Page 18 of Sicilian Sunset

RhiaandIaresauntering arm in arm along the quaint streets of Taormina. Gualtiero offered to give us a lift back to our hotel, but I finally found my voice and politely declined.

The thought of spending more time with him made my head spin.

He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met, his presence so mesmerizing it seems to put me under some sort of spell—it’s disconcerting, to say the least.

“Now fill me in on the twenty minutes I’ve missed of your life,” Rhia says impatiently. “I can’t wait to hear it all. Did you see the way Gualtiero looked at you? Holy cow. I thought I’d need to fan myself. I was half expecting him to ravish you right there.”

Can anyone tell Rhia is excited?

Since she got together with Lex, she’s become an advocate for happily ever afters and insta-love. She’s done a complete one-eighty. Even two years later, I’m still not used to it.

I roll my eyes at her, but can’t hide my smile at her exuberance.

“Gosh, Rhia… where do I start?”

“At the beginning, of course, I don’t want to miss out on anything.”

So, I fill her in on all the panty melting moments of when I first spotted Gualtiero, and then the heart-stopping details of the near-miss incident.

Rhia listens intently. She stops walking suddenly and pulls me into a tight hug, her playful air gone.

“I was so worried when I couldn’t get hold of you,” she mumbles, pulling me closer. “Ella, if something had happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. I can’t lose you. I love you! Promise me never to throw yourself in the path of a speeding car again,” she implores, before adding with a wink, “Even if it’s saving some insanely hot guy.”

That makes me laugh. “I won't. I don’t like the adrenaline rush,” I joke.

“Ella, I’m serious. Never ever do that again or anything else stupid like that. I need you alive and well!”

“The thing is, Rhi, I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted. You know me, I wouldn’t throw myself voluntarily in harm’s way. The fact I did that makes my stomach turn.”

Rhia hugs me tighter, and I can tell her mind is still playing out what-if scenarios.

I cling to her, too. She’s always been my rock. The one person I could rely on no matter what.

“I love you, sweets,” I tell her, feeling such gratitude to have her in my life. “Never risk your life either, okay? I need you.”

She sniffles into my hair, and I pull away and wipe the tears from her cheek.

“Okay?” I repeat. She gives me a shaky nod as we resume walking.

“In a strange way, I’m glad this happened… especially today,” I say.

Rhia stops walking again and looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Gualtiero could have died today. I could have died today by getting involved… or seriously injured. Everyone’s life could have changed in mere seconds.”

I pause to gather my thoughts. To be honest, even though nobody got hurt, I still have this unsettling sense that my life has changed forever, that I’m on a completely different path now.

“Anyway. This near miss of a hit and run has made me appreciate what I have in my life. And my friendship with you is on top of that list.”

Rhia’s eyes go glassy again. “Same,” she hiccups, pulling me in for another hug.

I think back to when I first met her all these years ago with her two long fiery-red pigtails, reminding me of Pippi Longstocking. “Jeez, Rhi. I’ve known you for most of my life… isn’t that crazy?”

“Eighteen years, to be precise,” she says. Of course, she would know this. She probably could tell me the exact number of months—Rhia just has a brain for data, while approximating is good enough for me.

“We should celebrate,” she continues, and I look at her puzzled. “Our friendship has made it through its teenage years and is now officially an adult. That’s quite something.”

I don’t get it, my mind still too foggy to follow her brain gymnastics. “What are you on about?”

“Our friendship is eighteen years old and at eighteen you reach adulthood. We should pop a bottle of champagne.” God, I love her sense of humor.

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