Throwing the blankets back, I went to move my legs when I felt a tug in my no-no place. Rolling my eyes, I knew what it was.
I was stuck.
Aunt Roxy put a damn catheter in me.
Sighing, I reached over and turned on the small lamp to find Giovanni sleeping on the couch.
He looked so tired. His face with a few days' growths on it. His hair was disheveled, and if my eyes were deceiving me, he was wearing aPink Floydt-shirt and black basketball shorts.
I’d never seen him so, so…underdressed.
From the moment I met him, Giovanni was impeccably tailored, down to his designer watches and high-end socks. I honestly believed the man didn’t know what comfort meant. Even on the island, he wore khaki cotton pants and a white button-down shirt. The only time I ever saw him without clothes was when he slept because he didn’t wear pajamas. I didn’t even know he owned basketball shorts, let alone likedPink Floyd.
The more I thought about it, there were many things I didn’t know about Giovanni. Oh, I knew his character, how he felt about his family, and that he tried to be an honest man.
But the other stuff.
The stuff that made up a relationship that I didn’t know. In fact, I wondered what he really knew about me. Yes, we were compatible and freaking awesome together in bed, but what about out of it? What if we didn’t like the same things? What if we believed differently on a multitude of subjects? I didn’t even know what his favorite color was or his birthday. How could I marry a man I knew nothing about?
“Thinking pretty hard over there,Tesoro. What is going on in that head of yours?”
Looking up, I saw him lounging on the sofa, his arm tucked under his head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at me.
“I don’t know you,” I muttered, looking down at my hands, nervous for the first time around him, and when I heard him chuckle, I looked back up to see him stretching before he walked over to me. Sitting down beside me, I said nothing as he took my hands in his and said, “That’s what’s bothering you? That we don’t know each other?”
I nodded.
Leaning across the bed, he used his hand to hold up his head. When he looked comfortable, he said, “Okay then. Ask me anything.”
He looked so relaxed, so calm I almost wanted to laugh. I knew he was just placating me, and I didn’t mind. I wasn’t ready to talk about the other stuff. I needed to get it all right in my head. My worst nightmare came true ten-fold. And if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t expect to be sitting on a bed talking with him right now. I imagined much…much worse.
“When is your birthday?”
“August 12th.”
Huh…he was a Leo. Made sense. Leos were the lions, natural leaders, passionate. I could see that about him.
“Favorite color?”
“Don’t have one.”
“Movie?”
“Easy.The Godfather.”
Now that I laughed at. “Really? You are the head of a mafia family, and your favorite movie isThe Godfather?”
He smiled brightly and said, “Yep. What’s yours?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I never really watch movies, but if I had to choose, it would be something from the sixties.”
“Why the sixties?”
“It was a simpler time. It was before cell phones, the internet,Facebook. People were who they were and just lived their lives. Nobody had to worry about being kidnapped or sold. Kids could ride their bikes till dawn, and no one batted an eyelash. Now, things are so different.”
“They aren’t that different, Layla.”
“Yes, they are,” I whispered, looking away.