Page 111 of Captured Fantasy

Across the table, Ahmed laughed. “I’d say Cosimo gave it to her.”

I met his gaze and his brow lifted and I blushed right down to my neckline. He knew what it was and I prayed he wouldn’t say it out loud. Just then, Lucien appeared and I looked frantically for Cosimo, but he’d remained behind, talking on his phone by the balcony’s edge.

“Why are you laughing? It’s a beautiful necklace,” Olivia said, frowning.

Lucien’s eyes fell on me from across the table, taking in the necklace, and his mouth twitched. He tapped Ahmed on the shoulder and said something in a language I wasn’t familiar with, making a gesture at my throat. Ahmed laughed and replied and Lucien sat down, shaking his head. They had a short back and forth before Olivia jabbed him in the ribs and gave him a severe look.

“What did they say?” I whispered to Adriana.

She shrugged. “It’s Egyptian Arabic and only the two of them speak it. It makes me so mad when they do that in front of me because I’m awful with languages. I’m a native English speaker and I failed English twice in high school.”

We both laughed. Across the table, Duran leaned forward to catch Lucien’s attention and said something in a language I instantly recognized as French. Beside me, Adriana rolled her eyes and mumbled something. Lucien shook his head, replying in rapid French and Duran flipped his palms, shrugging his shoulders. Ahmed said a few words in Arabic and laughed uproariously into his drink. Lucien shook his head, clicked his tongue and flipped him off, replying with a stream of Arabic. At this point, my head was spinning and I was beginning to feel out of my depth.

“Are they always like this?” I asked.

“Only when they all get together,” said Olivia.

Cosimo returned and took his seat beside me, resting his arm across the back of my chair. Ahmed leaned forward and spoke to him in Arabic and, to my shock, Cosimo laughed and replied in kind.

I turned to him and he bent, kissing my mouth.

“You speak Arabic?” I asked. “I didn’t know you spoke anything but English.”

“I’ve been working with Ahmed for a long time and I travel to Cairo at least twice a year,” he said. “I’m not good, but I’m a competent speaker.”

“Oh,” I said quietly.

I was painfully aware of my lack of education. With the exception of visiting the South as a girl, I’d never traveled anywhere. I could write a grocery list and enjoy a good book, but I knew I didn’t have a strong enough grasp on grammar to learn a new language. I didn’t want the embarrassment of admitting my lack of education so I kept quiet while the others talked.

That night, Cosimo and I sat in bed together. He was finishing up an inventory report and I was looking through the books Father Rinaldi had given us to prepare for our marriage classes.

It was important to me that we be married in the Church because my last wedding had been small. Gino hadn’t wanted a traditional wedding. But this time, I wanted it all. The music, the cathedral, the expensive dress, the party, the guests, the cake.

Cosimo sighed, closing his laptop and setting it aside. He leaned against me, looking over my shoulder.

“You know, I saw those books on the counter and I looked through the one about sex earlier,” he said.

“Of course you did,” I laughed.

“I was baptized and confirmed, but that’s about it. I went to mass until I was about thirteen and then I quit,” he mused. “My parents weren’t strong Catholics, it was definitely a cultural thing.”

“My father was,” I said simply.

He reached across and picked up one of the books. “It says in this book that I can’t finish anywhere except inside you,” he said, shaking his head. “It did say I could eat you out though. Couldn’t find anything about plugs in your ass that say whore on them.”

“That’s what confession is for,” I said.

He laughed, sitting up and pulling me into his lap, brushing my hair back. “I’ll never be a religious person, but I want you to do what you want to do, Lorenza. I want to support you and make you happy.”

“You make me very happy,” I whispered. “And I’ve never been good at listening to all the rules. If you couldn’t tell.”

“Really? I couldn’t have guessed.”

He stretched out beside me, gathering my body in his arms. I nestled my ass against him and let him stroke down my sides, tracing my curves with his fingertips.

“Cosimo?” I whispered.

“Mmm?”

---