Page 74 of War Within
Removing my wallet and phone from my pockets, I set them on the towel before taking a seat next to her.
“The girls should be up soon.” She did not glance my way. Instead, she removed her sunglasses from the top of her head, sliding them onto her nose. She was distracted by Tyler.
In the end, he would have ruined her. I did not know her, but she seemed as if she was everyone’s best friend upon meeting them. I hoped I was wrong. She struck me as anall or nothingwoman and too trusting. I felt as if I knew her or had seen her before. Either way I wanted to know her.
How long have you known Jane?” I started simple.
“We've been best friends since we were kids. I was nine, she was eight, I think.”
The ocean had her attention. She did not seem too interested in chatting. I tried harder to get her to steer away from her thoughts of him.
“Where did you grow up?”
“I lived in Seattle until my family moved to the street Jane's family lived on.”
“Seattle is beautiful.” I recalled the few months I spent there. “I love rain.”
“Me too.” She smiled slightly as if she were recalling the days of her childhood, however her expression soon turned icy.
Most women liked to talk about their feelings. Maybe that is what she needed right now. Maybe getting her to talk about him would help her process things.
“Do you have a boyfriend or husband?”
Quietly, she took a deep, slow breath.
“Sorry, I—”
“No no, it’s okay.” She drew her knees into her chest, twisting on her bottom so she was facing me. “I'm not even sure anymore.Boyfriend, not husband, and he was weird to me today.”
“Ah, was that the call you made?” Titling my head, I removed my sunglasses, providing her my undivided attention.
Head hung low in defeat, she nodded.
“Why aren’t you sure anymore?”
Removing her glasses, she laid them on the towel next to her. Gazing into my eyes, she shook her head. “Sometimes you just know something’s off, ya know? I have for a while.”
I bowed my head once in acknowledgement.
“I hadn't heard from him in days.” She scoffed. “I finally got a hold of him, and he was short and rude.” Eyes squeeze shut, she gulped. “Almost as if he was...with—” Her voice trailed off.
“With another woman?”
He had actually been with Celia, Giovanni’s youngest sibling. She was supposed to be with him when he took the bait to go to Bora Bora. She was the informant, though reluctantly. Giovanni had asked her to seduce him, just to witness him getting a text fromMarco, ordering him to the island.
“Exactly. I know he was. I heard a woman in the background.” Exhaling a puff of air, she shivered. “God, I’m so over men. Enough about me.” Suddenly a grin appeared on her face. “I don’t want to be depressing. Tell me about you!” Reaching over, she poked my knee gently with her nail. “You work with Mr. Rov…Giovanni?”
“Yes,” I nodded, “I do, but we went to college together.” Now I was recalling my younger years, the years I was most fond of. “That's when we lost touch for a while.”
“What role do you have in his company?” She returned the glasses to her face, eagerly awaiting my answer. “Security or something?”
“Yeah, though I’m not entirely sure besides that.”
While I was not sure what was funny, she giggled. “You have an accent. I assume you're from Italy?”
“I am but moved to the states a long time ago.” I chuckled, winking. “Do you like the accent?”
“Who doesn't love an Italian accent?!” She shifted, tucking her legs to the other side of her. “Hmm, do you have a significant other?”
