The sea felt alive and ... incredible, and it was sparkling against the gentle light the sun gave as it took its time in easing itself to set.
I moved my head closer to him as a particularly fierce looking wave came our way and that was when I heard it...
Or felt it?
I wasn't sure which it was, but as I rested my cheek against the side of his wet hair the most amazing music rippled in fields of energy from him.
This had never happened to me before. I'd never seen or felt music coming from a person, and the lure and mystery of it captured my heart and held me there... It felt like it was the symphony I'd been searching for my whole life and truly rivaled everything else I'd previously composed. It was remarkable, and I saw the whole piece from start to finish.
I pressed my cheek to him relishing the sound and immersing myself in the warmth that surrounded his presence. It reached into me, swelled my heart, and overwhelmed me to the point where I completely forgot that I'd ever had any other feelings towards Gage than what I felt right now.
He released one of my legs so he could touch my arm.
"Are you okay Princess? We can make our way back if you want." He ran his finger along the edge of my forearm.
"No, I'm okay," I replied on the edge of a breath. When I moved my head, he turned slightly to look up at me, checking I was okay.
I gazed down at him, taking in the perfect features of his handsome face. The prominent ridge of his thick brows, his deep-set sapphire eyes surrounded by thick lashes, his sharp cheekbones that led down to his chiseled jaw and the playful smile that danced upon his lips. I felt breathless as he continued to look at me and my heart skittered as he turned his smile up a notch.
"What'd I do now? You're giving me that look again like you don't know what to do with me."
"No, it's nothing," I replied.
"Okay, I'll go out a little bit further. Just hold on to me."
"Okay." I would gladly hold on.
Chapter 8
Evie
* * *
Should I be worried about this?
This newfound admiration for Gage that I never expected to experience in a million years. But it wasn't just admiration. Admiring someone was different. You respected what they did and their personality. This feeling I had included admiration; I just wasn't sure what the feeling was. One thing was certain, and that was he was no longer that person he used to be. This Gage might look like that person I used to know, but he wasn't him.
We'd been out here for hours now, and once again I was having a great time with him. We stayed in the sea until it turned dark and a whole other host of fears filled my mind about swimming around in the dark. Then we went back to the beach where they changed, moved their stuff to the bonfire pit, and set up a small fire. It was there that he regaled me with tales of his adventures as we sat on the sand by the fire.
Everything he told me sounded so farfetched. Like bungee jumping, skydiving and jumping from planes onto mountains so he could snowboard down their slopes. It sounded like something from one of those T.V shows, like Adrenaline Junkies.
Now he was telling me about his football fights and how he'd broken his nose at least five times and dislocated his shoulder hundreds of times.
"You just pop it right back in." He beamed as if there was nothing to it, flicking the end of his T-shirt. I cringed and shuddered at the thought although it was intriguing to hear what he'd done.
"Didn't you go to the hospital?"
"Nah. Too much time and they'd probably sign me off. They don't call me Gage Force for nothing."
I'd heard that name on a few occasions. Most often when I'd gone to visit Lucy, and I was watching him play on ESPN.
"You are something else," I giggled.
"Exactly." He smiled. "We should have marshmallows for this." He motioned towards the fire.
"I don't know what those taste like." I thought they looked weird so had never tried them, and the gooey insides put me off even more.
Gage looked at me like I'd just said something entirely ridiculous. "Woman, what they hell? How could you not know what marshmallows taste like? They're amazing. That's like saying you've never had chocolate. You're telling me you've never even had a hot chocolate with marshmallows?" He narrowed his eyes at me.
I shook my head. "They look like bird droppings."
He laughed. "Even the pink ones?"
"They have pink ones?" I didn't know that. I'd only ever seen them in white.
"Yes. Okay, the next time I go into town I'll pick up some pink ones just for you and make you a mean hot chocolate. I'll also get the big white ones. Before we leave here, we'll have them on a bonfire."
I smiled at the thought of him making something for me.
"Okay, that sounds nice."
"That's it... You aren't going to do your usual protest?" He chuckled.
"No. I'll try it." I offered a small smile.
"Cool. So, now I know you don't like lizards, never tried marshmallows, and you seem to be wary of the sea. Apart from music and Lucy, and Italy, I have no idea what else you like." He did that sexy half smile thing that usually accompanied tilting his head to the side.
I bit the inside of my lip as my cheeks flushed. He'd caught me off guard with wanting to know what I liked. When I thought about it, I'd gotten to know so much about him over the last few days. More than I'd ever known in the last twenty-five years. I had gotten lost in listening to him and hadn't really shared anything about myself other than how I saw music and composed.
Compared to him I was boring, and I feared he might think that when he noticed I had nothing to share.
"I... well. I don't get to do much. I like shopping." I loved shopping, but that wasn't exactly unique or interesting. "And um..."
Wow, I was boring.
He was looking at me with anticipation, waiting to hear. The fire flickered and the shadows danced across his face.
"Travelling," I added. "Although I don't do much of the traveling part, but I will. I spend a lot of time working."
He nodded. "Yes. It seems so." He shuffled and looked up to the night sky. Then a smile spread across his face. "Come here, let me show you something you'll like."
"What is it?" I moved over to him.
"The stars," he smiled.
I looked up and saw that the clear sky was filled. It was different here than back home. It was like looking at a piece of black glass with diamonds splashed over it.
"You know the stars?"
"Every last one. My dad taught me. It was the last thing I remember about him. He loved taking me camping, and we'd always star gaze."
I smiled at the beauty in that.
"That sounds amazing."
"I'll teach you. Unless... if you'd like to go back." A curious expression crossed his face. "You haven't said, but I wouldn't want to upset Mr. Evie by keeping you out too late. He might want you to check in with him."
Mr. Evie.
I had to give him credit for his originality, but then I couldn't see him asking anyone if they were single. I was sure that the women he talked to were available, and if they weren't, they'd certainly become available after he'd worked his charm on them. I thought I was immune to his charm but no. It was working its way into me, pushing against any logical resistance I'd set up.
"There is no Mr. Evie," I replied, getting lost in his gaze. "Will Mrs. Gage mind you being out so late with some woman on the beach, stargazing?"
He laughed and did that thing that paralyzed my earlier. He took a lock of my hair and curled it around his thumb. Earlier I pulled back, but I wouldn't be doing that now.
"No princess, there is no Mrs. Gage." His eyes never left mine as he brought my hair up to his nose. "Yet."
A new and unexpected warmth surged through me. It was the way he said it that caught my attention, and the way he looked at me. His stare overwhelmed me, and I found I could hardly breathe.
* * *
Gage
* * *
I
watched Evie go up the winding staircase allowing my eyes to drift over her shamelessly. Long, velvet hair flowed down her back from her ponytail, once again drawing my attention to her perfectly rounded behind that looked even better in those shorts. Her elegant, swanlike, exquisite beauty was built to drive a man wild, and mindless. Mindless against everything.
I didn't want to say goodnight but thought it was best to cut our stargazing session short.
Something happened to me every time I came in contact with her, and now I couldn't even control the sneaky sessions I'd usually allow myself of checking her out. Now I'd find myself staring uncontrollably and not even bothering to look away when she caught me. Like now, she looked behind her as she got to the top of the staircase and I couldn't look away.
The other day I thought I was in a new kind of trouble, now I realized I definitely was.
The problem was I wanted her, and I shouldn't. Evie wasn't just some person or some woman I could pass the time with and have fun. She meant a lot to my grandmother, and she was starting to mean something to me too.
I'd always thought she was beautiful and I'd liked her strong-willed personality, but during the time that we'd been here, I'd gotten to know her. The real her. The woman behind the strong façade, the woman behind the music that was so enchanting and riveting. I liked everything, everything about her.
It was only when she disappeared around the corner that I moved and made my way into the dining room.
Grams was in there. She wore her fluffy yellow dressing gown and had her hair braided to the side in one single plait that ran down to her waist.
"Make you a sandwich?" She offered with a warm smile. She seemed to be in a better mood than earlier. I was right in thinking that the break would do her good, she seemed more at ease.
"I'd love one," I replied.
I missed having someone to look after me, and having her make a fuss over me. It was one of the things I looked forward to when I went home to see her. It didn't matter how old I got, or what I was doing in life she looked after me just the same as she had when I was little.
The earliest memory I had of my parents was me asking to go to see my Grams because I wanted some of her amazing pumpkin pie, which she would always make in the shape of something to fascinate me.
She still made that for me now too. I sat around the dining table as she went into the kitchen. Minutes later she returned with a man-sized sandwich of ham, and cheese with pickles in one of those fluffy hearty Italian baguettes. It was just the thing I needed.
"Thank you so much. This looks fantastic." I complimented as she set the plate before me.
"You're very welcome my darling," she said, tapping the top of my head. She sat opposite me with a cup of tea.
"Was there any messages while I was away?" I asked.
"A couple. They weren't anybody we're looking for. That list is getting shorter and shorter." She looked at me with sad eyes.
I was hoping we'd find one of the sisters by now, and yes, I feared that they'd get to the end of the list and the trail would run cold. We'd have to start all over again. From scratch.
If that happened, I thought I'd have to get a private investigator involved. I didn't think we could keep looking like this and it wasn't doing her any good. If we got to the end of that list and we found nothing I knew it would stress her out to no end. It was stressing her out now, that's why I had to keep her spirits up.
"That just means we'll be closer to finding them." I offered, reaching across the table and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Your positivity reminds me of your father. And you look just like him." She smiled. I had been told that a lot, I just wished things turned out differently, and my parents were still in my life. I might have been young when they were taken from me, but I knew I loved them. All I had now was fragmented memories and images from the past. I thought that when I remembered my father I saw myself in him.
"I guess." I returned the warm smile she offered.
A disconcerted look crossed over her face as she grumbled, "with the exception of all those tattoos." That disgruntled look from earlier returned to her face. "Your father would never dream of getting anything of the sort, and your mother would give you such a telling off if she saw them."
I was used to her talking like that, like my parents were still alive. She kept them alive in my memory for me, and she was totally serious too. She absolutely hated tattoos. She said it reminded her of the macho type sailors in the war who were complete chauvinist and what she called ingrates.
"I promise I won't get anymore."
"You said that last time," she scolded frowning. "And the time before. How many do you have now?" She drew her brows together.
"A couple." I chuckled.
"A couple is two, you are covered."
I had ten. That wasn't covered. I had planned to get another one, but maybe this time I could keep my promise to her. "Okay, I seriously promise this time." I crossed my fingers together and held them at my heart.
"You'd better keep it. At least Evie agrees with me."
I laughed. Evie only agreed with her because she'd been put on the spot. The way she'd looked at me told me different. She didn't think I was a hooligan, and I knew she liked my tattoos as well as the rest of me.
"Yes, Evie agrees with you." I nodded, indulging her.
An excited look flickered in her eyes as an idea seemed to come to her.
"Gage, why don't you take her sightseeing? You two should go and see the sights in Italy. Florence, Venice, Milan. She'd love that. I could do the calls, and you guys could go out for a day, or two."
I straightened up against the wooden chair and looked at her. She was up to something. "What are you doing Grams?"
"Nothing." She replied feigning innocence and looking at me with her huge light blue eyes. "It's just that it's Italy. It's a very beautiful country, and you're young. You shouldn't be cooped up in a villa with some old lady looking for her long lost love."
I laughed again. "Grams you're not some old lady, and I think you'll find that I'm not that young anymore."
"You're kids to me." She smiled.
"Maybe. Anyway, I think Evie would prefer if someone else took her to all those places."
"Why let someone else do it when you could?" She smiled widely. "You're going to seriously tell me you don't like her. My eyes have never deceived me, and they aren't about to start now."
I opened my mouth to protest but found I couldn't. Somehow, I couldn't. "She can't stand me. And she has every reason to dislike me."
Evie did. In fact, when I looked back and remembered how badly I treated her it was actually amazing that she was even giving me the time of day.
"But she doesn't." Grams smiled with confidence.
"How do you know?" I was interested to hear her thoughts and get some insight into her observations.
"I just do." She sighed.
"I gave her a real hard time when we were kids." That was perhaps putting it extremely mildly.
The other day I was thinking about it, and some of the things I'd done were embarrassing to think that I was capable of. Like when I told everyone she was a man. Why would I think that that was okay? And, I did it too during that weird phase of high school when she'd was just about to start her sophomore year. Things were bad enough just being a teenager but I knew I'd made it worse for her. If that weren't true, then she wouldn't have mentioned it the other night, and she really did look at me like she believed I was the devil.
"That was a long time ago Gage."
"She still remembers very well. You're the only reason why she talks to me."
Grams smiled and inclined her head to the side as she surveyed me. "I came back in here hours ago and left you two on the beach. Evie's a very strong willed woman. She doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do. She could have returned with me, or at the very least sooner than you."
I guessed that was true, and she did seem to enjoy herself with me on the be
ach, and when we walked around Rome.
I watched Grams’ smile widen. "You should take her sightseeing while we're here, and for heaven's sake don't let that Giselle sink her claws into you."
"Giselle? Grams she hasn't done anything wrong," I grinned.
"Maybe so but I don't like her, and I do not like the way she talks and shamelessly throws herself at you with her anything at all offers." When she said that last part she sounded exactly like Evie did earlier.
I had to laugh. Clearly, Grams and Evie were spending far too much time with each other.
"Okay. Note to self, say no to Giselle." I chuckled.
She nodded. "Yes, no to Giselle."
The thing was, Giselle was never a problem. I was too focused on Evie.
Chapter 9
Evie
* * *
Sunday was the worse I’d ever seen Lucy.
We'd gotten word that three of the Vanessas we'd contacted had died, but weren't connected to Angelo. We'd also reached the end of our Anna list with no success.
Although we still had three hundred Vanessas to go, Lucy was a mess. She cried all day and refused to eat, then she resigned herself to her room and refused to come out.
Gage looked completely exhausted with worry and I didn't know what to do to help us both feel better.
It wasn't until late into the evening that Lucy came out of her room, and it was only because I made one of my classic lasagnas. Lucy was never one to turn down a meal that had been specially prepared for her. She thought it was terrible manners.
Gage appreciated the meal, and I's efforts to cheer Lucy up. He looked like he was on his last leg of ideas and I was happy to offer any support I could.
When we finished dinner, we gathered in the lounge and Gage lit a fire in the fire place. It wasn't cold, but the place had a chill on it as it had rained earlier.
He sat on the sofa while Lucy sat on the rocking chair by the fire. An idea came to me as I watched Lucy go into that melancholic state again.
Play of Love: The Gladiator Players Box Set Page 40