Draw Me In

by Megan Squires

  “So in the same day, she found out that she not only had cancer, but her oldest son did as well?” That was too much.

  “She did.”

  I didn’t say anything else.

  I launched at him and threw my arms around his body, probably more to comfort myself than him. Leo reciprocated and let me just hold him there, wordless. My unspoken sorrow pulsed through me and I knew he could sense it. I hoped he could, because it was all he was getting for now. I’d forgotten how to talk. Forgotten how to think. How to do anything other than hold him affectionately in my arms. This would have to do.

  “Julie.” His lips came down to mine and covered them completely. Warm. Reassuring. When he pulled away he said, “I need you to know that I’m falling in love with you.”

  That was probably an accident. There was no way he could mean it. We’d only known each other—like actually known each other—a week, max. I actually felt bad for him for slipping up and saying something like that to someone me, because I doubted he realized that I would hang.on.every.word.

  “You shouldn’t say that.”

  His lips brushed across mine again. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of what I think I should and should not say, okay?”

  Fair enough.

  I nodded quickly and gave him the most passionate, lingering kiss I was capable of. Even when I pulled away, his mouth still gaped, his eyes were still closed.

  “If I’m reading that correctly...” he smirked with a playful tone fitted to his words, “...I think you might be falling in love with me, too.”

  “I think you’re a good reader.” I pulled him closer again and reenacted my previous kiss.

  “I think you’re a good drawer.” Another kiss.

  “I think you’re a good model.” Two, three more.

  “Well, unfortunately not as good as that David of yours with all my stitches and scars.”

  I shook my head in challenge. “No, David totally has cracks and divots all over him from all the acidic bird poop.”

  Leo didn’t even have to ask because his face did that all on its own.

  “After 370 years in an open square, those birds can take their toll,” I elaborated.

  “After a few months, cancer can too.”

  Oh, that was really sad. Too sad for how we should both be feeling right now, having half-confessed to possibly loving one another. “I honestly still think you’re flawless, Leo.”

  He shrugged and shook off my statement like there was no truth held within it. “I don’t think you should say that.”

  Leaning in for another kiss, one that made every part of my body quiver, I said, “Why don’t you let me be the judge of what I think I should and should not say? Fair enough?”

  “Fair enough,” Leo smiled against my lips.

  And even though none of it actually felt fair—that he’d have to watch his young mother die from the same disease that simultaneously attacked his very own body—it felt right for us to be like this, together, right now.

  I’d take it.

  And I’d take whatever Leo was willing to give me, cracks and all.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  There was a man in my bed when I woke up.

  And it wasn’t Leo.

  At first I didn’t notice him, with the fluff of the mattress that made it like one of those Tempurpedic kinds where you could pretty much do cartwheels and backflips without your sleeping partner even feel the vibration of it.

  So I hadn’t noticed anyone slip under the comforter to join me. I hadn’t noticed anyone rolling over next to me throughout the night, trying to get comfortable. And I hadn’t noticed anyone sharing my king-size pillow, yet that’s exactly what he was doing. Not really even sharing, more like taking it hostage between two vice-gripping arms and his cheek.

  I had absolutely no clue who this foreign dude was under my covers. Not gonna lie, this was weird, even for me.

  “Pssst,” I whispered, pressing a fingernail into the bare shoulder of my newest roommate. His skin was dark—obviously tanned—and his blond hair was cropped short above his ears. I’m sure he had a face, but I couldn’t currently see it. “Pssst.”

  There was an audible grunt, followed by a swat of my hand. The guy literally just smacked me. I dug my nail harder into his flesh, leaving a crescent-shaped divot in his skin because he kind of made me angry. Not necessarily the being in my bed part because there had to be a logical explanation for this, but because he was so rude and grunty towards me. Obviously not a morning person.

  I decided to go the route of quietly rousing him from his slumber, turning the other cheek and trying not to harbor any hard feelings toward him even though he sort of was a grouch.

  “Hey,” I said, my voice a sweet, hushed whisper. The way a mom wakes up her child. But apparently I was trying to wake up a hibernating grizzly. “Hey you. Wake up.”

  “Don’t think for a moment I won’t burn this place down!”

  Wait. What? That seemed a little extreme, even for someone who evidently hated wakeup calls. Someone needed to get this man some coffee, pronto.

  He pumped a fist into the air like a threat and growled, “I’m sick of your trickery and lies and your good for nothing sorry ass!”

  “I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong per—”

  “I will end you!” Wow, he was getting angry. And I was getting scared because this was escalating quickly. First arson, now murder. “Do you hear me?”

  “Yes!” I squeaked. There was suddenly a mouse trapped in my throat that did my talking for me. “Loud and clear.”

  “I suggest you back away slowly and don’t ever show your face around these parts again.”

  While it was a decent suggestion since he’d threatened to torch the place, I couldn’t follow it. I had every right to be here. If anyone should be packing their bags, it was this guy.

  “Hey, wake up,” I pleaded once more, this time wrapping my hand over his shoulder to shake him awake. That didn’t work, and instead he flung me off of him with unrestricted force and bolted upright. The comforter slipped down his body, revealing a bare, muscled chest that looked almost as good as Leo’s. I caught myself on my elbows and skittered backward to the foot of the bed, gaining some distance, trying not to admire him because I was still so irritated—and confused—by the situation.

  Now that I could see his face, it was obvious he was still in some sort of sleep-induced trance, his features pulled taut, but his eyes somewhere not in this realm. He had that glazed over expression in his vacant brown glare, though his words held more emotion than I thought possible for what appeared to be just a bad case of sleep talking.

  “Listen, woman!” Hey now, no one talked to me like that, even in their dreams. “I suggest you take your pretty little self and pretend you didn’t see what just went down here.”

  Was it weird that I suddenly felt like I was in an old western movie? Because his drawl, his words, and the way he addressed me like I was a piece of meat was similar to a scene that should take place in an old, rundown saloon. Then he could at least blame this little event on the alcohol. The way things were, I couldn’t really fathom his excuse.

  “So just turn around and walk your—”

  “Now you listen here, Butch Cassidy.” I got off of the bed and backed up several more feet. Reno stood just at my back, and even though I knew he couldn’t offer me any real protection, it felt like he was there for the moral support I needed. I gave him a grateful smiled and then turned to the stranger and seethed, “I suggest you take your ass and pack your bags before I run you the hell out of town!”

  I hoped that would do it.

  Unfortunately, he kept things going, like I was just reading my portion of the lines in our Hollywood script and it was now his turn.

  “You know I can’t do that.” Did I? Truth be told, I didn’t know anything when it came to this guy. Just that he was quite attractive, unreasonably angry, and had somehow stumbled into my bed in the middle of the night
. Oh, and that we were now having some sort of theatrical showdown in my bedroom. “You know I have to answer to the sheriff.”

  “Well, there’s a new sheriff in town,” I challenged, my hands hooked onto my hips as I tried to make myself appear, and sound, as intimidating as possible. I puffed out my chest, expanding my ribcage with a huge breath for courage. “And her name’s Jules and she doesn’t take any lip from anyone, especially the likes of you, you hear?” With a stomp of my foot, I sneered, “So you best go and take yer lazy, good for nothin’, sorry behind and hightail it out of town before I—”

  “Julie?”

  Locks.

  Right. As in, they don’t seem to have any in this Villa.

  “Oh thank God, Leo!” I lifted my hands skyward in relief. “I very nearly arrested this cowboy for breaking and entering with the threat of manslaughter.”

  Leo laughed, which was odd because I was secretly hoping the whole jealous boyfriend shtick would play out. I mean, I did have a pretty damn good-looking guy in my bed. That should at the very least make him get those wrinkles of confusion under his brow.

  “I see you’ve met Walker.”

  So not Butch Cassidy. I had to wrap my brain around that for a few seconds. “If by sharing a bed and then some strange western scene qualify as meeting, then yes. But since I’m pretty certain he’s still comatose, I’m not sure we can classify this as an actual meeting.”

  Leo disappeared into the adjoining bathroom, and when he returned he held a crystal glass of tap water in his grip. “Would you like to do the honors?” He asked as he extended his arm toward me. “Because I know you’re quite good at throwing drinks on men.”

  I did sort of want to douse this guy in water. But now that I knew he had a name and therefore probably an identity, I didn’t feel right in waking him up so suddenly that way. Whoever he was, Leo obviously knew him, and maybe he deserved a few more minutes of sleep. It was pretty clear that whatever dreams he wrestled with during the night most likely didn’t leave him feeling too rested come morning. He was a fighter in the ring of his own brain. That had to take it out of you.

  “Hey, let me try something else.” Leo’s widened eyes gave me the go-ahead and I took two more steps toward the bed, my hand drawn and raised in the imitation of gun. “I’m giving you to the count of three before I pull the trigger—”

  “I told you, I’m hear to talk to the sheriff—”

  “One,” I hollered, raising my voice and tacking on that fake southern accent once more. “Two...”

  “I don’t mean any—”

  “Three!” Taking the crystal glass from Leo, I crashed it loudly to the floor and Walker simultaneously slumped over in the bed in what had to amount to the most impressive, dramatic sleep talking/acting event I’d ever been a part of, even considering this was the only one I’d ever been a part of. It truly was award winning.

  All three of us were quiet for a pause.

  “Well that was something, Sheriff Julie,” Leo admitted as he crouched down to scoop up the shattered remnants of the glass. There were at least twenty pieces of broken glass strewn in a three-foot radius like glittering jewels, a mosaic of crystal. “But now you’re O for 2 when it comes to the Carducci crystal. Not a good record.”

  I slammed my palm to my eyes and kept it there for a moment to shelter myself from the inevitable embarrassment that accompanied this whole scene. “Please don’t tell me that was another expensive glass.”

  “Okay,” Leo smiled. He swept the remaining shards into his palm with the other hand. “I won’t then.”

  “You do realize that being in a relationship with me is turning out to be quite costly. I mean, I’m seriously racking up the bills. First dry cleaning, then shopping sprees, and now glassware.”

  He pushed back up to stand and fiddled with the glass in his hand, stacking the smaller pieces on top of the larger ones so carefully it was as though he was playing a game of Jenga. “And don’t forget a year’s worth of coffee before I actually even met you. But in all honesty, I’d say it’s paid off quite well for me.”

  I laughed, grateful he could find the humor in it. It was definitely there, just hidden under some unfortunate circumstances. “So Walker, huh? What’s his deal?”

  “Walker and I have been friends since we were teenagers. He’s here for the party tonight.” Party. Yes, that’s right! Today was Leo’s birthday. I don’t know how I’d forgotten, and I wasn’t sure if I could still blame things on the jetlag. This was just a case of me being a lame nearly-girlfriend. “This is the room he typically stays in at the Villa, so he probably just assumed you were bunking together.”

  “Do you usually provide complimentary females for your male houseguests?” I laughed, but was actually a little serious. I saw a bunch of travel-size shampoos and conditioners in the bathroom. Maybe this was just another perk.

  “No,” Leo assured, leaning toward me and flicking my nose. The pad of his finger held on the ski-slope tip for a second. “But Walker isn’t really big on boundaries, and I doubt he thought twice before hopping into bed with you.”

  “He’s not Walker as in Texas Ranger, is he? Because then this showdown would make a little more sense.”

  Leo walked toward the wastebasket near the desk along the far wall and dropped the shards of glass into it. The sound of the pieces clinking against the metal made Walker rustle a bit under the covers, but then he fell back into a steady snore. “No. But he is an Off-Broadway understudy, so he’s pretty much always in character.”

  “Even in his sleep, huh?”

  “He’s very committed.” Leo ran his hands through his hair and laughed as he corrected, “Or maybe he should be committed. The verdict is still out.”

  “Well, I look forward to re-meeting him when he’s awake enough to remember it. In the meantime, I’m gonna shower and get ready. The bathroom door does have a lock, doesn’t it?”

  Leo smirked, all playful and teasing. “Yes, but I’m sorta wishing it actually didn’t.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Hey Jules! Come check this out!” Ian waved me over with a wooden spoon, circling it in the air to call me closer. He pressed another hand to the checkered apron tied around his waist. “You have to taste this.”

  Red tomato sauce coated the utensil and I could see and smell the fresh herbs chopped up and ground into the mixture. I wrapped my lips onto the spoon and slurped in a savory taste, the essence of Italy exploding on my taste buds. “That’s amazing. Truly.”

  “It’s a traditional Carducci recipe.” Ian turned toward the enormous pot on the stove and swirled the spoon around a few times in the simmering sauce. “Gio’s giving away all of the family secrets.”

  “Not all of them.”

  Apparently not only was Gio the master winemaker at the Villa, but he had the culinary skills to match. Over the past few days, it appeared as though he and Ian hit it off, comparing kitchen notes and spending time in the vineyards examining this year’s budding harvest. I was grateful for their friendship, because I honestly hadn’t been around much to keep Ian company. Not that you necessarily needed company in Italy. I think it was the only place on earth where one could be completely alone, and still feel utterly content.

  But today, any thoughts of being alone were out of the question. Not only had Walker joined our crew, but a half dozen other of Leo’s other family members and coworkers trickled in throughout the afternoon, and we were expecting that many more to arrive before dinner. Part of me wished I had a little more time to prepare and wrap my head around the fact that I would be meeting some of the people closest to Leo, but the other part was grateful for the surprise. Gave me less time to work up any nerves.

  “You ready?”

  I jumped. Leo did a lot of that—calling out to me when I didn’t even realize he was in the room. He took me by surprise the first time we’d met, and apparently he wasn’t about to stop any time soon.

  “I am,” I smiled.

  He curl
ed his fingers around his jingling keys and grabbed onto my hand with his free one.

  “And where are we going?”

  “The one place in the world I’d want to spend my birthday with the most amazing woman in the world.”

  “Here isn’t good enough?” I teased, following him out of the Villa and onto the gravel driveway. The sun pierced the sky, a blinding white blade of light. I had to shade my eyes in order to adapt to the unexpected burst. But I could get used to this gorgeous weather, breathtaking landscape, and seriously hot boyfriend. In fact, I was already used to it. Turns out it’s not too hard to adapt to perfection. You just slide right in.

  “I honestly don’t want to share you with a dozen other people today,” Leo explained. “You’ve already shared your bed with at least one of them. Call me selfish, but it’s my birthday. I want you all to myself.”

  “Nothing selfish about that!” I nodded emphatically. Though I wanted to meet his friends, the personal time with Leo was exactly what I’d been craving. I craved him. “Where to?”

  “You are persistent, aren’t you?”

  I grinned coyly.

  There was a sleek black sports car parked at the base of the driveway, its polished surface glinting in the sun, those daggers of light reflecting starbursts off every curve and contour.

  With his aviator glasses perched on his nose and a scarf twisted around his neck, Leo rounded the edge of the vehicle and propped open my passenger door. I slid one leg into the car and dropped the rest of my body onto the seat. It smelled expensive—like brand new leather—and even the way the material felt was altogether luxurious. Velvet kissing my skin, skimming over my bare legs and arms. I’d never been turned on my inanimate objects before, but this car definitely got my pulse racing.

  “To answer your question...” Leo said, his fingers hooked over the top edge of the passenger window as he slowly started pushing the door closed, “...we’re going into town.”

  “Town meaning Florence?”

  “You got it,” he said as he shut the door, his mouth a flirtatious smirk. He shot me a wink through the windshield while he walked around to the driver’s side and tugged on the handle. The way his tailored pants pulled with each stride made me feel like it was my birthday because having the privilege of viewing that backside was quite a gift.