Page 147 of Play of Love
I smiled to myself as we drove by and my eyes scanned over stunning historic churches and buildings. There were also lots of areas where I could see ruins from the ancient city and lots of stone pine trees. The air was fresh, invigorating and had that enticing pull that made you want to enjoy everything.
Fingers crossed, everything worked out well for Lucy, and she'd find Angelo.
If that happened, I planned to do a full on tour and go exploring. I'd go all over Rome and visit all the attractions like the Colosseum and the Vatican. Oh goodness, I could go to the Trevi fountain and throw a whole purse of coins in. I'd also eat as much pizza as I could fit into my body and top it all off with ice cream. This countryhad my name written on it when it came to food. I planned to eat until I passed out.
I'd also like to try and visit the other amazing places in Italy like Venice, Florence, Milan, Verona, everywhere. That would satisfyingly utilize my time off from work. Then I'd go back fresh and full of inspiration. Who knew, I might even finish my latest composition. Inspiration could come to me in many ways, but the most usual way was where I'd get an idea and take my time writing the music so I could feel all the notes were balanced. That way I could glean inspiration from different things. The other way was the one I loved the most.
It was where something intrigued my creativity, and the music would just come together in my mind. For those instances, I could compose a whole symphony in less than an hour.
I continued to gaze out of the window, becoming truly absorbed in the surroundings and atmosphere. As they approached the city, incandescent trees, I didn't know the names of lined the side of the road, mingling with the pine trees to enhance the classical look of the place. Beautiful houses with that classic European style came into my view, monuments here and there, several statues, water fountains, and archways that stole my breath away. Lucy and Gage seemed to be enjoying the view too.
Half way through the drive Lucy got into deep conversation with the driver. Both were speaking Italian. I didn't even know Lucy could speak Italian, but then I guessed there was a lot I didn't know about Lucy.
A lot that Lucy kept to herself, like the whole story of her living in Italy, and Angelo.
I understood, though.
I guessed the pain was too much to bring up, especially if she was trying to forget.
Gage looked tired, more tired than the rest of us so didn't engage in much conversation. That was fine with me because he'd gotten on my nerves the whole way here. He seemed to have found a new obsession in trying to get me to talk to him.
I couldn't be certain if he genuinely wanted to talk to me, or if he was doing it just to annoy me.
Admittedly, he seemed genuine and like he changed quite a lot. At the very least he seemed more human and less demon-like, but I was still on my guard.
I chanced a covert look at him beneath lowered lashes and noticed he was looking out the window. The sun beamed down on his dark spiky hair, making it sparkle. The glow highlighted his sharp chiseled features, enunciating them even more. I allowed my eyes to run down to his massive shoulders which filled out his jacket and spread across most of the back seat.
I didn't know anyone with that much muscle. If I allowed myself, I was at danger for looking for far longer than I should have, but for some reason, I couldn't look away either. When he turned to face me, I found myself trapped within his blue gaze.
Sapphire. That was the color I would call his eyes. The same color as the Italian sky that surrounded us.
"What now, am I in your light?" It was only when he spoke that I broke eye contact and looked away.
"No." I resumed staring out the window.
Maybe I was tired. My excitement and anxiety had gotten the better of me and surpassed my tiredness.
Changed though he seemed, Gage was stillGage Montgomery.Pretty to look at, but with a deadly, malicious heart. I would do good to remember that.
When we were kids, I'd made the mistake of trying to be friends. It only worked to my detriment and utter humiliation. He'd made a point of letting me know that he didn't want to know me, whether that was by teasing me, or outrightly ignoring me.
When he ignored me, I was safe. It was the teasing that I couldn't deal with. At one point it wore me down, and my self-confidence was on the verge of slipping away. In my teens, I'd had the unfortunate luck of having zits and the kind of body that could put on weight at the drop of a hat.
If Gage wasn't calling me pizza face, he was calling me Big Bertha. And if he wasn't doing that he was just plain old mean and pulling off all sorts of evil tricks on me like locking me in the drama club's storage room causing me to get trapped there all night. He didn't even come back to check on me.
It was the janitor who found me the next day. Gage did all sorts of things like that to me, and irritating things like telling people I always had head lice, taking my things and damaging them, and the one that sealed the deal was him telling people I was actually a man who'd had a sex change.
That lost me, my date for the junior prom and totally ruined my last few years at high school. It was his parting gift when he left for college. I was never able to live that one down and my only solace was my music.
He'd always been horrible, and the list of bad things was endless, it was like he'd made it some kind of mission to torment me. So, on my guard I would be. Who knew when he would switch.
"We're almost there." Lucy declared. She looked nervous as I gazed ahead and looked about their surroundings. "It's changed so much since I was last here."
"It would havechanged a lot since nineteen forty-five." Their driver commented in a heavy accent. "But I think you'll still love it."
Lucy smiled and continued to gaze ahead. "It's just that ..." When her voice trailed off Gage looked over to her.
"Grams are you okay?" Gage leaned forward.
