23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

ALEX

O H. MY. GOD! What the hell is that alarming noise? Is the building on fire or something?

Roman yelled, “Turn that damn thing off already.”

I started laughing when I realized that was the timer for my alarm. Holy crap that thing is loud.

“Sorry, damn, not oversleeping with that, are we?”

“Why is that your alarm sound? That’s fucking horrible.” He still had his hands over his ears.

“You woke up, didn’t you?” I gave him a playful tap on his arm.

He reached over and said, “Give me that thing right now, I’m changing it.” I laughed as we fought for supremacy of my phone.

“Nope, not going to happen.”

He took a shower to help him wake up and I packed a bag of clothes to change into. Bruce said they had a place to shower and change, so I was all set to get ready after training.

Roman met me out in the living room dressed in a nice white button up shirt, gray slacks, a brown belt and brown shoes. I was tempted to skip training tonight, looking at the man in front of me. I hope this feeling never wears off. That was always my fear getting into a relationship, the honeymoon phase. Although, Roman and I have already gone through so much drama that I’m sure there was no room for a honeymoon phase. We skipped right over that.

“So, you seem to be fine with me going by myself to training.”

He smiled but still looked a little weary.

“Well, I don’t really have a choice and I’m damn sure not watching you train again. I think you’ll be fine in your car, plus we’re connected on life 360.” This was news to me.

“Ummm, when did this happen?” I stared down at my phone thinking it was now a tracker and it was freaking me out. Can someone really do that to your phone without their knowledge?

“Sorry, I did it yesterday when you were in the shower. Not because you moved in or because I’m trying to control you, but…I’m just kidding, you should see your face.” I reached out and smacked his arm.

When I got to the gym, I warned Bruce that I may not be 100% due to a lack of sleep. He didn’t take it easy on me .

“Your opponent doesn’t care how much sleep you’ve had, and neither does the defendant. In fact, he’s hoping you’re not 100%, just want to let you be aware of that.” He’s getting into my head, this is good. I needed that. I didn’t want to get too comfortable just because I’m now playing house with Roman. Sleep or no sleep, I’ve got to be on my game. Thank you, Bruce.

I got in the ring and put everything I had into my training. I felt good and forgot that I needed sleep or that I might be tired. After I showered and changed into a black long sleeve maxi dress with black espadrille wedges, I sat with Bruce for a minute to thank him.

“You’re welcome. I’m not going to sugar coat anything for you during this training. I know you’re using this more as a self-defense class and I don’t want you to come in here thinking this is just an aerobics class at the Y.” He patted my shoulder.

“I appreciate that. I don’t need to be complacent where this is concerned. I need to stay focused and make sure I go in there ready and I’m in control.” He nodded with a Bruce-like smile…none.

“That’s right. I know you’ll be strong in that courtroom. You’ve got a lot of support behind you too, so don’t worry about a damn thing that loser says. Don’t let him or his lawyers rattle you.” I’m so glad no one knows what I’m really going to do in there. This training is giving me the courage to see this plan through. I hope I don’t lose any friends over it. I may need to talk to Bruce about my plan though. He may be the only one that will understand.

I turned up the radio on the ride over to the Santoros. I texted Roman to tell him I’m on my way.

ME: “Hey babe. I’m on the way but I’m sure you already know that ;)” I thought he could use a little poke.

ROMAN: “HA HA. :) I’ll see you soon.” What a pain in the ass .

As I pulled onto the very long driveway, I turned down the music and admired the scenery. I pulled up to the most beautiful castle-like home. I know I’d already seen it in the daytime, but at sunset this place was breathtaking. I had a nice welcome waiting for me, too. Roman was standing out in the huge driveway with the Santoros and their children. There was a big white dog running around outside, and it was headed my way.

***

ROMAN

I followed the GPS to an address about thirty minutes from home to a very long tree lined driveway. It felt like the first time Alex and I went to Lookout Park and I thought about all the terrible things that could have happened to her in such a hidden, desolate area. Yep, all those feelings are back, only this time I’m worried about myself. The drive didn’t help calm me down after all.

Wow, this house is incredible. I’m guessing the renovations they wanted me to do aren’t related to the main house. There must be something else on the property or we’re going to have to build from scratch.

I climbed the enormous stone stairs and rang the doorbell. Someone dressed in a tuxedo answered the door and said in a thick Italian accent, “Good afternoon, you must be Mr. King. Please, come in. Mr. and Mrs. Santoro are right this way.” This is the life Alex thought I had. I laughed. My family would never live like this. A butler was a little too much for us.

I felt like I was in old world Italy. It reminded me of the places my parents used to take us when we were kids. It really was incredible though. The ostentatiousness of my parent’s house had nothing on this place.

Mrs. Santoro was the first one to greet me with a hug and a kiss on each cheek. She made sure I called her Lucia. I shook Mr. Santoro’s, Alessandro’s, hand then we sat down and had a glass of wine from one of their other vineyards. They wanted to get me familiar with their product before we started talking about renovations.

“Roman, I feel like you have to have a connection to what we do before you can truly get on board with the vision. What do you think?” Just then Lucia excused herself to the kitchen.

“Well, I guess that depends what connection we’re talking about.” He raised his glass and tipped his head at me.

“I like you Roman.”

My eyebrows were raised as I considered how I felt about that. “Grant called me yesterday after you spoke. I’m guessing you’re feeling a little apprehensive about us now?” Now my nerves were on edge, and I was starting to feel trapped. I also felt like they weren’t who I thought they were…anymore.

I said, hesitantly, “Yes, I’m having a little trouble with the information Grant gave me yesterday.” I took a rather large gulp of wine. I wish I had something stronger about now.

“Well, you showed up today, so it couldn’t be that bad, right?” I could tell he was trying to make me feel better— I didn’t know if it was working as I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. My clothes were even making me feel a bit confined.

“You know, I’m just a normal guy who builds things. I’ve never been in trouble or anything. I’m really kind of boring. I thought stories like this only existed in the movies, so when Grant told me what he did, I realized my nice little boring bubble was about to pop. My girlfriend, on the other hand, would probably think it was cool. ”

“Yes, Alexandra is an amazing young lady, isn’t she?” He was beaming as he talked about her. It was almost like they knew her. “Grant introduced us to Alex, and we absolutely fell in love. She has a very special place in Grant’s heart.”

I thought that was kind of weird.

“I noticed he was very protective of her. Said he thinks of her as the daughter he never had. Is there something else I should know?”

He smiled but there was something behind his eyes that I may not really want to know.

“We all have stories we can’t seem to share. I believe Americans say, ‘Skeletons in the closet?’”

Hmmm, what other skeletons could he possibly have in his closet worse than what he already told me? Well, I don’t need to know, so I’m not touching that one.

“Well, Alessandro, you have an amazing home. Truly remarkable. How do you all like living in Ohio? It couldn’t possibly be anything like Italy.” Good time for a subject change , I think. I sat back in my chair taking a deep breath and another sip of wine to relax.

“We love it so far. It’s so peaceful and quiet. No one bothers you out here.” All I could think was that it was a nice place to bury the bodies.

We finished talking about what he would like to do with the renovations and then said that as soon as Alex gets here, we would go for a stroll of the property, and he would show me where the winery would be.

Lucia came back with the kids and introduced them. There were four of them, from the ages of ten to sixteen. Two boys, Alessandro Jr. sixteen, Luca ten, and two girls, Anna twelve and Valentina fourteen. Then a big white dog came bounding through the house. That’s when we decided to go outside. The dog gave me a quick sniff and was out the door.

Luca said, “That’s Sage. She’s my dog.”

“That’s a great name, Luca.” Alex was pulling into the driveway as we came outside. I’ve never been so happy to see another person in my life. The dog was the first to greet her. It looked like an old friend saying hello. Alex not only attracted children, but apparently, she attracted dogs too. This dog was all over her. The kids were trying to rein her in, but it seemed Alex was loving every second of it. I had no idea she was a dog lover. Her dad has a dog, but she isn’t crazy over her like she is with this dog.

When the kids got the dog to calm down Alex waved to all of us and finally made her way over. She looked beautiful. You couldn’t tell she’d just spent an hour and a half in the ring with an MMA beast getting beat up. Or maybe she was doing the beating up, either way, she looked fantastic. She introduced herself to all the kids while she walked over, winked at me and went straight over to Lucia first, then Alessandro. Finally, she made her way over to me and gave me a nice hug and kiss. I didn’t want to let her go.

“Wow, this place is amazing at sunset.” She had an awestruck look on her face as she stared into the sunset .

“Yes, it is. Come.” Alessandro motioned for us to follow. We walked to the backyard, and it was like a whole other world.

***

ALEX

I held Roman’s hand as we walked to the backyard. Right as we got back there the sun was at the perfect height. The whole sky was a brilliant mass of reds, oranges, pinks and yellows. One of the kids asked us to turn around so they could take a picture of all of us in front of the sunset.

We stood there admiring the view when lights turned on all over the yard. It was so ethereal. I loved it as much as I loved Roman’s parents’ house. This was like a dream. What could they possibly do to make this anymore spectacular? As usual, I was lost in a landscaping wonderland, and Roman had to snap me out of it.

“Sorry, it’s a habit apparently.” They all laughed.

Alessandro asked, “So Alexandra, were you envisioning something?”

“I was actually wondering what else you could possibly do to make this any more wonderful?”

“Roman, do you have any ideas?” He turned to Roman who was staring at me.

“Actually, I do.” He winked at me. “This place is amazing and beautiful, but you have plans to make it a vineyard too, right?”

“Yes, we do.”

Roman continued, “Well, you’re going to need to open a lot of the area for the grapes, but they can be off in the distance past the rolling hills. You’ll need a winery and I’m assuming that’s going to be where that other building is over there, correct? I believe it was an old barn or stable maybe?”

Alessandro looked at him admiringly. “Roman, I’m surprised with your research. Do you know anything about wineries and vineyards?”

I was interested to hear the answer to this as well. He was really into this.

“I’ve been to my fair share of them. I enjoy them immensely. ”

Why haven’t I heard about this? “I’ve been on many tours and have really fond memories, even to Italy.” I was now wondering if he was talking about times he’d been with other women and I was starting to get a little jealous, I think. That’s a new feeling. I think he noticed my demeanor.

“My mom is a connoisseur of wine, but my dad isn’t. They brought us with them when we were younger, but then just mom and I would go when I was old enough to drink. We’ve been to wineries around the US, Europe and Australia.” Interesting. His mom saved me again.

“You’ll have to bring your mother over to try our wines.” Lucia and Alessandro were so gracious and kind.

Roman said, “Yes, I will. She’ll love knowing this place is here, so close. She loves Italian wine.”

We talked and walked before having dinner on the stone patio overlooking the entire yard— what would soon be a vineyard.

“Roman, do you have an architect that knows anything about vineyards?” I was curious.

“I have an architect for just about everything. I’m looking forward to being hands on with the design for this one.”

I was so excited for him. This place was incredible. I couldn’t wait to see it come to life.

After dinner, the kids went inside, and we had another glass of wine with the Santoros before saying goodnight. Roman made me talk to him the entire ride home to make sure I was ok. Yes, we have to have a conversation about this. He’s way too overprotective and I like to listen to music while I’m driving and not talk on the phone.

I pulled into the garage right behind him and we rode the elevator together. As soon as we got inside, I threw my purse down and kicked off my shoes right by the door .

“Ok, buddy, have a seat. We need to talk.” He put his head down and walked over to the couch trying not to laugh.

“Oh no. This is not a laughing matter. This is serious. You’ve lost your mind.” I threw my hands up.

He burst out laughing again before he said, “I’m sorry, don’t hurt me.” But he just kept laughing.

“Roman, you can’t possibly think this is cool. You can’t keep acting like this. I don’t need a chaperone. I don’t need a bodyguard. I don’t need another dad. I don’t need a fucking tracker, and I hate talking on the phone while I’m driving.” My hands were balled up in fists at my side as I yelled at him.

He laughed as he tried to say “sorry,” but kept on laughing. What the hell was going on with him?

***

ROMAN

Finally, a conversation to take my mind off of all the distractions this week. Let’s talk about the renovations. I had so many ideas already for this place. My mom took me to the best wineries all around the world. I could incorporate so many designs. I can’t wait to get back to my architectural team and tell them about this. This was going to be a fun project, no doubt.

Dinner was amazing and the wine was delicious. I had a bourbon with dessert also. I may have had a little bit too much and I still had to drive home. I’ll just have Alex talk to me the whole ride to keep me focused.

When she got in the car I told her I needed to talk to her on the ride home, but I didn’t tell her why. I didn’t want her to worry about me. I just let her think it was me being overprotective.

She pulled in right after me and didn’t say a word until we got into the penthouse. She slammed her purse down and forcefully took off her shoes. She was all business.

“Honey, I really am sorry for this week.” I caught my breath. “I’m sorry for the ride home. That was my fault. I had too much to drink and I probably shouldn’t have been driving. I needed you to keep me focused so I could make it home.” She walked over and slapped me, hard, right in the face and ran down the hall.

Oh shit what the hell was that for? Well, if I wasn’t sober for the ride home I sure as hell am now.

I walked into the bedroom and found her sitting on the floor crying. As pissed as I was right now for getting slapped in the face, I was more concerned with why she was in this state and why she did that.

I sat on the floor next to her and put my hand gently under her chin. “Alex, look at me for a minute.” She was so mad right now. Her eyes were red, and she had tears pouring down her face.

She hissed out, “You should’ve left your car at their house.” Then she put her hands over her face and started sobbing loudly.

I said, “I know, you’re right.” Then she grabbed me and hugged me so tight I could barely breathe.

“I don’t want to lose you.” Lose me?

“You’re not going to lose me.”

She was trying to catch her breath. “That’s how I lost my mother, Roman.” I closed my eyes and held her to my chest as she cried louder.

Damn. What the fuck was I thinking? Right now, I’m thinking a slap to the face isn’t quite enough. I just held her close and told her how sorry I was and that it would never happen again .

I’m sure I had those drinks to forget the information I had bouncing around in my head making me nuts, but that’s still no excuse to ever get behind the wheel of a vehicle inebriated. I don’t know how to make this right, right now, so I think we should just go to sleep.