Page 27 of Beautiful Desire

Sofia looks mortified at her brother’s PDA.

“Okay, then. How about I show you two the villa while my brother inspects Gia’s tonsils?” she says to Elle and me.

We all laugh before she continues.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to properly introduce myself. I’m Sofia, that pigheaded one’s sister. It’s nice to finally meet you both.”

“I’m Elle, Gia’s best friend. It’s so nice to put a face to the name. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Ditto,” Sofia says.

Almost forgetting my manners, I reach my hand out and say, “I’m Dom, friend of the pighead.”

Shaking my hand, she smiles and invites us to follow her. As we walk up the drive, the wind blows a gentle breeze, bringing along the scent from the olive trees, something I haven’t smelled in a long time.

Walking inside the big wooden front doors, we enter a massive foyer where a beautiful fountain sits in the middle. The quiet sound of the flowing stream of water is actually quite soothing. A double curved staircase with an intricate design on the metal spindles flanks the walls as the foyer opens to a formal sitting room overlooking the incredible view of the sea.

“Wow, this is beautiful, Sofia,” Elle says as she spins around, taking everything in.

I have to agree, it is pretty incredible. But I don’t voice that. I don’t need Fab getting a bigger head than he already has.

“Thank you. It’s been in my family for decades. This is where my dad grew up and where Fabi and I spent our summers growing up.”

“You guys must have been so popular,” Elle says, and I can’t help but laugh.

“We didn’t get to play with the locals much. Always stayed with family. A lot of the time, it was just me and Fabi here, entertaining one another while our father had business meetings. We used to run through the garden playing hide and seek with the nanny,” she says, a look of sadness on her face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Elle says.

“You didn’t. All good.” Sofia reaches for Elle’s hands and squeezes.

“What did we miss?” Fabi asks as he and Gia join us, holding hands and looking every bit in love.

“Nothing. I was just about to show our guests to their rooms so they could freshen up. Unless you had other plans?” Sofia asks her brother.

“Nope, sounds good. Gia and I are pretty tired and were just talking about wanting to get some rest,” he says with a devilish smile on his face.

Covering her ears, Sofia sings, “La, la, la, la. I don’t need to know what you two plan on doing, thank you very much. Fab, you know which room is yours. I’ll show Elle and Dom to their rooms.”

“Thanks, sis!” he says before grabbing his sister’s face and leaving a loud kiss on her cheek, making all of us laugh.

Looking disgusted, Sofia wipes her cheek with the back of her hand and leads us up the stairs. Elle follows behind; her arm brushes against mine, sending a spark through my entire body. I roll my lips, trying to contain the low moan wanting to break free. Elle oohs and ahhs the entire way, talking to Sofia and asking her questions about the villa, the city, and living in Italy, but I ignore it all. I’m too preoccupied in my own thoughts to partake.

Stopping outside a big wooden door, Sofia tells Elle we’ve arrived at her room.

“And this one is yours, Dom,” she says as she gestures to the door directly across the hall from Elle’s.

Great. This giant house, and shehasto put us across the hall from each other? This has Gia written all over it.

Gripping the strap to my carry-on on my shoulder, I nod my thanks before leaving the two of them in the hallway and entering my safe space for the next couple of days.

Not the least bit interested in what my room looks like, I shut the door behind me and fish out my cell from my back pocket, hoping Enrico left a message for me. I tap on my screen to bring my phone to life, but nothing happens. It’s dead.

“Ahh!” I scream as frustration surges through my body.

There’s a knock on the door, followed by Sofia’s sweet voice. “Everything okay in there?”

Rubbing a hand down my face, I take a deep breath before answering her. “All good.”

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