Page 24 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
“Do you really?”
He nods. “It’s almost photographic.”
Oh, great. Well, there goes my hope that he’ll forget all the stupid things I’ve said to him so far.
We leave the living room and pass through a few sitting areas before drawing to another stop.
“This is the gym,” Giorgio says, holding the door for me to take a look.
I peer inside. “Wow, it’s big.”
“It’s the biggest room on this floor, besides the living room. It used to be the master bedroom, but I converted it after I purchased the property. Now, all the bedrooms are on the second and third floors, but only the ones on the second floor are in use.” He lets the door swing shut.
“There aren’t that many bedrooms upstairs, are there? Where does the staff live?”
“There’s a guesthouse in the east end of the property,” Giorgio explains. “It’s newer than the rest of the castello—only about seventy years old. We renovated it five years ago and made the interior more modern. Allegra prefers it that way.”
The last room we visit on this floor is the library. Lots of wood shelves with elaborate molding, aged tomes with red and black spines, and a window made of stained glass. It depicts a swan floating on a lake, a large, round moon above it. When a ray of sun hits the window, the colors come to life.
It’s achingly beautiful. Something eases inside my chest for a moment as I gaze upon the image. “Do you come here often?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Giorgio nod. “I like to read here in the evenings, although I rarely find the time.”
My gaze falls on the two leather armchairs by a coffee table, and I can totally see Giorgio sitting in one of them, nursing a glass of…
“Do you drink whiskey?”
His attention moves to me. “Sometimes. But I prefer a good Negroni.”
“Hmm. Too bitter for me. I like rosé.”
“Aren’t you too young to drink?”
I frown. Does he think I’m under sixteen? Surely, I don’t lookthatyoung.
His lips curve, and I realize he’s joking.
“I already told you yesterday, I’m nearly nineteen,” I tell him haughtily. “My birthday is next week.”
“I apologize,” he says over a warm chuckle. “I’ll make sure Tommaso keeps the fridge filled with rosé.”
“Now you make me sound like an alcoholic,” I grumble as I follow him out of the room, but for some reason, I’m smiling too.
We stop before the spiral staircase that leads to our rooms.
“Like I said, upstairs are the bedrooms, most of which you’ve already seen.”
“That’s all that’s there?” I squint against the sunlight streaming through a window. “What’s that door over there?”
“That’s my office.”
Bingo.
That’s got to be where he’s storing my phone. I need to get a closer look at the lock and see if it’s easy to pick. Not that I have much experience picking locks, but desperate times and all… There has to be some way for me to sneak in.
We exchange a look. “You spend a lot of time in there too?” I ask innocently.
Of course, he sees right through it. “Lots.”
