If You Take My Hand (Beachside Sweet Romantic Suspense Book 1)

by Rimmy London

  “I don’t have any music,” he said simply. Oriana stood.

  “I’ve got your old songs… which one would you like?” Eyes turned to Oriana as she made her way to the back of the room. Givanni stood quickly, stiff and pained, but fast enough that by the time eyes were back on him, he was the picture of confidence again. He took the microphone, rubbing one hand across his chin.

  “You know, there should be an English one in there,” he said. Oriana’s forehead wrinkled. But when she flipped through the disks again she pulled one out, holding it up in the air. “Here it is. Is this a new one, Givanni?” she asked. He smiled back at her, shrugging his shoulders.

  “I don’t know if you’d call it new, but it’s one you’ve never heard before.” I leaned forward as the melody started, the music familiar. Raising the microphone to his lips, Givanni began to sing, and I stared back amazed. His voice was full of so much strength and emotion that every note seemed effortless. Mostly in English, he would switch to Italian in small segments, the change making an even more intricate melody. Shaking my head I stared back in wonder, hardly believing this was the distracted-looking man I had met outside an office a million years ago. If only he really was mine. My cheeks flushed, and though I tried to hide it I could feel my emotions clearly written across my face. When he was finished he handed the microphone to Emilio and then settled down next to me. “So what did you think?” he asked quietly as Emilio went on to banter the family, intent on finding a new singer. My breath came out in a strangled laugh.

  “Givanni, you are completely amazing.” I watched his waiting face crease into a smile.

  “So you liked it?” He smiled wider, turning and settling into the ample cushions.

  “Uh…yeah,” I replied, knowing that it wouldn’t matter how I said something that was impossible to say. The next to sing was Enrica, who had a nice voice and an easy way of singing. I avoided her face most of the time, choosing instead to watch the family as they smiled back at her. The final song Oriana and Dario sang together, their voices blending harmoniously. The night ended quickly after that, everyone saying their goodbyes and chattering about the party planned for the following evening.

  By the time we made it back into our bedroom I was exhausted, although I doubted I could sleep, especially with Givanni shoving equipment into his backpack. I knelt down next to him, watching the preparation. “So what is it you do exactly when you go out? Where do you go?” He paused, pointing his finger over a few objects first like he was counting.

  “That’s a short question, but the answer would take awhile.”

  Hmph.

  “Okay, so what is the plan for tonight?” I asked. Finally taking his eyes off the scattered equipment, he sat back on his heels. I doubted he wanted to tell details of their plans, but for whatever reason, he began an explanation.

  “We have some idea of what to be looking for. One big clue is Sicily itself, so that’s why we’re here. Another is what you saw back in California - the warehouses. It was a very successful cloak to have a legitimate use for part of the buildings completely separate from them. That way, if they’re investigated, they won’t be found.” I thought back to what I had seen as I was dragged through those big black warehouses. A shiver tingled down my spine at the memory. “There are places like that scattered throughout Sicily that have the possibility of being more than what they seem, but so far we haven’t turned up anything.” I thought about that, frowning.

  “So, if you haven’t found anything, what happened to you last night?” I asked. He shook his head, frustrated.

  “That was my fault,” he said. “We had ruled out our last location and were heading back, but just because it’s not who we’re looking for, it doesn’t mean they want us there. I just got caught off guard. A lot of these places have pretty high security, and we definitely didn’t have clearance.” I nodded, chewing my lip. “Is there something else?” he asked quietly, watching my face. I glanced up at him, taking a deep breath.

  “Do you really think you should be going out tonight?” I saw the determination in his face the minute I asked. Stumbling over my words, they came out in a rush, some of my fear tumbling out with them. “But couldn’t something worse happen because you’re not completely well? They can handle things without you for one night, maybe you could do more tomorrow, or…”

  He reached for my shoulder, shaking his head. “No, Loriel.” I was sure he could see the moisture pooling in my eyes. Taking a slow breath, I tried to keep my voice steady.

  “Givanni, you couldn’t even handle Adriano punching you in the back.” Ending in a whisper, I felt my vision blur. Silently cursing my overactive tear ducts, I wiped at the drops angrily. My hair fell forward in a curtain as I dropped my head. Wrapping one arm around me, Givanni pulled me to his side. His chest heaved in a long sigh, but he didn’t let go.

  “I’m out tonight,” he said sharply. I flinched, glancing up to see a phone pressed against his ear. “Go for the first, but leave the second until tomorrow. Anything unusual is an instant abandon.” He snapped his phone shut, looking back at me with disappointment shading his face. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t allow them to go in this condition, so neither should I.” The flicker of a reluctant smile twitched at his lips, and I felt the air forced from my chest in one gust. Covering my face with both shaking hands, a new wave of tears came with it.

  Givanni was frozen in place, and I could tell he wasn’t quite sure where all this emotion was coming from. Hardly understanding it myself, I just leaned my head against him, tired of all the intertwined dramas and problems and fears that had been hurled at me from the moment I’d set foot in Sicily. His arms wrapped around me and I closed my eyes, the tightness in my throat relaxing. “I’m sorry,” I breathed.

  “Loriel…” He gathered my hair to one side before releasing me. “What on earth are you apologizing for?” I hoped he knew with this much pretended emotion it was bound to become real at some point. But even as I thought out an explanation, I couldn’t manage to say it. He rubbed one hand across my shoulders. “You can’t worry about me like that. I’ll be okay. It’s not something new that I’m doing, I have a lot of experience.” Reaching for my wrists, he turned them over, the scars crossing together. “There are a million reasons why we need to keep looking - and you’re one of them.” He turned his attention to the cluttered floor, managing to fit every stray piece of equipment into his bag. Setting it aside, he looked back with a smile, taking my hand and bringing me up with him. I glanced at the bed.

  “Why don’t you take the bed tonight?” I whispered, my voice still feeling restricted.

  “I don’t think so,” he answered softly. I rolled my sore eyes at him.

  “You’re the one that needs it most, Givanni,” I argued. He shook his head.

  “Everyone needs rest.” With that, he turned to the bathroom.

  * * *

  Later that night with towel-dried hair dampening my shirt, I fully intended to spread some blankets on the floor and let Givanni have the bed. I couldn’t imagine having that many bruises and lying on the hard floor. But when I walked into the bedroom there was already a lump of blankets on the floor. Resting my fists on my hips I stepped forward, leaning over the pile and trying to see his face. “It’s too late,” he whispered. “I’m already asleep.” I laughed, tapping his leg with my foot and retreating to the bed.

  “Okay, fine,” I relented, wishing I hadn’t enjoyed the hot water for quite so long. “You can take it if you want it that much.” I yawned. “I sure hope you don’t snore,” I mumbled, curling up on the soft bed and dropping my head onto the pillow. “I’ve never actually slept with you before.” After only a second my eyes popped open. Biting my lip, I glanced at his shape on the floor and hoped that maybe he had missed that last part. Eventually, I relaxed, pulling the blankets up.

  “That’s a funny way of putting it,” he said, breaking the silence with his hushed laughter.

  I gro
aned. “I mean with you here - here in the room.” His laugh became heavier, and my explanation cut off as I laughed with him. “Anyway, whatever. What I meant to say was just - good night.”

  “Buona notte, Ella.”

  After a few minutes of silence, he laughed again. I pulled the covers over my head.

  Chapter 14

  For once I woke to the daylight feeling like I’d had a good night's sleep. Something landed behind me with a thump and I twisted around, looking at Givanni standing dressed and ready with a heavy green backpack dropped at his feet. “Are you ready?” he asked. “We’d better get an early start.” My eyebrows rose as I tried to get my head to produce an answer. “I promised to take you somewhere.”

  “Ah. Right. Let me just… get dressed.” I said, feeling awkward. I had no idea where our relationship was. But after reminding myself that it was nonexistent, I pulled my clothes on.

  One short hour later I watched the countryside pass. Fields dropped into the turquoise Mediterranean Sea and the road hovered around it, never separating for very long. The bright red car gripped easily as we sped around another turn. “Are you sure Adriano was fine with this?” I asked, running my hand along the smooth leather again, amazed that he would be so indifferent to letting us have it for the day.

  Givanni nodded. “I’m positive. Cars are disposable to Adriano.” I leaned back in my seat with the sun streaming across my body and warming my cold hands.

  “So what does he do exactly?” I asked, assuming that the reason for Adriano’s generosity was money.

  Givanni laughed. “Adriano can do just about anything. He has amazing talent, he could probably run Shellbrook single-handedly but for the fact that he’s not interested.” His attention was on the road as he sped around another corner. “He actually manages accounts for almost all the agricultural farms in the country. He is very good with money. It wouldn’t take as much for him to be wealthy as it would for others.” Nodding back at him, I guessed that I had been right. Adriano was rich.

  “And Emilio?” I questioned, glad to have some insight. Givanni’s mouth moved to one side, forming a tilted smile as he thought.

  “Emilio - he has a definite talent for enjoying himself, for enjoying life. He could never be wealthy, there’s just too much that can be done with money when you put it in his hands. But he’s reasonable and able to support himself.”

  After pulling into a dusty turnout, we exited the car and made our way quickly to the first ruin. In fact, I felt like I was close to running trying to keep up. Givanni stopped at the first monument and I gazed up at massive mismatched pillars. A few had slabs of granite balanced atop their spires of stone and others looked isolated and out of place. I walked up to the closed one, marveling, and pressed my hand against it. Its rough, porous surface felt cool and solid.

  Hearing the camera click behind me I turned around, smiling for the second shot. Givanni lowered the camera and held my gaze. His smile was like a shadow - something that existed without him even realizing it. I held in a deep breath, looking back and feeling guilty at how far my feelings had come in this charade. It had been spelled out in the beginning. I specifically remembered the word ‘pretend’, and yet there I went drinking in every moment of attention. It was wrong of me, I shouldn’t have let it turn into anything but a job.

  I watched Givanni run a hand through his hair, absently, like he used to do every day at work when he was about to run off somewhere. The way his eyes searched the surroundings instead of admiring it had a question suddenly blazing in my mind. “ So Givanni,” I stepped close enough to whisper. “What’s the real reason we’re here?”

  He sighed, guilt in his eyes. “We could walk to the next temple if you want.”

  I shook my head. “It’s fine.” It was strange anyway, trying to fit an ordinary vacation into this mix of fear and adrenaline. We made our way back to the car in silence until I noticed something on the seat. “What’s that?” I asked quietly, talking to myself. I looked behind me to see Givanni turning in every direction as if searching someone out. He unlocked the car without a glance at what I could now clearly see was a stack of papers in a file folder. Curious, I hopped in and flipped through the pages quickly.

  A thump hit the car and with a start, I saw Givanni land on the ground by his door and hurl himself inside - as if he’d leaped clean over the car. He wrapped one arm around me in a hug and took the file with the other. He shoved it under the seat and leaned back, smiling. Although it wasn’t a real smile. It was a half-crazed, half terrified smile. I raised one eyebrow, irritated. With his clenched-teeth smile still stretched out in full grin, he gargled a sentence at me. I shook my head, not hearing any type of language. He tried again. “Nrt hrrr.”

  Not here? Was that phrase so fearfully classified that he couldn’t risk anyone reading his lips? I crossed my arms and leaned back into my seat, closing my eyes. “Yeah,” I mumbled, sure that he was completely overplaying things. It wasn’t until we were halfway home that he spoke again, this time in the language I was used to.

  “Sorry, Loriel. Let’s talk about it later if that’s okay with you?” His eyes left the road long enough for me to again read more than I knew was there. The way his lip tilted upward when he focused on me was just so convincing. Like he was giving me a compliment and pledging his life to me all with the same look. I swallowed, any irritation having left. My rational brain was telling me that my anger was just curiosity denied.

  “Ok,” I agreed. I silenced my thoughts and focused on the landscape. We turned sooner than I remembered, taking a side street, and pulled up to the front of Oriana and Dario’s home. From the front, it seemed like a quaint little cottage nestled in deep green shrubbery. He nodded his head in the direction of the house. I looked up to see Adriano and Emilio coming toward us, Emilio, in particular, looking more thrilled than I had seen. While Adriano stopped to talk with Givanni, Emilio strode up to me. “What did you think?” He seemed to hardly require a reply and didn’t leave me with time to answer anyway. “Really, Adriano’s only had it a few months, but of all the cars I’ve driven, this one leaves them in the dust.” I nodded, wondering if he would leave me time to ask how many cars Adriano owned. He didn’t. “I mean, really, did you try it out in the open? Did you get to see how it flies? You should let me take you on a drive, I would bet Givanni didn’t hardly push down the pedal.” he gushed. I sighed.

  “That really sounds fun, Emilio, but we’ve been driving most of the day already. I think I’d rather just stay around here. Maybe we could do it some other time?” His smile fell, but he shrugged.

  “Okay,” Taking my shoulders, he squeezed. “It’s a date.” The direct pressure on my cut had me dipping one side down and stepping back. Holding my shoulder, I tried to wipe the pain off my face as quickly as I could, but Emilio had seen it clear enough. I straightened my shirt and dropped my hand, but my rather obvious act just made things worse. Emilio looked almost panicked. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, his hands hovering in front of me afraid to touch anything. I shook my head, glancing nervously at Givanni and realizing that their conversation had stopped, Adriano’s expression matching his brothers.

  “No,” I quickly replied, trying to smile through the tension around me. “Really, it’s nothing. I just…” I tried to remember the story I was supposed to tell. “There were some rocks in the water when we were swimming and…” It sounded completely pathetic. I could have sold an alien abduction better with the way my voice was shaking. I skipped the details altogether. “Really, it’s just a scratch,” Their expressions didn’t change. “You just surprised me, that’s all.” To my confusion, he turned to Givanni. It was clear he blamed his cousin even before he said it.

  “What happened?” he asked quietly. Holding my hand out in front of Emilio, I waited for him to look at me.

  “Emilio,” He seemed to soften at the sound of his name. “I just told you what happened. How could you think that Givanni…” I wasn’t quite sure what he th
ought. “That he was responsible? It’s just that I didn’t want it to ruin the trip.”

  “It is my fault, Emilio.” Givanni glided down a couple steps, standing uncomfortably close. Emilio seemed to like what he had heard. I glared at Givanni.

  “No, it’s not,” I argued. He didn’t let me finish, shaking his head.

  “It is. I wasn’t careful enough, and you got hurt,” he said, looking back at Emilio. “But I think she has forgiven me.”

  “Of course I have, Givanni, you didn’t do anything in the…”

  “But can you forgive me, cousin?” Givanni asked. Emilio stared back, not looking convinced. He put one hand on Givanni’s shoulder, looking more threatening than friendly.

  “If she can forgive you, then so will I.” He glanced back at my incredulous expression. “But just remember that if anything were to happen to her, you would have me to deal with.”

  I rolled my eyes, recalling how only minutes earlier he was persuading me to speed down the streets in his brother’s muscle car. I tried to keep from meeting Adriano’s eyes, but eventually, I glanced his way. His eyebrows rose a fraction and his lips curved into a sympathetic smile. Immediately I blushed, sure he could see through the whole thing. But when Givanni looked back, Adriano’s smile fell. He seemed to appraise his cousin in a new light, and that had an immediate effect on Givanni. His face fell like he’d been struck. I threw my hands in the air, walking forward and standing with him. “Adriano, believe me when I tell you there is no man on earth I feel safer with.”