Page 75 of Beautiful Devil

“I still don’t understand why you care so much. You barely even know me.”

“Oh, butgattina, I do.”

* * *

I’ve spent most of today outside in the garden reading. Maria is in the kitchen making dinner and talking to one of the other maids. Obviously, because I’m around they’re speaking Italian so I can't understand a word. I rise from my seat and walk into the kitchen, causing them both to fall silent. I give them a small smile as I try to get them to warm up to me.

“Hi, Maria. I was just wondering what's for dinner tonight.”

“Si,cara. Don Moretti has arranged something special tonight.”

I’m taken aback by her revelation.

“Oh, I-I didn’t know,” I tell her with a hesitant smile.

“Come, come,cara. Follow me. You don't have much time.”

Maria hurries around the kitchen and leads me to our bedroom.

“Maria, what's going on?”

“I told you, Don Moretti organized something special for you both tonight.”

I am so confused right now. What the hell is happening? Still holding my hand, Maria leads me into our double walk-in closet, and I see that at some point today, Fabi obviously had someone to go shopping for me.

Where once there were only a couple of oversized t-shirts and a few pairs of black leggings, along with the extra few things I picked up on my surprise shopping trip with Elle, there are now rows of clothes.

I'm standing in the middle of the closet taking it all in when I hear the bedroom door shut, Maria clearly having snuck away.

I’m rifling through the rails of clothing when I hear a knock. Rushing to the door and flinging it open, I find Luigi standing on the other side with a bouquet of peonies – my favorite flowers – along with a note in his hand.

“Gia,” is all he says as he hands me them.

I hesitate and give him a brief smile before he turns to walk away and I close the door. I sit down on the bed and take in a deep breath, inhaling the fresh flowers.

There, scribbled in his aggressive handwriting, reads:

You have 30 minutes.

Luigi will escort you when you are ready.

I’ll be waiting.

Fabi x

Butterflies erupt in my stomach when I finish reading his note. This is quite possibly the sweetest thing any man has done for me. As much as I may want to try and stop the brimming smile that's taken over the entirety of my face, I don’t. I can't. So instead, I let it shine. I jump up, walk into the closet, and start to get myself ready.

Almost thirty minutes later, I stand in the mirror, giving myself a pep talk, wondering what lies ahead of me once I leave this bedroom. As I apply a touch up of the nude lipstick from the makeup Fabi bought for me, my eyes roam up and down my body as I take in my reflection.

I’ve gone with a red floral summer dress that stops mid-thigh with spaghetti straps. On my feet, I’m wearing a pair of sparkly silver sandals, and my hair is hanging freely around my face. I've given it a little soft curl and ruffled it until it's sitting just right. I smack my lips together and take a deep breath before walking to the door.

When I open it, Luigi spins arounds on his heel to meet me. I see his eyes light up and a genuine smile appear on his face. He doesn't say anything, but instead gives me a nod as he leads me downstairs.

We arrive at the front door and my eyes immediately find Fabi. He’s wearing his signature look of all black: polished dress shoes, dress pants, and a shirt that looks as though it's been poured onto his body. And God damn it, his sleeves are rolled up to that sweet spot on his forearms. Seeing the muscles and veins flex sends an automatic flood of wetness between my legs.

Fuck.

He looks more relaxed without his suit jacket; it's definitely an aura I wish he had about him more often. He hasn’t even said a word to me yet, and I’m already way too turned on right now.

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