by K. Forest
“Hello, handsome,” she coos as we approach Obsidian’s stall. “I would like to introduce you to someone.”
A huge head and thick mane jut out of the stall. He gives a quick nicker of a sound, greeting Katarina. I’m not sure what he thinks of me yet. I understand how the stallion could be a little intimidating. I walk up slowly behind Katarina. Thankfully she doesn’t open the stall door that he just kicked.
“Here, give him this sugar cube. He’s allowed two a day. It will get you on his good side. Don’t tell the stablemen the secret.” She says, giving me a bright smile.
The sun just broke out in my world. Returning an equally bright smile, I unabashedly show my happiness. I take the sugar cube and walk up to Obsidian, holding my hand open with the cube in the middle. He gives a low snort and then takes it greedily. We both laugh at Obsidian’s eagerness. He adored her and was needy when it came to her rubbing his neck. I found I couldn’t quite get the picture of that same hand rubbing up and down my body out of my head.
“Thank you for introducing me to him. He’s without a doubt in love with you, and I’m impressed to know you can control him with just a sugar cube. It’s sexy.”
She starts to turn pink again. “We probably should head back to the conference room.” She says as she goes back to being shy.
Walking in silence, I find myself etching her profile in my brain. “Katarina, I’d like to see you again. Not for business but on a date. Would you do me the pleasure?” I ask trying hard as hell not to come off too strong. She is not like other girls I’ve been with. I need to thread gently in order not to spook her. As she looks at me with those blue eyes of hers, I realize she really needs to think it over. Instinct makes me decide to change tactics. “What’s your number?”
She automatically says the first two numbers, then hesitates. “Aren’t you going to put it in your phone?” She asks.
I point to my head. “If I can’t remember your number, I’m not worthy of taking you out.” I give her an easy smile. There’s no need for her to know yet that I have a photographic memory and hyperthymesia.
Her natural curiosity wins out as to whether I can actually memorize it. She begins rattling her number off. The blush on her cheeks and neck is a dead giveaway that she’s just as interested as I am.
I see Angelo and Mr. Morrone walking out of the main barn doors toward the car. Seconds later, I hear my phone beep. I don’t look at it, knowing it’s Angelo telling me the meeting is over and it’s time to go.
In the spur of the moment, I stop walking and reach for her hand. I feel her jolt in surprise at the gesture, but she leaves her hand in mine. “You made my day brighter, Katarina; it was a pleasure meeting you. I’ll call you about our first date.” Releasing her hand, I gesture for her to proceed me out the doors that had just slid open.
Once in the car with Angelo, before we have even cleared the gates, he starts grilling me with questions regarding my reaction to Katarina. How the hell can I even begin to explain to him what I’m not even sure of myself? Love at first sight happens in books and movies, not in real life. Yet, here I sit, with this mixture of need and desire from the moment that has plagued me since I set eyes on her. It is unlike anything I have ever felt before. I truly believe I could spend the rest of my life with Katarina and that still wouldn’t be enough time. Maybe it’s all just an illusion, I tell myself. Once I get by myself, I can think this new feeling through. For now, I need to distract Angelo, so I begin chatting about the horses. He ignores my questions though, and in the middle of Angelo’s third degree, I can’t take it anymore.
I grab my phone to check out the schedule at Teatro alla Scala Opera House in Milan. This coming Sunday afternoon there is a performance of Phantom of the Opera. Perfect! I reserve two private balcony seats with a perfect view. I proceed to input Katarina’s number into my phone under the name Beauty.
“What are you working on so feverishly with a stupid looking grin on your face?” Angelo asks, glancing over at me.
“For just once in your life can you just drive, you nosey bastard?” I say annoyed. Since Mateo has been away with Josie, and after the Florence incident, Angelo hasn’t left me much personal space. I guess his job title changed to Santos’s Babysitter.
“What do you want to do when we get back?” He casually asks.
“Might go for a ride, maybe play some songs at the Berutti’s Bar.” I say hoping to bore him to death.
“I’m up for a casual night, sounds like a plan.” He says agreeably.
Great, I guess I won’t be dodging him any time soon. He’s taking this babysitting job very serious. It raises a number of questions for me. What’s up with the Spaniard and the Casas family? What is the real rift between my father and Casas? That’s when I remember that I was mistaken for Angelo. On a more personal level, why do both my father and uncle assume I can’t protect myself? While I personally choose not to carry a weapon, I have had just as much training in the martial arts as my brothers. Just because I’m not dabbling in their business interests doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself. It would be helpful if they shared their information, so I would be prepared. Guess they just underestimate my abilities.
After we arrive home, while standing on the terrace and observing the boaters enjoy the perfect summer weather, I impulsively decide to call Katarina. It’s been two hours since I’ve seen her. Two aching hours too long. “I’ve given her enough space not to spook her,” I say, giving myself a pep talk.
“Hello, who is this?” she answers. The sound of her angelic voice puts an immediate smile on my face.
“Hello, Katarina. It’s Santos Ferrari. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.” I hear her inhale in surprise. “I’m calling to ask you out on a date, remember? This Sunday, I will pick you up at noon. And by the way, I have already cleared it with your father.” I say. While saying our goodbyes, out of respect to the man as her father and as her boss, I had asked him permission to date her. I didn’t bother to tell her that he looked me up and down and then told me it was totally up to her.
“Oh, well I guess you handled all the details.” She laughs. Is she laughing at me or does that mean she accepted? “What should I wear?” She responds.
I smile at her question. “Your best dress, I’m taking you to the opera. I look forward seeing you on Sunday, Katarina.” I love saying her name.
“See you on Sunday, Santos.” she replies and hangs up the phone.
I keep the phone to my ear with my eyes closed, memorizing the short but very first intimate personal conversation between us. To most, it would mean nothing, but to me it meant everything. A beginning to our love story.
“Shit, you bastard.” I yell at Angelo who had snuck up behind me and given me a jab making me drop my phone. “You’re lucky it didn’t shatter, asshole.”
“You were done with your conversation anyway,” he retorts. “So, you are taking out the horse beauty on Sunday?” He teases.
I look at him, shaking my head, pissed off. It’s annoying at times when he knows exactly what’s going on with me. “Arrange a car for me, Angelo. I need to be at her place exactly at noon. I’m heading out for a much need ride right now.”
“Hey, I’m not your assistant, dickhead. And I was going to join you for a ride, remember?” He says.
“No! And you are assigned to babysitting duty since Mateo is away and taking care of things for me is part of his duties, dickhead. Remember?” I walk away raising my middle finger up. Without looking, I know his mouth is hanging open as my words have made a direct and accurate hit.
Several hours later, after a much-needed relaxing ride along the winding roads and a peaceful dinner by myself, I’m at Berruti’s Bar, which is really not a bar but a small, intimate restaurant. However, locals seem to come for the drinks and music more than the food. Over the years, I’ve made friends with the owner and the pianist. During breaks, I would step in and lose myself playing songs and leave the tips for him. I was always a hit
with the older ladies.
Tonight, as I’m playing, I suddenly sense my brother in the corner, and I look up to see him nursing a whiskey. I play for another half hour, letting him sulk by himself.
Casually walking over to the corner, I take a seat next to Angelo.
“You were playing better than usual. Practicing for Broadway?” he asks sarcastically. I sip on the whiskey I had ordered, grimacing at the aftertaste. Clearly, they haven’t changed from the cheap stuff. I’ll have to remember to rectify that and sell them some Lion Whiskey.
Turning to Angelo, I decide to share some my feelings. Besides Mateo, he would be the only one I would ever share any feelings with. But even with that, if he gets into his usual wise-cracking banter, I will walk away. Looking down into my drink, I begin, “She’s the one, Angie. My heart whispered this afternoon and said she’s the one. That’s the best way I can describe it.” I waited and finally looked at him for a reaction or a response.
“I knew it, but you didn’t give me a chance to tell you earlier. She’s the one for you. I saw it playing out right in front of me.” He finally answers and gives me a slow smile. “By the way, the whiskey here is shit. How to you stand it?” He says in disgust.
I laugh in agreement, grateful for his acceptance and understanding. “I can’t stand it, let’s go home.” Standing up, I look at him, “I’ll race you.”
Chapter 12
Finally, Sunday arrives. Nothing in the past has prepared me for feeling like an overeager, lovestruck kid. Before I talk myself out of it, I head to the gym. Again, a first, as I have never before had the urge to skip my workout.
I’m about finished when Angelo wanders in. “Done already?” He asks as he walks by picking up the jump rope.
“Yes, did heavy weights today, could’ve used a spotter earlier. I’m going for a swim now.”
“I would have but I was doing my secretarial duties.” He says sarcastically. “Before you leave, I spoke with Germano, and his nephew Oskar has arrived. He will be the one driving you to the opera. He’s up to speed, and I will continue his training after today’s event.” Angelo begins his jump roping.
I turn back around and watch him. Since my race, the encounter with the Spaniard in Florence, and Mateo left on his honeymoon, Angelo’s been on edge. I am used to Mateo giving me space, not smothering me. Hell, in New York I was pretty free to do what I pleased, when I pleased. If I had guys following me, they never suffocated me like they do here in Europe.
“Angie, I’m going to ask you again, is everything okay? Anything going on that I should be aware of? Mateo usually fills me in with at least a brief rundown of the shit that you guys do. Now I have an uncanny feeling that things are happening that involve me, and I’m not being told.”
He stops jumping and stares at me. Probably making sure I’m not tricking him. It’s true, early on Mateo and I had an understanding of trust and that was built on giving me a short rundown of events happening in our family. Never in great detail, but enough so I would make his job easier. If he tells me take a car and not the motorcycle or to stay in and not leave the property because there’s a deal going down, I listen because I never want to jeopardize him, others, and myself. It’s just common sense that I try to follow.
“Come on, Angie. You know Mateo gives me as much information as he can. You also know I’m not stupid enough to jeopardize our family and friends. If something involves me or the family, I deserve a heads up.”
Again, he hesitates but finally begins. “You didn’t seem to share when you made the Garza deal.” He growls, swaying the rope.
“To be fair, I did with Mateo.”
“Things are a little tense since Florence. They shouldn’t have gotten that close to you or Claudette. Father and Tony have been in Florence meeting with the guys in the area who are paid a pretty penny to watch over the family while we are in Italy. They screwed up, and we need to find out why. We are just making sure that encounters like that don’t happen again.”
“Should I go to Milan?” I ask.” I can stay local if that would make things easier.”
Shaking his head, he answers quickly. “No, you’re good to go, just act as usual. We don’t want to let on we are concerned. Oskar seems solid, so this will be good training for him. He’s going to find out real fast that being your butler entails more than making sure your underwear is ironed.” He answers cheekily as he begins jump roping again.
“Always with the stupid jokes, Angie. Thanks for the info. I’m going for a swim. See you later before I leave to pick up Katarina.”
Walking downstairs as I finish the knot on my blue tie, I hear Angelo on his phone. He sounds really agitated. I stop in my tracks to eavesdrop on his call. “You sure all is good? He’s about to leave to pick her up. Both of you are getting shadier by the day. Why are you starting to withhold shit from me now?” I stand watching him with his back to me while he looks out the window. I notice his shoulders are tense and his body rigid, so I assume this conversation is not to his liking. “Tell dear father this conversation is not over, Tony. Oh yeah? Well, I do have balls, and they are bigger than yours, asshole.”
He hangs up abruptly with a big sigh. As he turns around, he sees me standing there. “Shit! I don’t understand where their heads are these days. I used to kind of understand, but now it seems Tony is the only one privy to things that are happening. Even Uncle Carmine thinks some strange shit is going down and that he’s being left out of the loop.” He throws his phone on the couch in frustration, then walks over to the refrigerator.
Seconds later, he chugs down a cold beer, swallowing with satisfaction before he continues. “By the way, I videoed with Mother the other day, and she’s looking even more dazed than usual. Bianca called and confirmed Mother has been drinking more. Have you talked to her since she left Italy?” He asks looking at me with raised eyebrows. “I’m sorry to throw all this at you now that you have this whole first date thing going on with Kat today. It’s just that you told me if I need to anchor to let you know. Well, I’m getting sick of this drifting nightmare.” He says as he flops on the couch in defeat.
I stare at him in amazement. I had actually been working on a plan to phase him out of the family business and begin transitioning him into my business when I felt he was ready. I may bitch about him annoying me, but I’ve felt better being around him this summer. I was going to wait until I returned to Vegas, but hey if this is it, I’m here for him.
“Fine, let’s get through my first date, and tomorrow we’ll sit down and have a long talk. I have some suggestions for the future, and if you agree, we will begin implement them so we can be partners. We’re going to figure this out together. Okay?”
He looks up at me with relief in those green jungle cat eyes of his and wearily leans back into the couch. “New suit? That blue tie brings out your best assets.” He winks kiddingly. “So, first date is Phantom of the Opera, huh? Never could figure out how anyone can sit for hours through that crap.”
Back to his wise-cracking self. I’m relieved that Angelo’s explosion is over for the time and seems receptive to talking tomorrow. I’m still having some major concerns, though. What the hell is going on within the family in such a short time that has things escalating to the point Angelo wants out? Ever since the incident at the plaza with Claudette and the Spaniard, some weird shit has been going down. Thank god Mateo is returning from his honeymoon tonight. I need him to back me up on what I will demand of my father and uncle.
“Oskar should be outside by now. Call me if anything changes, Angie.” I tell him as I walk out the door. The car ride seems endless. I concentrate on making small talk with Oskar, getting to know him a little better. He is tall and lean like his uncle and has a similar quiet yet attentive demeanor. Angelo is right; he seems pretty solid, and I can see him being a part of my team long term.
Arriving at the open-gate estate, I find myself as giddy as a kid going on his first prom date. My mind spins to Katarina and the first time I
drove down this majestic oak-lined driveway. The memory of the black flash of horseflesh with a beauty riding on his back is strong. I still can’t fathom that a moment like that can change my entire life.
Once again, my heart slams into my mouth as she walks toward me wearing an elegant, black, plunging V-neck gown. Her honey-colored wavy hair is pulled up on one side reaching past her shoulders. I smile at her because even with heels she just makes it to my chin. She walks just as seductively in her spiked heels as she does in her riding boots. As she gets closer, I notice she is wearing a simple gold horseshoe necklace. Finally reaching me, she looks up with her cerulean eyes and a bright smile on her face.
“God, you are breathtaking.” I say out loud without realizing.
She looks down with shyness. “Thank you. You look breathtaking, too. I mean handsome.”
I reach for her hand slowly raising it toward my lips, brushing just the tips of her fingers. As I had hoped, I see mutual passion flare in her eyes. I can’t help pulling her closer to me. My other hand reaches around to her naked back, allowing me to tantalizingly trace up and down her supple spine. Looking at me slightly dazed, I watch as the tip of her tongue slips out to lick across her lips. I lean down so I am only inches away from her mouth, and I hear the slight hitch of her breath. The smell of sugar and vanilla wafts off her. In an instance, I bring her in even closer, needing her to feel the desire I have for her. Sensations are building and could easily escalate if I didn’t stop immediately. We would never get to the opera if I kept holding her. Taking a deep breath, I pull away from her. Not daring to look at her lips any longer but keeping hold of her hand I huskily let her know I have a driver waiting for us outside. Glancing at her, I see she is also trying to get her emotions under control.
“You have a driver?” She asks as we start walking to the SUV.
“Yes, today is his first day working for me.” I open the door, and she glides into the back seat with elegance. I’m using restraint not to lean in and devour her with a kiss. Shutting the door, I walk around the car allowing my body time to cool off. This is going to be a hell of a ride. “Oskar, I would like to introduce you to Katarina; Katarina, this is Oskar.” Introducing them takes my thoughts from laying her down in the back seat.