Turn Towards the Sun Book Two: After the Rain (18 page)

Enzo hovers over me, looking worried. “Do you want some tea or water, bella?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I just want to feel better. I hate throwing up.”

“If you’re not better tomorrow, I think we should get you to a doctor.”

“Alright, but you can go and work, Enzo. I’ll be fine.”

“Just for a little while,” he agrees. “I’ll check on you.”

“Can you bring my phone, please?”

“Of course, and I’ll bring you some water,” Enzo replies.

Returning with my phone and a glass of water for me, Enzo feels my forehead and kisses it. “Rest,” he says.

I offer a weak smile. “Where am I gonna go, Enzo?”

When he leaves, I call Gabby.

“Hey, Ava,” she says. “Welcome back. How are you? I haven’t talked to you in ages.”

It’s so nice to hear her voice again. I missed hanging out with her. I can’t wait to hear how things are going with her and Calvin.

“I’m doing okay, a little under the weather actually. How are you? How are things with Calvin?”

“Fantastic, sista. We’ve been hanging out and really getting to know each other. He’s a great guy. Oh, and I enrolled in art school. I start in two weeks.”

“Awesome. I’m so glad to hear things are going well.” After I tell her about Italy, I decide to ask if she has heard what’s been happening. “Did you hear about the book?”

“What book?”

“The book about Enzo.”

She goes silent for a moment. “Hmm, no, I don’t think so. What’s it about?”

“Gabs, it’s been all over the news for days. We even did a press conference.”

“Press conference? When the heck did all of this happen?” she asks, surprised.

“This week.”

“I haven’t heard a thing about it. Calvin didn’t say anything either. What’s the book about? Why did you do a press conference?”

I explain the whole thing to her, only touching on the whole domination business.

“Whoa, Ava, that’s crazy. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am now. It has been a tough couple of days. There’s an interview with her tonight on TV and we are going to watch it. I think we both want to hear her explanation of why she bared all of this. It makes Enzo look bad, but it makes her look worse.”

“Well, you can’t judge him for things he did in the past,” she says.

“I know, and I don’t. I can’t believe you didn’t hear about it.”

“I’ve been knee deep in getting ready for school and hanging out with Calvin. No time for current events.”

I laugh. “I’m glad. I’d rather you hear it from me anyway.”

“Can we get together soon, when you’re feeling better?” Gabby asks.

“Absolutely,” I reply, happily. “I can’t wait to see you. If I’m not feeling better tomorrow, I’m going to the doc. Traveling can be hard on a girl.”

“You’ve done a lot of that recently. Plus the excitement of the wedding and that thing that happened with–”

I cut her off. “Ah, we can’t say her name – new rule.”

“I don’t blame you there. It’s no wonder you’re sick. You’ve been through a lot. Your body needs some rest.”

“Yeah, that’s the understatement of the century.”

“It’s going to be fine though,” she assures me. “Enzo’s a great guy, and you two are perfect together. You’ll make it through this and whatever else life has in store.”

“Thanks, Gabs. I think so, too. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Enzo pokes his head around the corner of the door as I hang up. “Do you need anything?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No, babe, I’m just going to rest.”

I lean back in bed and stretch, feeling a little better. I should call my parents, but I think I’ll wait until tomorrow. Right now, a shower sounds good or maybe a bath. I love how the temperature drops at night and it almost feels like fall. It’s almost chilly enough to light a fire and snuggle – almost.

8 CHAPTER EIGHT

I wander into the bathroom, run the bath water, and decide to see what Enzo is up to. Walking to his office, I peek inside to find him sitting at his desk with his glasses on. Oh, how I love that look. He has a pencil tucked behind his ear and is engrossed in some blueprints. Stepping inside, I knock gently on the door.

“Ciao, amore,” he says, leaning back in his chair and smiling at me. “How do you feel?”

“Better. I don’t want to disturb you. I just came to say hi.”

Enzo smiles again. “Hi, and you’re never disturbing me.”

I walk over and he pats his lap for me to sit down. I sink into it and nuzzle his neck. It’s always an amazing feeling to be wrapped in his arms. We sit in silence for several minutes.

Remembering the water, I jump up. “I should go. I’m running a bath.”

“Okay, I’ll finish up here.” He looks down at his watch. “The interview starts in about an hour. Are you sure you want to watch it?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“Okay then. Go take your bath.”

I wander back to the master bedroom where I peel off my pajamas and pin up my hair. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I stop. Good Lord, I am so pale. I hope I can shake off this illness quickly and get back to being myself. Heading into the bathroom, I sink into the stinging hot water. It feels good though, soothing my sides and back, which still ache from being sick. I lean back and close my eyes.

I know that Cassie is right, I do over-think things. As hard as it was for him, I believe in my heart that Enzo was being honest with me about his desires. Our sex life is amazing and I know our connection is genuine. I mean, it took the guy forever to make a move on me.

Sensing his presence in the room, I slowly open my eyes.

“Ciao,” Enzo says, sitting down on the nearest chair. He smiles.

“Want to join me?” I ask.

“More than you know, but you need your rest and if I get in there, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”

“I don’t know if that would be such a bad thing.” I grin.

“There’s plenty of time for that, signora. I called and made an appointment for you at the doctor I go to. I assumed you didn’t have your own yet.”

“You assumed correctly. Thank you, but I think it’s just a yucky bug.”

“Most likely,” he agrees, “but let’s get it checked out to be safe.”

I nod. Enzo kneels down beside the tub and drags one hand through the bathwater.

“What are you thinking, my prince?” I ask him.

“What am I not thinking? There is so much on my mind.”

“I know. You need to rest, too. You’re taking on a lot. You have the renovations in Italy and the new hotel here, plus all this personal drama and a sick wife. You’re so focused on me, but you have a lot going on too.”

“I can handle it,” he replies.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t. I’m just acknowledging what’s on your plate. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, Enzo. You’re safe with me.”

He looks up and his eyes fill with warmth. “I know I am. How do you think it was so easy to fall in love with you? I trust you with everything.”

“I know. But sometimes I think you don’t want to show me what you’re really feeling. It’s okay to feel stressed and worried.”

He sighs. “I think you’ve seen plenty of my emotions, unfortunately.”

“It’s not unfortunate. I show you my emotions all the time, warts and all. Neither of us needs to feel like we can’t be one hundred percent ourselves, even if it is ugly.”

Enzo lifts my hand from the water and rubs it across his cheek. “I adore you,” he whispers. “I know I can share with you anything I’m feeling. I think it’s just my natural instinct to keep certain things to myself. Plus I don’t want to burden you further.”

“I’m not burdened. In fact, I think it would help me if I knew that you and I felt the same way about things. Like this stupid ass book,” I add.

“I hear you, amore. I’ll try.”

“Can you pass me a towel? I’m ready to get out.”

Enzo stands and hands me one. I dry off, wrap myself in my robe and head out to the living room.

“I’ll make us some tea, amore,” he says. “Let’s see how you do with that.”

“Okay.”

I turn on channel 14, and mentally prepare myself to listen to this woman tell her story in her own words. I’m expecting it to be uncomfortable, but maybe there will be some small nugget of information that will make us feel better.

Enzo returns with two steaming mugs of chamomile and sits next to me on the couch.

“I added a little honey for you,” he tells me. “Just sip it slowly.”

“I will.”

“I saw Cassandra in the kitchen. I hope you don’t mind but I asked if we could watch this alone. It’s awkward enough for me without an audience,” he says.

“I don’t blame you.”

My attention shifts to the television as a dramatic male voice announces, “Tonight, our exclusive interview with Emma Carlyle. We’ll discuss her book,
What you didn’t know
.”

I watch intently as Emma steps out from backstage and walks towards a seat. She is surprisingly thin and looks very fragile, not at all like the vivacious pictures I saw on the internet. She does not smile and in fact I would say she looks downright depressed. I wonder if she regrets putting all of her personal business out in the world.

“Ava,” Enzo whispers to me, “you should know that I filed a defamation suit against her today. Alex told me she’s been hit with at least three others over the past week.”

I nod my head. That could explain her appearance; pure stress.

Emma sits down next to the female interviewer, Katelyn Jackson, who starts right away. Katelyn is known for asking tough questions and getting people to say things that viewers really want to hear. This should be good.

“Thank you for coming, Emma. Let’s just get right to it. Why did you write such a personal book?”

Emma shifts uncomfortably in her chair. “I wanted to get my story off my chest. I think the image people have of me, because of my public life, is very different from who I really am.” Her voice is girlish, soft, and delicate. She keeps her eyes shifted downward.

“But the book isn’t exactly a flattering portrayal of you, Emma. You shared a lot of private details, including your relationships with men who are married. And this information you shared about Enzo Milano came on the eve of his wedding. One has to wonder, what was your motivation?”

Emma dabs her eyes with a tissue. I don’t get it. She had to know what she was doing.

“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” she replies.

That’s it? That’s her response? I look over at Enzo, who is watching with a sour expression, but he continues to sip his tea.

“Come on, Emma, you didn’t mean to hurt anyone? What did you mean to do then?” Katelyn asks.

“I wanted to write this book as a confession,” she replies. “I’ve lived with this for many years and I’ve now come to a point in my life where I know things must change. I’m sorry for a lot of the things I’ve done.”

“Why not go to church and tell a priest then? Why tell the world?”

Ooh, good question.

“I wanted the men who I’ve been with to know my side of things, and I didn’t have another way to tell them,” Emma explains. “Some of them hurt me and thought it was no big deal. I came across to them as this carefree, party girl who didn’t have feelings. But I do.”

“So it’s revenge?” Katelyn asks.

“No. Not revenge.” Emma shakes her head. “It’s closure.”

The interviewer is not convinced. “Closure for who?” she asks. “You got it off your chest, but what about everyone who was affected by your confession? Some of the men you named have wives and families.”

Emma looks down. “I didn’t think it through that far.”

Is it possible that she is that stupid? Certainly, her publisher would have known what she was doing with this kind of book.

Katelyn leans back in her chair with an exasperated look on her face. “Okay, Emma. We hear you’ve been hit with several defamation suits, including one from Enzo Milano.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“How do you plan to handle that?” Katelyn asks, leaning forward.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss the matter. I am really sorry though.”

“Are you apologizing to Mr. Milano?”

She nods her head. “And his new wife,” she replies. It’s practically a whisper.

Katelyn Jackson crinkles her nose and leans back again. The interview seems to be more like a court hearing. I look over at Enzo, who appears to be very interested in the latest development. Still, he says nothing.

Katelyn continues, “None of this makes sense. You write this torrid tell-all book, exposing your sexual exploits with every powerful man in Arizona, and then when it blows up, you act like some poor, innocent woman who is terribly contrite. It doesn’t add up.”

Emma wipes her eyes again. “I know it doesn’t seem to make sense. I honestly did not mean to cause any pain. I wrote about things that happened a long time ago, which I considered it ancient history.”