“He is coming to take Donatella home.”
“Fuck that,” I shouted. “She isn’t going anywhere without me. She is mine to protect.”
“Lorenzo,” Gio sighed. “I love that you care about her but this is out of my hands. Mrs. St. James is not a woman to contend with Donatella will be safe with her family. They can protect her until this mess is all cleared up. My hands are tied.”
“No,” I said, standing with Donatella by my side. There was no fucking way she was leaving. Not when I knew what she meant to me. She needed me. I needed more time to prove that to her. I’d already lost my best friend, her sister. I wasn’t going to lose Donatella too.
Not happening. Taking her hand in mine I said, “We’re leaving.”
“Where are you going Lorenzo?”
“Home.”
Nineteen
Donatella
I said nothing as Lorenzo drove us back to his house. I never thought I’d be so happy to see his big log mansion. I didn’t know what it was about the place but it felt like home. Which was ridiculous because I didn’t have a home.
I did once. But it was long gone now.
In fact, I had nothing. Not even a school to return to.
To top it all off, I had some Italian asshole who wanted to breed me, a drug dealer who wanted me for leverage or dead and an aunt I barely remembered coming to whisk me away. For someone who preferred to blend into the background, I was a very popular woman. Though, not in a good way.
I tried to absorb everything Giovanni told me. It was a lot to take in and part of me didn’t want to believe him. What I remembered of my father didn’t match what Giovanni said. My father was nothing but a hard-working man who loved his wife and daughters. Everything he did, he did to make us all happy. He was there for me for every important milestone. There wasn’t a memory I had without him in it. I just didn’t see him being the vile man Giovanni described. My father would never take a woman away from her family.
He just wouldn’t.
What was more confusing was Lorenzo’s actions. The man was seriously giving me severe whiplash. I wished he would just make up his mind and stick with it.
He’d gone from acting like a pompous ass to someone who genuinely cared for my welfare. It was great if I could believe he meant it, but I didn’t. From what I knew of him through my sister and seeing him in person, the only person Lorenzo cared for was himself. So, it was a little concerning to see him take an interest in me. Of course, I didn’t help matters when I kissed him.
What the hell was I thinking?
I wasn’t. That was the problem.
That fucking drug was still trolling around in my system and for a few minutes, I forgot who I was dealing with. On the flip side, man was he a good kisser.
Of course, he was. He kissed everything with two legs and boobs. I wondered who he hadn’t kissed. The man was one serious playboy. All I needed to do was open a magazine or read a paper to see that. How he would even consider someone like me was mindboggling.
I meant what I said in Giovanni’s office. I was no one. There wasn’t anything special about me. Yeah, I was smart and I looked okay but that was it. My hair had a mind of its own. I have never been able to contain it. That’s why I balled it up on the top of my head. As for my face, no amount of sunbathing could get rid of the spray of freckles across my nose. Then there were my eyes. They were too big for my face. I never believed in fashion. Clothes were meant to be worn. That was it. I didn’t come from money. I never partied. I just didn’t care. In fact, the only thing I really cared about was my parents and sister and they were dead.
When my parents died, I threw myself into school. My one saving grace besides my sister. Now she was gone. All that was left was school and I didn’t even have that right now.
And with missing classes and a hitman after me, I wasn’t so sure I should return. Then again, there was the asshole who wanted to breed me. I didn’t think a college campus would be a good place to hide. Too many young girls for him to pick from.
Nope. I was out of options.
Maybe I should go with my aunt. At least she was family. Not that I remember her. I was just a small child the last time I saw her and if she truly cared, where was she when my parents died? Why didn’t she come to the funeral? Not that we had one for them. Per our parent’s request, we cremated them and buried them under a tree near the cabin where we spent our summers. As for notifying family members, I didn’t think Penny even considered it. My sister was of the same mind as our parents and wanted nothing to do with them. I honestly knew nothing about my aunt. She was more of a stranger than the Valentinetti family.
God, everything was a mess. I couldn’t get my head to shut off. I just wanted a few minutes of peace to think. Instead, my mind whirled with what-ifs and names that meant nothing to me.
My mind was so out of it, I didn’t realize I was sitting on a bed in Lorenzo’s house. In fact, I was in his master bedroom. Looking around, I sighed. It really was a nice room. Spacious, with a bit of country mixed with modern. Hearing water running, I turned as Lorenzo walked out of his bathroom and said, “I’ve started a bath for you. The tub is bigger in here and I thought seeing the surrounding woods would help you relax.”
I nodded as he came to kneel before me. Taking my hands in his, he added, “Donatella, I know you don’t trust me but I would like the chance to earn your trust.”
I heard what he was saying. I knew the words but my head refused to comprehend them. So much had happened in such a short time, I was having difficulty compartmentalizing everything. I needed time. If I was back in Atlanta at my apartment, I would drown everything out with music. I would put my headphones on and just forget about everything. When I left, I didn’t think to bring them. I didn’t think I would need them.