Page 29 of War Within
“I do love skiing.” I lied. I hated skiing. “My family used to go to Vermont every winter.” Again, I lied, trying to connect a family outing. Even worse, I pronounced it like an Appalachian Mountain hillbilly,Verment, in my attempt, tripping up on my words.
His eyes expanded only a little and he tightened his lips, almost as if he were trying not to laugh at the sudden change in accent. A ringing from his pocket distracted him. He slid it out, flashing his eyes at the caller ID. My attempt to lure him in with a warm, family story, failed. The opportunity was gone. The truth was, I had not spoken to my family in years. We did not get along.
“I’m so sorry. I have to take this call. Go get ready and we will head out after, okay?”
A phony grin inched onto my face. I nodded, speeding away. The moment I was out of his sight, my face turned sour. Skiing with his little monsters? Was he serious? Here I was in a foreign country, and I had to interact with kids.
I trudged to the kitchen, putting my mug in the sink then cutting across the open-concept, living area toward my room. Watching the floor, not where I was going, I saw a pair of feet appear in front of me.
“Oh, sorry I was—” I lifted my gaze, freezing instantly. “Marco?!”
“Jane?!”
There was absolutely no way this was real. I gulped, shocked to see the man I had met at Silver, and befriended, standing in the living room. My legs were failing me. I was going to lose consciousness any moment. I managed to get my thoughts together, enough to make an effort to create any sense of the situation.
“What are you doing here?” I was terrified of his answer, but I had to know.
“Uh, this is my family's home! What the hell are you doing here?!”
“Whoa! Wait! Hold up!” I gasped, processing his words. “You better not be Mr. Rovati's son?!”
“My father is your wealthy and powerful, tyrant boss?” He snorted. “God, yeah, that sounds about right.”
This could not be happening! Any moment now, I was going to wake up from the nightmare I was currently stuck in. I refused to believe the moment was real.
“I was just listening to all my voice mails and about to contact you. I'm so sorry, I just got a signal.” He was being so normal and happy to see me. His shock wore off way too fast.
I was shaking, still having trouble accepting the dilemma. “Marco, we need to tal—”
“So, what are you actually doing here?” He folded his arms over his chest, appearing a bit suspicious.
“Two men came into the office and Mr. Rova…I mean, your father and I had to leave. He made me fly here with him.”
I did not know how much to tell him, but I gave him as much information as I assumed would not get me in trouble. Silently, I braced myself for his reply. A smirk appeared on his face, reminding me much of his father, now that I had seen them in the same place.
“Well, I’m so happy you are here! I was so upset thinking you’d think I stood you up or something.”
I needed him to know about his father kissing me. “Listen I need to tell you somet—”
A teenage girl’s presence stopped me mid-sentence. Her stunning long, black hair bounced as she glided across the large room, coming to a stop next to Marco. Clasping her hands next to her chin, she grinned widely.
“Hi! I'm Valentina.”
Before I could say a word, Marco interjected. “This is actually the girl I told you about, Val.”
She gripped her hips, offering me a full inspection. I smiled sheepishly, unsure what I was even going to say.
“I guess she works for dad.” Marco lifted his hand to his chin. His mannerisms were also like his father’s.
“You're Jane? My dad’s assistant, Jane?”
Nodding, I laughed. “I amthatJane. Nice to meet you.”
Marco texted on his phone, as Valentina and I chatted for a moment. She told me she loved my boots. I thanked her. It was small talk, but she was genuinely cheerful and sweet. What a mess I was in now.
“Well, I will let you two love birds have alone time.” She winked back and forth at Marco and me. “I have to go to the guard house for a minute to talk to Emir, then get beautiful for our ski day.”
After a quick wave, she bounced out of the room. Marco rolled his eyes before taking a step closer to me. I gulped as he studied my eyes.
