by Emily Bex
"Mia belleza, I have something special planned for us today. Are you up for an adventure?"
“Luca, every day with you is an adventure. Last week, I was sitting in a cubicle, working on a marketing campaign for a new hand and body lotion, and now I'm living in a castle, waiting for my best friend to emerge as a vampire and be crowned queen of a coven. So, I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever it is you have planned for us.”
She dropped her towel, and watched as his hazel eyes washed over her, that shy half-smile appeared, and she knew she could pretty much take this day in any direction she wanted, an adventure in bed, or out of bed? She smiled back at him and proceeded to slide on her bra and panties, spritzing on her perfume.
“What should I wear for this adventure, babe? Am I already over-dressed?”
“You tempt me, mia belleza. Every minute of every day, you tempt me. But I think I’ll save that for dessert. What I have in mind for the day will require the daylight hours. I want to show you my home, where I grew up. I thought it was lost to me all these years, after the death of my parents. But before we came here to Florence, Shade gave me the deed to the property. He’d bought it years ago and saved it for me. I haven’t seen it since I was ten, and I want you to be with me when I see it again.”
Shannon slipped into a pair of jeans and a blouse, and stepped into a pair of ballet flats. “Luca! That’s... wow, I don't even know what to say! That’s fabulous! I’d love to see your home! I'm surprised you waited this long. I think it would’ve been the first place I visited.”
“I needed some time, mia belleza. My memories of home are both bitter and sweet. It’s where I grew up with my mother and father, but also, it reminds me of their absence in my life. This will be... an emotional journey for me, I think. I needed to, what is that American phrase? Get my head around it?”
“No, of course. I understand that. Oh, Luca. I'm so honored you want me to be with you. Really, I am.”
Luca grabbed a light jacket, slid his arm around her slender waist and led her out. “Come on, let's see what car Gi has ready for us to take out today.”
Gi had a different car from Shade's fleet of cars, pulled out and ready for them each day. He said Shade insisted he use them while he was here. Every car Luca saw only reminded him of the silver Jaguar that sat in the garage in Virginia, waiting for Kate to learn to drive a stick shift. He made a mental note to move that to the top of his priorities list when they returned. He walked with Shannon to the garage, which was in a separate building from Castello, and had been built years later to accommodate these vehicles. As they entered, the bright red Alfa Romeo Spider was pulled out and ready. The on-duty mechanic approached, handed him the keys, telling him it was gassed up and ready. Luca watched the smile on Shannon's face, as he opened the door for her to climb into yet another sports car. The top was already down on the convertible, so she pulled a scarf from her bag and tied it around her hair and put on her dark glasses. As he walked to the driver's side door, the mechanic opened the door for him and he climbed in, started up the engine, and pulled out into the warm Tuscan sun.
Luca casts sideways glances at Shannon as they drove, her face tilted back to the sun, her smile beaming. The thought entered his head that if he were to turn her, there was no guarantee she’d be a day-walker like him. She may inherit his gift or be given another. He could condemn her to a life lived in darkness. He quickly brushed away the thought.
Shannon laid her head back on the headrest and raised both hands in the air, feeling the wind. The sky was the brightest blue without a cloud to be seen, and the sun seemed to be shining just for them. “What a beautiful day! Luca, this has been an amazing trip. I can't thank you enough for inviting me. And I can't wait to see your home. Where is it? Is it far?”
“Not far, mia belleza. My home is just outside Empoli. It’s only about twenty kilometers from Florence.”
“Luca, I'm American, remember? We don't do metric.”
Laughing at her, “Si, I remember... about twelve miles, mia belleza. But I warn you, my home, it’s nothing like Castello. My home is humble. Although we had land, it’s not as big as Bel Rosso, and I have no idea what condition it’s in. Shade said it was maintained. I take that to mean the property has been cared for. The house will not be falling down around our ears, but it’s a very old property, several hundred years old. He would have maintained the land, not let it become overgrown. Land is important to Shade. We had lemon groves there when I was a boy. My father sold the lemons to be made into limoncello, the Italian liqueur.
“Limoncello! Kate and I drank that on our first trip to Italy! It’s a dessert liqueur, right?”
“Si. I haven’t seen it in the States since I’ve been there. I’m sure it’s available, but it doesn’t have the same popularity as it does here. My father made his living from the lemon groves. I’m sure they’re long gone now.”
As they drove through the Tuscan countryside, the rolling hills and the Cypress trees, it wasn’t long before they passed through Empoli, and left the main road to go to his family home. As they topped the hill, he saw it and his heart skipped a beat. It was just as he remembered it. The stone house, nestled in the grove of trees, rich green from the spring rains. He stopped the car on this little-used road and looked down at his home, feeling the rush of memories flood through him. He could hear his father's voice, his mother's laughter ringing in his ears. He felt the blood tears well up behind his dark sunglasses.
Shannon rose up in her seat as much as her seat belt allowed. “Is that it? Luca! It looks like a post-card. It’s beautiful!”
Luca reached over and squeezed her hand. “Si, mia belleza. Beautiful.”
He shifted back into first and started the descent down the hill to his home. It had been more than maintained, it had been lovingly cared for. He pulled the car up in front of the house and parked, getting out and opening the door for Shannon. He had to stand a second and take it all in, as she took off her scarf and stuffed it back in her handbag, sliding her sunglasses on top of her head, and scanning the house and the surrounding grounds.
“Luca, seriously... this is just breathtaking.” She slipped her hand in his as he started to walk toward the house.
Luca stepped up to the main entrance of the stone house, climbing the few steps to the door, framed on either side by faded white shutters. Terracotta pots filled with healthy plants lined the walkway and the porch. He slid his hand into the pocket of his jeans to withdraw the key Shade had given him. He opened the ironwork gate and slipped the key in the ancient wooden door. He closed his eyes and paused before he pushed it open to all the memories of his childhood.
Shannon felt him give her hand a tight squeeze, as he paused at the door. The house was very old but looked picture-perfect. Shannon craned her neck to take it all in. Not quite as big as the house at Bel Rosso, but close. And land... if all this land was his, it was worth a fortune. She could sense his nervousness as he inserted the key in the door, then hesitated. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Ready, babe?”
Luca looked to her and her sweet face. She’d just started calling him babe since they’d been in Italy. He liked the sound of it, this term of endearment. No one had ever called him anything other than Luca.
“Ready, mia belleza.”
With one last deep breath, he pushed open the door that led into the foyer. The thick stone walls blocked the heat of the sun, and he could immediately feel the temperature drop as he entered the space. Shannon clung to his hand as they stepped under the arched ceiling of the entryway, and everything looked just as it had when he lived here as a boy. The old heavy wooden bench remained in the entry hall, the picture on the wall. The lighting fixture had been updated but was still an antique chandelier that remained true to the original design of the house. He could almost hear his mother's voice calling out to him, 'Don't track in mud, Luca... Kick off those muddy boots by the door!'
Shannon noticed he was lost in his own thoughts and memories, and
she could see the emotion on his face. She so loved this man and his gentle heart. She looked about the entry hall with its. stone tile floor. The exterior walls were all stone, while the interior walls were brick covered in a thick plaster, with sections of exposed brick where the plaster had chipped away over the years. She was in love with this place. He pushed the heavy wooden door with its black metal hinges closed behind them, blocking out the heat of the bright sun, as he led her into another room.
Luca took her into the living room with the arched ceilings, expecting to find it empty, but found it furnished instead. Some of the pieces belonged to his family, but the upholstered pieces, the sofas and chairs, had all been replaced. He could literally move in today. Master, you have done so much more than "maintain" this house, you have kept it my home.
Shannon let go of his hand as he walked through the room, and she sank down in one of the plush chairs. He was right about one thing, this was nothing like Castello with it's over the top opulence. This was a home. She could imagine him here. It suited him. She watched as he picked up items from the table, from a shelf on the wall, running his hands over each piece. He was quiet, but she saw that slight smile he wore, and knew the memories in his head were happy ones. He replaced a book on the shelf and turned to her, holding out his hand, ready to move on. She stood and took his hand, and they locked eyes.
“Do you like it, mia belleza?”
“I love it, Luca. I love it.”
“Come, so much more to see.” He led her through the dining room with the ancient tapestry mounted on the wall, the table and chairs the same as when he was a boy.
Shannon commented, “I don't get it, the whole dining room thing. I mean, you don't eat. What's up with that?”
Luca laughed at her. “Appearances, mia belleza. We live in a world of mortals. It was always important to appear as one of them, still is. Come, you can see the kitchen where we never cook.” He smiled at her laughter.
Shannon followed him into the kitchen and had a visual image of herself puttering around this quaint room, making fresh bread or her own pasta from scratch, and then remembered with a jolt, there’d be no one to cook for. This was just another room for appearances only.
He took her through the family room and out to the arboretum, where his mother potted plants for the summer and grew plants during the winter. So many memories of her here, she loved to garden. The arboretum led to the covered back patio. He took Shannon down the back hallway and out to the shaded patio, overlooking the rolling Tuscan hillside, where he once played. Like Shade, he’d been an only child. His mother died young, and his father chose not to seek another mate, as was their custom. He wondered what his life would’ve been like had they lived. Would he be the warrior he was today had Shade not taken him under his wing? Trained him personally? Would he have traveled to the States? Been protector to their queen? Would he have met this mortal woman who held his heart? These were questions that would forever be unanswered.
Shannon was left breathless by the view from this patio. She could imagine him playing here as a small boy, running through those hills. She could see he was so lost in his memories. “A penny for your thoughts, babe. Or lira? A lira for your thoughts?”
Luca looked over at her, the light breeze blowing through her hair. “Contemplating my fate, mia belleza.”
“Wow... heavy thoughts.”
“Si. But all good, I think. My parents are gone, and yet, I feel them here. Shade did everything my father asked of him and more, so much more. Maybe even giving me a life my father couldn’t have provided. I’m weighing that in my head, the outcome. Was my loss also my gain? It’s a lot to take in, bella.”
“Luca...”
“I know you don't completely understand it, mia belleza, my devotion to him, and my station. But I owe him everything. Come...” Luca took her hand once more and led her back inside. “I’ll show you the bedrooms. There are many. My mother wanted many children, but sadly, that wasn’t to be.”
He took her back to the foyer entrance where, at the far end, there were stairs leading to the second floor. They climbed the stone steps, the stone worn down in the center by the many feet that had trod here over the years. The stairs opened on a long hallway, his parents’ bedroom to the left, and the other six bedrooms, including the one that used to be his, off the long hallway to the right. He turned left, to the bedroom his parents shared. This room held the bed his mother carried him to whenever he had a bad dream, tucking him into their bed, allowing him to sleep safely for the rest of the night between his mother and father. He pushed open the door to their room, and their essence, their spirit overwhelmed him.
The room with the stone walls and arched ceilings looked like his parents could have just stepped out only minutes before. It looked exactly as he remembered it. His father’s jacket was hanging on a coat rack, his mother’s slippers by the bed, and a book on the nightstand, with a bookmark tucked between the pages. No dust or cobwebs, the room was immaculately cleaned, and yet, Shade wouldn’t let them touch any of their things. He felt like he’d stepped back in time and his head spun, as he reached out and touched the wall to steady himself.
Shannon could see his emotions swell as they entered this room, the bedroom his parents shared. She saw him steady himself against the wall. “Luca? Are you okay?”
He regained his composure and walked around the room, running his hand across their bed when he heard his mother's voice in his head.
”This girl, this mortal girl, you love her?”
“Si, Madre, Lei è il mio vero amore.”
“Your one true love? And this girl, Luca. Does she love you? Could she love you for all eternity?”
Shannon heard him speaking in Italian and she looked up, looking around the room. “Who are you speaking to, Luca? Me? Because I don't speak Italian.”
“No, mia belleza, I speak to my mother. She wants to know if you can love me for all eternity. What do I tell her?”
She looked at him, those hazel eyes looking back at her, and she went to him, slid her arms around him and kissed him with gentleness and passion. “You can tell her I said an eternity wouldn’t be long enough.”
His arms pulled her tight against his chest as his lips sought out hers, and the gentleness was gone, just passion remained. He reluctantly broke the kiss, brushing his hand through that thick brown hair, running the backs of his fingers down her cheek, his eyes drawn to her neck when he must fight the impulse to feed from her.
“Come on, I’ll show you my old bedroom.”
He took her back into the hallway and to the double doors that led to his bedroom. One of the doors was slightly ajar and he remembered those old wooden doors, worn smooth with age, and how they’d never close all the way. He ran his hand over their surface. This was the best bedroom, his mother used to say. And it had been saved for her oldest son, or as it turned out, her only son. “Madre, how I miss you.” He pushed against one of the doors and heard the creak of the hinges as he pushed it open and stepped into his old room.
Shannon was entranced by this house, and she could feel its pull on him. He was right, it was bittersweet. She could see it on his face. She followed him as he led her to his old bedroom. She was trying to remember her old bedroom when she lived in her parent’s house. She remembered it was covered in posters of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. She thought she and Luca were about the same age, so it would be interesting to see how he’d lived. “Luca, how old are you?”
He stopped in the doorway and turned to her, wondering what prompted this question. “Mia belleza... you know we don’t age in the same way. If you compare me to a mortal, I’d say probably about thirty. But as a vampire, I’ve lived one-hundred and fifty years. Still very young.”
Shannon knew her mouth was hanging open and she was seriously doing her best to close it, but with no luck. Did he say one-hundred and fifty? I'm dating a man who is one-hundred and fifty? “Oh... I... wow. I had no idea. So, if Shade raised you, then he’s how o
ld?”
Luca had to chuckle out loud at the expression on her face. “Shade is about five-hundred, I think. So, you see, mia belleza, I have a long way to go yet.”
“Five-hundred? Seriously? Does Kate know that?”
He threw his head back with laughter. “Si, mia belleza, I’m sure she knows. But it means nothing, si? Age just means wisdom, experience and a keen sense of survival. We do eventually die, after many centuries Shan, but we can be destroyed, just like any mortal. Come, see my old room with me.”
He pushed the door all the way open and stepped back into his past. His bed was placed under the window, exactly as it used to be. The shutters were thrown open and fresh air blew through the room. A small vase holding flowers from his mother’s garden sat by his bed. Someone had been here today, maybe even knew they were coming? Gi perhaps? He was sure of it.
Her head still reeling from the knowledge he was one-hundred and fifty. She followed him into his room, no Nirvana posters, or posters of whoever was making music one-hundred and fifty years ago. Wow, that's like the Civil War period. Like banjo on my knee time. He was alive during the Civil War, only he lived here, not in the States. She followed him around the room, as he looked through his things and watched as he kept glancing at her.
Luca asked, “You okay, Shan?”
“Yes, yeah sure... it's just… one-hundred and fifty. I mean, I know you’re immortal. I understood that, in theory. I never really thought about your age, we seemed so close in age, or I thought we seemed so close in age. But you said if you were mortal you’d be about thirty, right? And I’m twenty-eight. I don't understand, is it like dog years or something? No, forget I said that. Erase, erase, erase!”
He walked over to his bed as she rambled on, his back to her, so she couldn’t see his smile. He leaned over the bed so he could look out the window at the view he had looked at so many times as a boy. He lay down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, and the familiar crack in the plaster. He patted the bed beside him, inviting her to join him.