smiles back at me, and I have to avert my eyes to look anywhere but his face.

A tall man in a gray suit speed walks over to us. “Bonjour sir,” he addresses Caio.

“Stefan,” he responds, his warm smile dipping ever so slightly.

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