The Heart Of The Game

by Pamela Aares

  Zoe fingered the perfect white pearls and then touched her nose to her sister’s. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

  “Perfetto,” Coco murmured as she slipped into the silver dress Zoe had helped her choose. She looped her arm through Zoe’s and then Amber’s. “Ready or not, world, the Tavonesi sisters are on the prowl.”

  Zoe pulled her arm from Coco’s. “You two go ahead. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  Though her sisters grumbled, they left her in peace.

  She sat at the vanity and pulled out the slip of paper she’d folded into her silver keepsake box. She uncurled it and read it for the third time that day.

  Before trying to please others do what makes you happy.

  A light knock at her door startled her. For a moment she wished it were Cody. But it wouldn’t be. Never would be again.

  “I thought I’d check out your digs,” Jackie said as she slipped into the room. She took one look at Zoe and sat beside her on the vanity bench.

  “I know that look.”

  Zoe handed her the fortune. Jackie nodded as she read the words and then handed it back.

  “You won’t know what’s true until you address what’s pulling at you,” Jackie said. “Alex told me about your gallery project. About how you want to go home.”

  “I’m leaving in three days.”

  Jackie fingered the silver-backed mirror that sat on the top of the vanity, one of the few possessions Zoe had brought from Italy that had belonged to her mother. “I’ve been told not to give unsolicited advice—one of my many bad habits. And not one I’m likely to break,” she added with a toss of her head. “Comes with being a bossy elder sister, I suppose.” She caught Zoe’s eyes in the mirror. “Another bad habit is ignoring advice from Alex when I judge that he’s off track. That comes from being contrary.” She smiled. “Also a habit I’m not likely to break.”

  “I’m a bossy elder sister,” Zoe said. “So fire away.”

  “I’ve discovered that home is a soul’s residence as much as it is a physical place. If your soul’s home is Rome, you have to go back. If for no other reason than to discover how you feel there. Now. After Cody.”

  After Cody. Jackie’s words made her decision seem so final.

  “Finding life’s true calling is a process. A hell of a tough one too,” Jackie went on. “I never imagined living in America. I thought I’d never leave Africa, thought I’d make my life there; the villagers had become my family. But the sea and its creatures always called to me, since I was a child. I couldn’t ignore that voice, that call. I tried, believe me, but it just droned louder. And then, when I took the job at the rescue center here, I discovered my heart’s work. And this place began to get under my skin. But even so, I thought I’d work here for a few years and then start a rescue center in some remote corner of the planet.”

  “But then you met Alex.”

  “Meeting Alex shocked me. But would I have committed to a life with him if he had lived in Kentucky or Kansas or some place that kept me from doing what I loved?” She held Zoe in an open gaze. “I can’t tell you I know the answer. I can tell you that love has a way of putting our feet on vastly different paths than we imagine we’ll be traveling.”

  Zoe clasped her hand in Jackie’s. “Thank you for coming up here tonight. And for understanding.”

  “You’ll never know if you don’t go back, Zoe. Open the gallery, reenter your life in Italy. If you selectively close off an important part of yourself, it’s as bad as a lie. As soon as we shut down, the barricading spreads. To love, you have to be all in. You can’t have one foot in another place; the split will kill your spirit.”

  Zoe stroked her fingers along Jackie’s hand. For a woman who could wrestle six-hundred-pound sea lions, Jackie had remarkably delicate hands. Zoe kissed Jackie’s cheek and saw the surprise in her eyes. “I have six sisters, and I love them all. But you have become a sister of my heart.”

  “Mmmm, back at you.” Jackie squeezed Zoe’s fingers as she stood. She smoothed a hand down her dress. “I should head back down. Alex will never forgive me for abandoning him to the masses. You coming?”

  “In a bit.”

  Jackie nodded and headed for the door. “I should warn you,” she said on her way out. “Cody’s here. See you downstairs.”

  Zoe’s heart rushed. She tucked the fortune back under her plane ticket to Rome and lowered the lid on the box. It closed with a barely perceptible click. Or was it her heart that she heard shutting down above the strains of music and the voices of the party rising from downstairs?

  She’d never dreaded a party more in her life.

  One thing about the Tavonesi clan: they knew how to throw a helluva party. But Cody wasn’t interested in the festive setting or the tables groaning with food or the women who made eyes at him as he wound his way into the lavishly decorated ballroom.

  “Cody!” Coco stopped him. “Since my dear sister can’t seem to find it in her heart to ask you, I’ve decided it’s time I ask you myself.” She took a big gulp of champagne from the crystal flute she held. “I’m making a calendar.”

  “People like calendars.” He scanned the room. No Zoe.

  “That’s what I think. And I’d like you to help me. All the funds from the sales will go to rebuild the homeless women and children’s shelter and—”

  “I don’t know much about marketing, but sure, Coco, no problem.” He didn’t have time to listen to a pitch. “Where’s Zoe?”

  “She’ll be down in a minute. About my project—”

  “I’m happy to help. I read about the shelter last week. I like the Inspire program—great idea to make sure the moms have bankable work skills and support.”

  Coco stared at him.

  “What?”

  “Sometimes I find it hard to believe you’re real.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He nodded toward the champagne glass. “How many of those have you had?”

  “Two.”

  “I need to find your sister.”

  “Lucky her.”

  He took the glass from her hand and placed it on the tray of a passing waiter. “Eat something.”

  He hurried to the foyer. And saw Zoe surrounded by men—none of them her cousins or his teammates. And Vico stood beside her, impeccably dressed. Vico’s tie was perfectly knotted. The only mar in his elegant appearance was the bulge in his right pocket. Maybe a flask. Cody’s father used to carry a flask of scotch with him at all times. He shuddered, remembering those days. Days that he hoped were sealed in the past. Vico saw him approaching; the bastard smiled.

  “I need to talk with you,” Cody said as he slipped to Zoe’s side.

  “You and half of Sonoma,” said a tall, older man with a thick Italian accent. “Our polo princess has quite a following.” The man turned to Zoe. “You look lovely tonight, my dear.”

  Zoe blushed.

  “If you think she’s beautiful here, you should see her in Italy,” Vico said in a smooth tone that made Cody want to punch him. “She comes alive when she’s in her home environment.”

  Cody remembered his dad’s warning and did his best to ignore the flash of anger that Vico’s baiting enflamed. He knew now how a caged animal felt when taunted by something outside the bars.

  A waiter broke into the circle with a tray of champagne. Zoe took a glass and downed it in four swallows.

  Vico took her empty glass and handed her another. “Parties always make me thirsty,” he said.

  Cody touched Zoe’s elbow. She flinched when he leaned close to her ear. “I need to talk with you.”

  Zoe tilted her head up and met his eyes. There was no joy there. If he read the glassy stare right, she was barely holding herself together.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “I’ll be here for hours.” Her voice sounded measured, controlled. Not right. She pressed her lips into a firm line.

  Vico said something in rapid Italian. The man to Zoe’s left laughed.
/>   “Speak English,” she said, scowling at Vico. “You know Cody doesn’t speak Italian.”

  “Forgive me,” Vico said. “I forgot.”

  Cody figured he should get huge points for not flat-out decking the guy.

  “Bond,” Alex said as he came up to the group. “I have someone I’d like you to meet.” He took Cody’s arm. “I’ll bring him back.” Alex grinned. “I promise.”

  Alex dragged him over to Alastair, of all people. “This is Zoe’s neighbor, Alastair—”

  “We’ve met,” Alastair said as he shook Cody’s hand. “So you’re the horse whisperer.”

  “Hardly,” Cody replied, looking over the old man’s shoulder, trying to keep an eye on Zoe.

  “Now don’t go getting all modest on me. I need facts. You get to be my age and you want information straight up and no pussyfooting. My Sugar’s not right, hasn’t been for a few days. The vet’s useless—ran all sorts of tests, cost me a fortune. Will you come over and have a look when you can?”

  “Be glad to, Mr. Husch.”

  “Alastair.” The old man whipped out a card. “There’s my home phone. I never answer the cell, so don’t bother. I have it for nine-one-one purposes.” He snorted a laugh. “But if I’m bad off enough to need nine-one-one, I doubt I’ll be trying to punch numbers into the damned gadget.”

  Alex and Cody laughed. But it occurred to Cody that it must be a hell of a thing to get old and be alone.

  “I can head over around noon,” Cody said, half distracted as Zoe and her group moved out of sight. He angled for a better view, but didn’t see her or Vico. The older Italian man was now near the bar setup in the foyer, talking with Adrian.

  “Good man.” Alastair stopped a waiter and chose from the hors d’oeuvres on his tray. He then stared at his selection, shaking his head. “This is the smallest pancake I’ve ever seen in my life.” He popped the morsel into his mouth. “Tasty though.” He grabbed the waiter by the elbow, swinging him around, and took three more, piling them one on top of the other and then popping the whole group into his mouth. “You boys better eat up,” he said as he washed his mini-feast down with champagne. “Put some muscle on those young bones. I’m planning on seeing you in the Series this year.”

  Cody nodded, only half listening.

  “I believe I’ll head home,” Alastair said. “These storm winds are only going to whip up worse, and my horses don’t like thunder. It’ll be another night in the barn for me.”

  “I can drive you,” Alex offered.

  “I live next door. When I can’t get from here to there under my own steam, just shut me in the barn and call the undertakers.”

  Adrian approached them with the Italian man in tow.

  “Cristo wanted a word with you, Cody,” Adrian said.

  “And with Mr. Husch,” Cristo said, extending a hand to detain Alastair.

  Alastair looked the elegant Italian up and down. “Not for sale,” he said gruffly.

  Cristo didn’t blink. “I’m not interested in buying your property, signor. I simply would like to discuss pasturing three of my polo ponies with you over the winter. Provided you have barn space, that is.” He turned to Cody. “I saw you ride in the match in September. You could have a career ahead of you if you worked at it.”

  Alastair snorted a laugh, but Cody saw that the man was sincere. Not everyone knew he played baseball for a living.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” But all he had in his mind right then was finding Zoe. “But if you’ll all excuse me, I need to—”

  “Go find that girl,” Alastair said with a twinkling smile. “The two of you are gonna make an old man out of me yet.” He looked over to Adrian. “That storm steeping out there doesn’t have half the power as what’s brewing between your sister and this spark plug.”

  Heat spiked up Cody’s neck. He hadn’t been aware that he and Zoe had been that obvious.

  “Ah,” Cristo said, “our princess. You’ll have to buff up your riding skills if you want to keep up with her, Mr. Bond.” He turned to Adrian. “If your sister had a couple more strong ponies, her team could compete in the Cup. Win it, I think.”

  Cody didn’t stick around to hear more.

  He circled the party like a hungry shark, slipping away from several women making determined efforts to gain his attention. Zoe wasn’t in the main party space. And she wasn’t in the foyer. When he thought he heard her voice coming from the kitchen, he headed there.

  “Cody, how handsome you look,” Anastasia said in a teasing tone. “But this will not do.” She reached up to his tie. “American men never know how to make a tie look elegante.” She laughed. That she was treating him like one of her brothers was a relief. That she was delaying his search wasn’t.

  “Have you seen Zoe?”

  “Has she come down already? I heard she was in a mood. I avoid Zoe when she’s in a mood, and lately she’s been impossible.” She snugged his tie against his collar. “Coco blames you, of course.”

  “I need to find her.”

  Anastasia smiled. “Indeed.” She patted the tie. “You’re presentable now.”

  God protect the men of the world as they faced the beauty and charm of the Tavonesi women.

  “Try looking upstairs. Sometimes she flees to her rooms.”

  Cody took the stairs two at a time.

  Chapter Thirty

  I’ll show you the painting that will be the centerpiece of the exhibit,” Zoe said as Vico trailed her along the hallway to her father’s library. It felt good to be able to talk about her plans for the gallery. “I just heard from the contractor that the lighting is completed. All that’s left to do is hang the art.”

  “I admire your effort to honor your mother,” Vico said as they reached the door.

  Was that all she was doing? Honoring her mother?

  “I’ve always wanted an endeavor of my own,” she said brusquely.

  “I understand. I feel the same.”

  His gently said words eased into her. Finally someone understood her motivations. She punched in the code she now had memorized. “You’d think we had an entire museum of million-dollar paintings in here the way my father has armed this house,” she said with a light laugh.

  “It’s good to be cautious,” Vico said as they slipped into the library. He pulled the door shut behind them. “The world isn’t as safe as it once was. It’s a pity.”

  She led him to her mother’s painting. “Of course, my mother’s work means more to me from a sentimental point of view than the Monet. Her later paintings, the ones hanging in our villa in Rome, are more spectacular, but to me, this one has the most heart.”

  “She captured the light on the hills perfectly,” Vico said, waving his champagne glass toward the painting. As he extended his arm, the glass slipped from his hand, crashing to the floor in a splash of liquid and shattering crystal.

  “How clumsy of me, I’m so sorry.”

  Zoe grabbed a towel from the bar next to her father’s desk and bent down to blot the spreading champagne from the polished wood floor.

  Vico crouched down beside her. “Let me help.”

  “I have it. Just be careful of the glass, it could—”

  His shoulder pressed into her, shoving her off balance and forcing her into the puddle of champagne. Before she could catch her breath, ask him what was going on, his hands went around her ankles. She pressed to her elbows to get up, but couldn’t move her feet. She looked down to find a thin plastic binding circling her ankles.

  “What the hell are you doing, Vico?”

  Without speaking, Vico reached for her arm. She pulled away, balled both hands into fists and struck at him with the full force of her arms. He grabbed her hands with a strength that surprised her and forced her arms apart and then together behind her back, bending her forward. Pain seared through her wrists, and she knew he’d used the same narrow binding on her wrists.

  “Are you out of your mind? The painting isn’t worth it. Let me go. We can f
orget this happened.”

  “Painting?” he parroted, as if she were the crazy one.

  She screamed for help.

  Before she could cry out again, he stuffed the silk square from his pocket into her mouth.

  “Just a precaution. You must know that you can’t be heard over the noise and music of the party.” His eyes roved her body. “Let’s get you away from all that broken glass,” he said, as if he were speaking to a child.

  He slid his arms under her body and tugged her back a few feet from the edge of the carpet and toward her father’s desk. Then he rolled her onto her side and blocked her against the desk with a chair.

  “No need for you to see more than necessary.”

  He looked at her with a smile that chilled her bones.

  “I’ve wanted to taste you since I was a boy.”

  His strange, gentle tone rumbled through her with more force than any shouted words could have. And the meaning of those words shot a shudder down her body.

  He knelt near her head and then bent down and lowered his lips to hers, pressing hard against her mouth. The silk cloth made it impossible for her to bite him. The look in his eyes made her stomach roil. She jerked her head to the side, away from him. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, imagine that he would assault her in her own house.

  “Not an ideal first kiss.” He stroked a hand down her back. “And, unfortunately, there’s no time for what I’d prefer to follow it up with. It really is too bad we can’t enjoy this evening together properly.” He cupped her hip with his hand, slid his fingers over the curve of her bottom. “You would’ve enjoyed the pleasure I could bring you.” He shook his head. “But this is a work night for me.”

  She heard him drop into the chair in front of her father’s computers.

  “I would’ve had your brother let me in here,” he said. “But I couldn’t overpower him, and I’d rather not harm him. He’s been kind to me.”

  The sound of him tapping at the keyboard tattooed through Zoe’s head. What could possibly be so important, she didn’t know. He walked to where her father’s safe was concealed in the wall.