Page 144 of Whirlwind

Yes, a nice, loud distraction this evening. There’d be no thoughts of tomorrow.

Hateful word, tomorrow.

54

Violet

“The ring is perfect, eh, Violet?”Alessio held my hand, inspecting his work.

“Let me see!” Adri leaned over and took in my ring. “Ax, ti ómorfo!Beautiful! The setting looks fantastic on your long fingers, Violet. Suits you perfectly.”

“I love it. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s my style, it’s stunning. Thank you, Alessio.”

He chuckled. “My pleasure. I’m so glad we were able to connect this evening, not just to say a last goodbye, but because I have something for you and Beck. To say thank you and farewell.” Alessio placed two small boxes on the table before us. The logo of his and Tag’s jewelry company “Savage Souls” engraved in metallic blue on the indigo boxes. “Go on,” he said.

I opened the lid of the box with my name on it. It was one of the charm necklaces we’d photographed, but these weren’t silver and hung on a leather cord. “I love it!”

“I had these specially made in white gold for a few close friends. May I?” I lifted my hair and he adjusted the velvety leather cord around my neck. “I chose this one for you.Perfetto,” he murmured. “You like it?”

My charm was a face with wild hair, blowing out curling currents of—

“It’s the wind,” he said. “As we experienced on the island, the winds in the Aegean are quite ferocious. Unpredictable. At ease one day, fierce the next. What do you think of it?”

“I love it.”

“It’s perfect,” said Beck.

“I thought so too.” A satisfied grin crept over Alessio’s lips. “Wear it well,cára.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and then the other.

“Thank you so much, Alessio.”

“Beck, this is for you…” He slid the other box toward Beck

Beck opened his gift. “Oh wow.” For Beck Alessio had chosen a dolphin surging from a curled wave of water. Beck immediately slid on his necklace. “I love it, thank you. We were really lucky to see dolphins when we were on the island.”

“They are wonderful, yes? The dolphin is associated with both water and air, living in both realms. He is balance between the mind and the soul. Intelligent, intuitive. That is how I see you, Beck. Adapting easily, at peace with your environment.”

“You are so right, Alessio. He is.” I grinned.

“The dolphin is also a protector of sea travelers in distress. He is a guide, a good omen, a symbol of life-changing opportunity and courage.”

My lips parted. Beck had been all those things for me.

“—And dolphins are quite playful and quite virtuous.” Alessio chuckled softly. “I’m sorry, I could talk about these things on and on. I did a lot of research into all these symbols and their mythology before Tag and I decided which were important to us.”

“It’s fascinating, and I’m honored to wear mine,” I said.

“So am I,” said Beck. “It’s the perfect souvenir of our time in Greece with you.”

“I wanted to thank you both for all the effort and work you put into the video. You made it special, and the party of course. I think the very best things are most often the unexpected surprises.”

“Indeed they are. Here’s to the unexpected.” Beck raised his wine glass and the rest of us followed.

Two servers arrived with four different kinds of pizza oozing with all sorts of cheeses, prosciutto, spicy sausage, fresh tomato, basil leaves.

Adri laughed at something Turo said. A beautiful, warm, rich laugh. She was the picture of casual Mediterranean elegance in cropped jeans and a teal blue and gold tunic blouse, hoop earrings, and roman sandals. Nothing fussy or overdone, yet chic and sophisticated. “Did you love the island, Violet? I hope you did.”

“I loved the island. I’ll never forget our time here.”

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