Dante's Girl (The Paradise Diaries)

by Courtney Cole

  And smile wider.

  There is a white linen envelope lying in front of my door. Someone slipped it underneath. And I can tell from the scrawling bold script exactly who that someone was. The fact that Dante chose to write me an old-fashioned note instead of texting me turns my insides to jelly. It’s just one of those little quirks about him that fascinate me.

  I open it up.

  Good morning, little Sunflower.

  I hope you slept well. I had an amazing evening with you last night. I hope to do it again soon, if you will have me.

  I have to make a quick trip into Valese to see my father. I promise that I will drive carefully and I will be back after lunch.

  I love you.

  D.

  Several things about this note make me happy.

  He calls me his Sunflower. And that makes me happy.

  He had fun last night. And that makes me happy.

  He actually thought to reassure me that he will drive carefully and that makes me happy. It shows that he is thinking about my feelings. And that makes me super happy.

  And he says that he loves me. That makes me so, so, so freaking happy.

  Oh- and last, he signs it with a simple D. Not DGG like his previous notes. It seems more intimate and personal.

  Reece and Dante.

  Dante and Reece.

  D and R.

  We’re a couple.

  We’re really happening.

  I shake my head to clear my thoughts and try to just for a while, think of things other than Dante. It’s hard. But I give it the old college try.

  I have breakfast with Mia and Marionette in the kitchen. It’s so much more casual in there rather than the dining room. And after we stuff ourselves full of fresh croissants, Mia and I pile into the cart and head for the shop.

  “So, you didn’t end up doing anything last night?” I ask doubtfully.

  She shakes her head.

  “Nope. After we left the yacht, Vincent was pretty tired so we just went home. It was sort of a let-down. But there will be other nights. Trust me.”

  She waggles her eyebrows and I am laughing as we round the final curve.

  And there, standing on the side of the factory, is Vincent.

  And he is talking with Nate Geraris.

  What the hell?

  Vincent is sweaty and dirty, like he’s been in the fields already. Nate, with his white blonde hair and ice blue eyes and his buttoned up shirt and loafers, is pristine and clean and I know he’s never been near a field or manual labor in his life.

  The little worm.

  But what the eff is he doing here? Just because he came for the obligatory visit to Dante’s hospital room, does not let him off the hook for being a jerk. He bruised my arm, he lied to Dante. And there’s something about him that just isn’t right. That’s what my gut tells me.

  Although, to be fair, my gut could just be angry about the bruise.

  “What’s he doing here?” I hiss to Mia.

  “I’ve got nothing,” she tells me. “I have no idea. I haven’t heard from him since he pissed Dante off.”

  “I haven’t seen him since he came to the hospital with his father to see Dante,” I say as I unconsciously rub at where my bruise used to be. It’s long gone so I have no idea why I’m rubbing at it.

  “How was he at the hospital, anyway?” Mia asks as she unlocks the front door of the shop.

  “Polite. That’s pretty much it. He knew that Dante was still pissed, so he pretty much just said hello and waited while his father visited.”

  I look over my shoulder and Nate’s cold blue eyes are staring at me through the window. And HonestToGod, I feel like shivering. Because his eyes are just that cold.

  “I don’t like him,” I mutter to Mia. “I just don’t.”

  “Not many do,” she says cheerfully as she empties out the cash drawer and turns on the various machines.

  “What in the world is he talking to Vincent about?” I muse as I cut pieces of cheese into bite-size samples. “It’s not like they run in the same circles.”

  “Probably nothing,” Mia answers. “I’m guessing that he came to find Dante and just bumped into Vincent.”

  I turn back around to look and both Vincent and Nate are gone.

  Mia could be right.

  But somehow, I just don’t think so. A little niggling doubt in me flares up and I honestly just don’t think so.

  A few hours later, I find that I honestly just don’t care. Nate is long gone from my mind.

  I’ve been texting with Becca all morning. Her mom finally agreed to let her come. So in another three weeks, she’ll be here. And I can’t wait. Cannot. Wait. I chatter excitedly to Mia.

  “You’re going to love her,” I tell her. “Love. Her. Everyone does.”

  “I’m sure,” Mia says as she stares absently out the window. She doesn’t seem nearly as excited as I am. I hope she doesn’t feel threatened. I know that I’m pretty much her only friend.

  “Everything alright?” I ask. She turns to me and her forehead is wrinkled up.

  “I think so. It’s just that Vincent isn’t answering any of my texts. And I haven’t seen him all day.”

  I look at her. “Well, that’s weird.”

  “I know, right?” She drums her fingers on the counter. “Very weird.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to have another date tonight?”

  Mia nods. “Yep. So you’d think that he’d answer my texts, wouldn’t you?”

  “For sure.”

  Mia is silent now, moping. I find myself getting pissed at Vincent and I don’t even know if he’s done anything bad yet. It’s just that he’s Mia’s first boyfriend. And he’d better treat her right or I will strangle him myself.

  The last tourist group comes through and then we don’t have anything else to do and it’s lunchtime.

  “Go ahead and go to the house without me,” I tell Mia. “I think I’m going to ride the new horse over lunch.”

  She looks at me dubiously.

  “Really? By yourself?”

  I smile.

  “Really. Don’t worry. I’ve done it a few times. Where I come from, people ride horses for pleasure.”

  “Yeah? Well, you’re not in Kansas anymore—“

  “Toto,” I interrupt and finish her sentence. “Yeah, I’ve been told. But seriously, go on ahead. I’ll meet you back here.”

  Mia leaves and I lock up the shop and make my way down to where they’re keeping Titan. I’m sure he got his name because he is so enormous.

  When I get to his makeshift barn, I see that it’s not really so makeshift. Leave it to the Giliberti’s to do it up right. It’s a true little barn, with stalls and troughs and everything a horse would need. It’s even got a little tack-room filled with a saddle, bridle, curry combs and such.

  I pat Titan and comb him down, then saddle him up. He stamps his foot impatiently, like he’s been waiting for me, as I cinch the belly strap.

  “I’m sorry, boy,” I tell him. “Have you been bored down here? I’ve been busy with Dante. But I’m here now. And we’ll go for an awesome ride. How about that?”

  Titan seems agreeable so I swing up onto his back and we set off at a brisk walk down the long driveway of the estate.

  He rides like a dream. I’m sure he was very, very expensive. Because that’s just how the Gilibertis roll.

  Since the last group of tourists have gone and the next group hasn’t come through yet, it’s quiet and peaceful here on the estate. The birds sing, the trees rustle, the shade feels good on my back. The only thing that could be more perfect would be if Dante were here with me.

  And I still need to give him those riding lessons.

  I am thinking about that when I hear a car driving behind me. I nudge Titan with my knees, urging him onto the side of the road. He responds in an instant. He has been trained very well.

  But the car slows behind us and lingers.

  Without looking, I motion for it to pass. I’
m riding a horse, for Pete’s sake. I know they aren’t used to it here, but geez. Just go around.

  It doesn’t.

  I can hear it back there, its engine running and it is not going around me. Then the engine revs a little.

  What the eff.

  I turn around and Nate is behind the wheel.

  His face is serious and his blue eyes are staring a hole in me. He is intent on something. But what?

  And then his engine revs once more.

  It’s loud and Titan is annoyed by it. He skitters a little and I hold fast to him with my knees.

  “It’s alright, boy,” I murmur to him.

  But is it?

  What could Nate possibly want? If he thinks I’m getting off this horse to talk to him, he’s crazy.

  He revs his engine again and this time, I turn around and his eyes meet mine. And his are filled with something unsettling and I know that he’s not here to talk to me.

  And then he revs his engine once again and this time, his car lurches forward. He swerves slightly and bumps Titan’s rear flank with his fender as he lunges past us.

  Titan bolts. And I’m struggling to restrain him, to control him, but he is terrified and out of control. His hindquarters are digging into the ground as he fights to run.

  And then he rears back suddenly and sharply, throwing his head back, and his neck slams into my face. Hard. My nose splatters blood onto his white fur and I can’t see because my eyes are watering and then I am flying.

  I don’t think I hit the ground before everything goes black.

  I don’t know how long it’s black.

  But then I’m dreaming.

  I see Dante, leaning in front of me. His face is blurry and he’s worried and he’s saying something, but I can’t understand his words. I try to tell him to come closer, but my head is throbbing with a sharp, horrible pain and I can’t. He’s got his phone and he’s talking.

  And then he leans toward me again and his hand is in mine.

  And I realize that I’m not dreaming.

  I can’t be dreaming because the pain in my head is too real.

  And his hand in mine is real.

  “Dante?” I whisper.

  “Stay still, Reece,” he tells me. He’s anxious and scared. I can tell. “Just stay still.”

  “What happened?” I ask. He’s kneeling next to me and he’s still holding my hand.

  “Titan threw you off.”

  And then I remember. I remember Nate’s gray car and the look on his face and the fact that he purposely spooked my horse.

  “Nate,” I whisper.

  Dante looks at me, confused. “Nate? No, sweetie. I’m Dante.”

  “Nate was here.”

  I settle into the grass and I don’t feel the need to move because my head hurts too much.

  “Nate was here?” Dante repeats, trying to determine what I’m saying. “Reece, I think you’re confused. You hit your head, it’s bloody.”

  “No.” And the word is painful to say. Physically painful. Because he’s right. I hit my head. I can feel the warm blood dripping onto the back of my neck. “Nate was here. He was here talking to Vincent and then he was following me while I was riding. He scared Titan on purpose.”

  I stop talking because honestly, it just hurts too much to move my mouth.

  Dante is staring at me in horror, trying to decide if I am confused or if I know what I’m talking about. He picks up his phone again, but I can’t hear what he is saying now because the world is sort of going black again.

  No. It’s definitely black.

  Completely black.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The world is bright.

  Very bright.

  HolyCowIt’sBright.

  My eyes squint as I try to open them.

  I can feel the soft bedclothes around me and I know that I’m in my bed. I’m not sure how I got here because the last I knew, I was lying in the grass by the side of the road. And Dante was beside me.

  “Reece?”

  And he’s beside me now.

  I open my eyes up and there he is.

  Worried. Anxious. Beautiful.

  He’s holding my hand. One hand. Because the other hand is in a cast.

  A cast?

  “Dante,” I whisper. It feels like I haven’t spoken in a while and my mouth tastes funny and all I can muster up is a whisper. “I don’t understand. What happened? I don’t remember anything. But falling off Titan.”

  Dante winces, like the memory is painful.

  “You’re alright,” he assures me. “You broke your wrist. And you have a mild concussion.”

  “Seriously?”

  I’m amazed by this. I’ve never broken a bone in my life. Not when I fell out of the hay loft when I was eight and not when I fell out of the back of my grandpa’s farm truck when I was twelve. And we were even driving down a dirt road going 30mph. I rolled into the ditch and didn’t break a thing.

  So I got my first broken bone from falling off a horse?

  I’m so lame.

  Dante drops his head onto the bed and mumbles something that I can’t understand.

  “What?”

  He looks up at me and his blue eyes are so very blue, so very contrite. So very guilty.

  “I’m so sorry, Reece.”

  “Why are you saying that? I’m the one who fell off the horse. Not you. I guess you won’t want to take riding lessons from me now, will you?” I smile, but Dante doesn’t think it’s funny.

  “It’s not your fault. Do you not remember? Before you passed out, you told me that Nate did this to you. My friend Nate. He did this to you on purpose.”

  “What?” I look at him in confusion, but even as I do, the memories start flooding back to me. Fragments and bits. And then I see Nate’s horrible smile as he rams his car into my horse. “Oh my God. He did. Why?”

  Dante shakes his head. “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out. This wasn’t funny. If he thought it was a joke, it is so not funny. And coincidentally, he and his new friend Vincent are nowhere to be found. But trust me, I’ll find him.”

  He starts to get up, but I pull on his hand. “Don’t leave me.”

  Dante freezes, looking down at me with concerned eyes and an anxious expression.

  “Are you in pain?”

  I shake my head. “No. I must be on some serious pain relievers. I just don’t want you to leave. Please.”

  He immediately takes a seat next to me, without question or complaint. “Have you been here the entire time?” I ask. I’m guessing that he has been. And he nods.

  “Have you gotten any sleep?” I ask. Because I’m guessing that he hasn’t.

  He doesn’t say anything.

  “Dante,” I sigh. “You have to get some sleep. Don’t worry about confronting Nate right now. Just go take a nap. In your bed. Not in that chair.”

  He looks at me doubtfully. “But you wanted me to stay.”

  “That’s true. But I’m just going to go back to sleep anyway, I think. So you should get some sleep, too.”

  Dante studies me for a scant moment longer, then nods.

  “Okay. The doctor who came here and set your wrist said that you should stay in bed for at least 24 hours. So, I want you in bed all day today, okay? I have to go to a dinner for the Regatta with my father this evening, but I’ll be back. And I expect to still find you in this bed. Understand, young lady?”

  He raises a golden eyebrow and I smile. “Understood.”

  “And you might want to call your parents. I called them and they’re really worried.”

  I groan. And he smiles. “What? They’re your parents. I had to let them know.”

  I groan again.

  “I forgot about the Regatta,” I tell him. And I had. I remember Elena mentioning something about it weeks ago, but I don’t know what it is. I tell him that and he explains.

  “It’s a huge annual boat race. We’ve done it here for a couple hundred years. It’s a big thing.
My dad wants me with him on the Daniella. We don’t race, but he has to be there to oversee the race. Make an appearance. And tonight, we have a pre-Regatta dinner. It’s tradition.”

  I nod. “I wish I could go.”

  He’s already shaking his head. “You can’t. You’re going to stay in bed.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I could get used to that,” he tells me with a grin. “Want to keep calling me sir?”

  I roll my eyes.

  “That’s my girl,” he says. “I know you’re feeling better now.”

  I smile and he smiles back and then he’s gone.

  But I’m happy. Because he just called me his girl.

  I’m Dante’s girl.

  It makes me feel so warm and happy that I go to sleep. Of course, the pain relievers might be contributing to that. But either way. I’m warm and happy and Dante’s girl. And so I sleep.

  * * *

  I feel significantly better when I wake up.

  My head doesn’t hurt.

  My arm hurts, but it’s broken, so of course it’s going to ache.

  The sunlight no longer hurts my eyes, so my concussion must be better.

  I swing my legs around and sit up, allowing my feet to dangle over the side of the huge bed. The sunlight is striking the wall in a way that tells me that it’s late afternoon. I glance at the clock. 4:30. Yep. Late afternoon.

  I decide that I’ve stuck to my promise. I’ve rested all day. It’s a matter of semantics on when exactly all day should end. I say it should end now. And there’s no one here to argue with me.

  I stand up and the room spins for a just a second, but then I’m okay again.

  I take a hot bath because the hot shower makes me feel too dizzy. I should take that as a sign to stay in bed a while longer, but I’m stubborn. And I want to get up. Not only do I want to get up, but I want to go to the Regatta dinner. I don’t know why, but I just want to see Dante standing with his father and waving to the masses.

  I see him every day in work clothes and toiling over the olive trees. It will be awesome to see him in an official capacity because it reminds me of exactly how important he and his father are. It’s exciting. Because he’s mine. I’m Dante’s girl. He said so himself.