Chocolate and Italian Wine (Music and Mayhem Book 1) (12 page)

So why didn’t you call me earlier, then?” he asked, unmasked adoration showing on his face.

“I’ve been swamped. You know how my days have been. This is the first time I’ve been able to relax. I’m not coming out of my room the rest of the night. What time is it there?” she asked. 

It’s 7:30, Friday morning. And you work too hard, sweetheart,” he said. 

“It’s what I do, Mr. Montovani, and look who’s talking. I think
you
work too hard,” she countered.

“Touché,” he said. “I’d love it if I could work less and feel you more, if you know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” Karisma giggled. She didn’t want to get herself worked up, knowing she wouldn’t find the relief she wanted without Paolo doing it.

“You make me feel good, Kari.” 

“Whenever you get back, we’ll make each other feel good,” she said. He chuckled. “What’s so funny?” she asked, smiling at him. 

“With no makeup, you look really young; 15 or 16. I’m feeling a little guilty for some of the thoughts I’m having right now,” he said. 

She laughed, too. “That young?”

“Yes, jailbait,” he chuckled. 

“And your thoughts are getting freaky?” she asked. 

“Oh, yeah,” he said, wiggling his brows at her. “I miss you. I want you.”

“I miss you, too, Paolo. When will you be back?”

“I should be returning on Saturday evening,” he said. 

She paused.

“What?” he asked. 

“Nothing,” she shrugged. 

“I can come back sooner. But I thought you didn’t want me to leave before I needed to? I have just one final thing I need to do before I’m on my way back. You okay with that?” he asked. 

“Of course,” she said. “I have a full plate. I was just thinking…we just met. I can’t be making demands on your time. Especially since...” She trailed off.

He finished her statement. “Since I’m not exactly free, but I will be. When I get back to you we’ll be free to pursue a relationship with nothing hanging over our heads,” he said. 

“That would make me happy,” Kari replied, breathing a visible sigh of relief.

“This is good! I want to make you happy,” he replied.

She smiled at him and his heart melted. It was a sexy smile that had him wishing he could touch her, had him wanting to jump through the computer and do more than just touch her. 

“I wish you were here right now,” she admitted.

“Me, too,” he said. 

Paolo watched as she licked her red lips. His groin, which had been at attention since her face popped on the screen, jumped. What a temptress, was it intentional? “Let me see what you have on.” 

She cocked her head to one side, letting her curls fall to the front of her shoulder. Then she pulled her oversized t-shirt over her head, leaving on her red bikini panties. She looked at him. “Not wearing much, Paolo,” she teased seductively.

“Fuck, yeah,” he said in his own sultry voice. “Hold those tits for me, baby,” he said. She did as he requested, caressing her mounds, rubbing and pinching her nipples, which were the color of dark berries. She knew how he was obsessed with them. His erection strained against the silk threads of his pajama pants. He rubbed himself. “That’s so fucking hot, Kari,” he groaned.

There was a knock on his door and they were both startled. Karisma quickly grabbed her shirt and put it back on. 

Paolo yelled at the door in Italian. “What is it?” 

“What are you screaming at me like that for, Paolo?” his mother yelled back at him from the other side of the door. “And why is your door locked?”

“Sorry, Mama. I’m on an important call. I’ll be down in a few minutes when I’m done,” he said loudly, but not as loud as before.

Karisma smiled at him through the screen. “Oops, Mommy stopped that action,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Some things never change.”

“But why is the door locked?” his mother asked loudly, still not going away.

 ”Mama, I didn’t want to be disturbed,” he said, annoyed with her. Then in a softer tone, he asked, “Did you make me something to eat?”

               “Of course, but now I might let you starve. Yelling at me like that,” she said, going into a litany of things she does for him and his brothers. 

Karisma couldn’t understand what the other woman said, but by the look on her lover’s face, she knew he was bugged by it. She couldn’t help but snicker at hearing the muffled, Italian rant.

“Okay, Mama, I love you,” Paolo said in English, hoping his mother would take the hint and leave. Then he was quiet.

Karisma watched him contently until he said, “I heard footsteps. She’s gone.” She laughed again at his expression.

              “The mood has effectively been killed,” she said playfully. “I better let you go before you get into trouble.” 

“Don’t, she’s just being nosey. You were entertaining me, Beautiful. I miss you, remember?” 

“I remember,” she said. 

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey what?” she asked. 

He paused and smiled, then shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.”

“What? Tell me now,” Karisma demanded.

“Not now. But later, I promise,” he said.
Should he tell her how he felt? Could he?

“Fine, be a tease,” she pouted. 

“Do that again,” he said, focusing on her lips. 

“Do what again?” she asked, confused, flopping back on her bed. 

“That thing with your lips. It’s sexy as hell,” he said. 

She laughed out loud. “You’re just horny and your mother cock blocked you.”

They both laughed and then Paolo said, “No, this damned computer screen cock blocked me, but my mother, well, she’s made an art of that, too.”

“Oh, yeah? What was she saying to you?” she asked, amused.

“Don’t scream at her, why was the door locked. My head was so big it tore her open, the usual Italian mama drama.”

She burst out laughing again. “You’re lying. She didn’t say that.”

“Yes, she did. She always makes me feel guilty about coming through the birth canal. I was the only one that tore her, she says. It shuts me the fuck right up.” He chuckled.

“Sssss,” she hissed and made a face. “That would shut me up, too.”

He traced an outline of her face on the screen. “I’m still horny. I’ll be back on Saturday evening. You won’t be too busy for me, will you?” he asked, feeling a certain kind of way.

 She shook her head. “Not a chance.” 

“Kiss me, Karisma,” he said softly in a voice so sexy she thought she would spontaneously combust.

She leaned into the screen, puckered and smacked loudly. He kissed his screen at the same time. They pulled back and stared at each other, so emotionally drawn were they that neither wanted to be the first to say goodbye. 

“Have you ever heard that song, 
Kiss Me through the Phone
?” she asked him. 

“No, is it yours?” he asked. 

“No, it’s not mine. It’s by Soulja Boy. Ever heard of him?”

“No,” he said.

She sang a few bars of the chorus for him. He smiled dreamily at her. 

“I liked that,” he said with a sexy smile.

“Good,” Kari replied. “Call me later?”

“I will,” he said. 

“Even if you think it’s too late and I might be asleep,” she said. 

“I will,” he repeated, hypnotized by her. 

“Good morning, Paolo,” she said, blowing him another kiss.

“Good night, Beautiful,” he replied, air kissing her.

Karisma ended the connection and lay on her back. Gawd, she was really falling for him. He was getting into her blood. She wanted to sleep until Saturday, when he was scheduled back. But she couldn’t even go to bed. Chris had emailed her some new material that might work for an animated film they were scoring. It was going to be a long night.

                                          ***

Paolo sat across from Maria Elena Bianchi in the quaint restaurant in the small seaside village of Monasterace, a municipality of Reggio, Calabria. He had informed her that he wanted to talk about their wedding. Initially, she was ecstatic that he actually wanted to offer input on their nuptials. Then, she wasn’t quite sure he had said that. Something in his tone warned her that she might be jumping the gun.

As he sipped the red wine from the long stemmed glass, he looked Maria Elena in the eye. She was sort of pretty when you looked at her closely. With her thick, dark brown hair and brown eyes, she was definitely attractive. Tall and thin, she carried herself gracefully. But he found nothing about her to be remarkable or extraordinary. He wondered if he’d always felt that way. Maybe it was because he had met and fallen for a woman who he felt was both remarkable and extraordinary in every way.

The two of them knew that marriage was expected and Paolo felt certain that Maria Elena was happy about that, but him? How was he going to do this? The bottom line was this: Paolo did not want to marry Maria Elena Bianchi and he was willing to do almost anything for her to let him out of the contract. His heart was taking him to a different place. He sighed heavily.

“Paolo, are you okay?” Maria Elena asked. She started to reach her hand out to touch his, but retracted it quickly.

“I’m fine. Just a lot going on,” he said.

“With business?” she asked hopefully.

“With life,” he said.

There was a pause when the waiter came with their food, two lamb dishes. Maria Elena watched the waiter walk away and finally asked, “So, Paolo, will there be a wedding, or won’t there be?”

10

Paolo looked at Maria Elena with his piercing blue eyes and asked her, “Is that what you really want, Maria Elena? To be married to a man who you’ve seen a few times here and there over the past two years? A man who phones you only to return your calls? What do you want for yourself, Maria? Forget what your parents say. What do you want?”

Maria Elena looked as though she didn’t understand anything he’d said. It was almost like her eyes were vacant. She glanced down at her ring finger and said, “I want to wear your wedding band. I can’t wait for you to be my husband. I want children. Four of them. Two boys and two girls. I want them all to look like you. Just like you…I want the respect that will come with being married to you. I want people to envy me. And most of all, I want you to love me,” she stated, looking into her plate of roasted lamb.

Paolo could not believe what she had said. She was infatuated with him, it seemed, but had she actually convinced herself that she loved him? How could he be with a woman who evoked so little passion in him like Maria Elena did? He couldn’t.

He noticed her expression change and now she was looking at him defiantly, challenging him to be that man and make her expectations happen. He sat back and said, “I’m sorry.” 

Then he frowned and shook his head. “What are you sorry for?” she asked.

“I’m sorry that…that I can’t be the man to make that happen for you. Because I don’t want any of that.” He looked her directly in her brown eyes and hoped to see a flicker of understanding.

“What do you mean, Paolo? Are you telling me that you don’t want a wedding? A marriage to me?” 

Paolo took a bite of lamb, wanting some time to think about how to answer that question the best way possible, if there even was a best way. He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Maria Elena, we are not in love. Nothing about this makes sense to me anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked again, her voice growing louder. “I love you as much as any woman can love a man! We have been engaged our whole lives!”

“That was something our fathers should never have done to two little children. They should never have promised us to each other, Maria Elena. A lot happens to two people as they grow and mature. I accepted it at first as the right decision, because this is what many of us do. But as I’ve gotten older, I realize that I want to make my own marriage choice,” he said. 

She was angry now. “How dare you say these things to me, Paolo. So it’s all about you? Have I not waited for you while you went off to America to make your fortune? A fortune that should by now be ours? Do you think I’m stupid? I’ve seen the pictures of you and that singer! Are you sleeping with her? You don’t want me anymore because you have Miss Rich and Beautiful to replace me?”

Keeping his own temper in check, and disgusted by the scene she was making, he told her in a cold, commanding voice, “You are making a fool of yourself, Maria Elena. Have I ever led you to believe that I was in love with you?” His stare was unfeeling.

There was no consoling or voice of reason in Maria Elena at that moment. “What does that
really
matter? We’re getting married! Regardless of how you feel right now, we
are
marrying each other!” She placed her hands on her face. “I can’t believe this. Everything’s set! What is wrong with you? Is this because of her? Karisma Montgomery? Are you seeing her?” she demanded.

She was clearly going to keep repeating herself until she heard the harsh answers
, Paolo thought. But it angered him, too, and that’s what he wished her to know. “Who do you think you’re speaking to that way?” His voice was threatening now. She closed her mouth, wounded. “You act as though I proposed to you. That I
wanted
to be your husband. I’m sorry. That’s just not the way it is.”

She started to speak, but he held up his hand. “This,” he said pointing from himself to her and back, “is over. There will be no wedding.” His sapphire eyes showed that he was definitive in his decision. 

Desperately, she said, “Eighteen years has to count for something, Paolo. Maybe you didn’t want this, but at least I thought you would follow through with it! I could have been married to another by now, had I not been tied up with you! You’ve ruined my life! You and that…woman. I don’t care what you say, she’s the reason you’re no longer willing to marry me,” she said accusingly.

“May I be honest? You know like I know that we were forced into this. This was no love connection. It was a business deal,” he said to her without apology. “We had an adult decision made for us as children. At the time, we had no choice. Now we do.”

“I love you, Paolo. You know I do! Why are you being so cruel?” she whined. 

He sighed and his voice became gentler. “It is not my intention to be cruel, but I have to be honest. Maria Elena. You want to love me for a lot of reasons; reasons that I understand. That doesn’t change the fact that this arrangement, sweetheart, is…archaic.”

She looked at him and blinked. “Archaic?” she said incredulously. “What do you mean, Paolo? This is what we do. This is who we are. There’s nothing archaic about this. It’s customary. It’s tradition. Archaic! You have spent too much time in America, dancing with the stars!” She pointed her long red nail at him and waved it in the air.

Paolo looked at her and shook his head. A spoiled, petulant, princess. That is who Maria Elena was.

“Paolo. We can make our marriage work. It will be a good one. Are you not attracted to me at all?” she asked, hoping for the answer she wanted to hear.

“You are a lovely woman, Maria Elena. Who wouldn’t be attracted to you?” he said to her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. After all, he wasn’t a monster. Upon hearing his words, she thought there might be a chance.

“Then we can go from there,” she said. “Our physical relationship has always been so beautiful, Paolo. I miss you so much and if we reignite our physical connection, the rest will fall into place. But how can we do this if we are in two different countries? Give me the chance to show you how I feel. You must allow me the chance to be close to you, Paolo. We have had so much distance between us, I fear, you have become confused as to what you want.” 

He frowned. “I’m not confused, sweetheart. But you are. You seem to remember things differently than I do. I’ve known for a long time that I didn’t want to marry this way, Maria Elena. We haven’t been together for a long time. You need to accept this—”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!” she interrupted. “We used to spend time together. And it has been a long time. We can be a good match. You will be happy with me, Paolo. Take me to America. Let me go back with you. Let’s try, Paolo. We have to try,” she begged. 

“Do you really believe that I’ll change my mind?”

“Please, Paolo,” she pleaded, tears in her eyes. 

Shit. Now she was going to cry
. “Maria Elena,” he said gently. It is not my intention to hurt you. But I can’t marry you. We need to inform our parents of our decision not to marry. This. Is. Over,” he said. 

“Stop it!” she said, raising her voice again, tears now spilling. “What, are you in love with her?” she demanded angrily. He sat back and crossed his leg. She continued. “I saw how you looked at her in those pictures. How you held her.” 

“Who are you talking about, Maria Elena?” he asked calmly, sipping his wine, and knowing full well who Maria Elena spoke of. 

“Karisma Montgomery!” she exclaimed, with mounting distress. 

The maitre d’ came over and asked him if everything was alright. He told him that they were fine. She drank down her wine and poured another glass. 

“Are you in love with her, Paolo? Answer me,” she hissed, leaning toward him, wiping her face with the linen napkin.

He looked at her and nodded. “Yes. I am.” Yes, he was! Damn!

Paolo watched as she held her chest and closed her eyes. “You are evil, Paolo Montovani. How the hell could you
do
this to me?” she spat. “All these years you couldn’t love me and now you’re in love with another woman? How could this happen? I hate her, and I hate you, too! You’ll never have her! You know that, right? Your father will 
never
 allow that. I can’t believe this! Does she know who you are? Does she?”

Some of the other customers in the restaurant began to stare openly at them. She began to gather her things. “You are pathetic,” she snapped.

“`You didn’t think so when you were begging me to marry you, but I understand. You’re very upset. But you would do well to stifle any further insults. I’m starting to become annoyed. And you don’t want that,” he said, rolling his neck. “Now, while I’ve tried to spare your feelings, you’ve made it very difficult. Let’s stop this right now so that you can preserve some semblance of dignity. Let’s go. I’ll take you home now. We will talk to our families. I’m going back to America tomorrow, and we won’t keep up this pretense.” 

“What about our wedding? It’s in a week, Paolo. Important people have made plans to be there! Our families, our friends! What about all of that?” she asked, sounding almost frantic.

“Nothing that can’t be undone,” he said, motioning the waiter for the check.

“So that’s it? Just like that? It’s over?” She could barely catch her breath.

“Yes. It has to be this way,” he said, taking the black bill folder form the server and placing several large bills inside. He stood, buttoning his jacket, and watching Maria Elena as her face played out an array of emotions. She looked up at him, and was quickly on her feet, running away from him, causing people to stare in the direction of the handsome Paolo, who could not help but wear a smile despite it all. He had finally gotten one huge obstacle out of the way. Now it would be time to deal with the fallout. It would not be pretty, but it was certainly unavoidable.

11

Maria Elena wouldn’t allow Paolo to accompany her into the home to tell the Bianchi’s there would be no wedding. He had insisted that they do so together, but she would have none of it. She’d hurried from the car, refusing to look back at Paolo. He’d left, to take on the task of informing his own family of his decision. His father had been livid at first, even going so far as to threaten his position in the ‘Ndrina.

“Your choices sometimes make me question whether or not you are the best person to lead this family, Paolo,” his father had said. He’d then proceeded to rant about what Raffaelo truly believed was Paolo’s obsession with Karisma, feeling she was the true reason he didn’t want to respect the marriage agreement.

After he’d stormed out of his father’s office, he’d found Davit standing on the other side of the door, wrapping up a call.

“Paolo, don’t let what Pop says piss you off too much. We can love who the fuck we want. You and me both.”

“Were you eavesdropping?”

“I heard some of it,” Davit grinned. “Hell, if they knew who gets my dick hard, they’d shit bricks.” They moved up the hallway.

“What are you talking about, man? Are you coming out or something?” Paolo wanted to know.

“What? Hell no, I’m not gay.” Davit said frowning.

“Then what are you telling me?”

Davit patted Paolo roughly on the shoulder. “We’ll talk on the plane tomorrow. I have to go, I need to see her before we leave.”

“Who?” Paolo asked confused. Davit ignored the question and kept walking. Paolo stood in the hallway, wondering who the hell she was.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ***

Karisma and Chris were walking off the set of the Ellen Show. They had just performed with Goldust after the fun and lighthearted interview. The show, taped before a live audience, would air later that day. Karisma’s mother, Liane, met them in the greenroom. 

“Hey you two,” she said. “Take a look at that fool,” as she pointed to the flat screen behind them.

The two turned their heads, following Liane’s finger. There was an irate Ray Bryant throwing a camera and seemingly attacking a photographer. He looked out of control and his bodyguards had even stepped in to pull him off the man. Karisma frowned at the TV.

“When did this happen?” she asked. 

“A few days ago, according to the reporter. That boy is a hot mess,” Liane said dismissively. 

              “I don’t disagree with that,” Karisma said. 

“I know that’s right!” Chris added as he popped kettle corn into his mouth.

“Well, God bless him,” Liane said, and they all chuckled in agreement. 

“We better get on the road. We have to get to Jimmy Kimmel’s Show in Hollywood. You ready, Mom?” Karisma asked.

“You bet I am,” Liane said. She was used to traveling with the band. Since Karisma’s career began as a fifteen year old, at least one of her parents, as well as the parents of the other Goldust members were usually there to accompany their children on appearances as well as road trips.