Turn Towards the Sun Book Two: After the Rain (9 page)

“Okay, bella, I have a few more things to finish up at the office,” he says. “Just try to relax. Call me when they get there.”

“I will.”

After hanging up the phone, I pour myself a cup of tea and sit on the couch in an attempt to distract myself. I’ve always hated people driving long distances. I don’t know why, because nothing bad has ever happened to me or anyone I know on the road. I just don’t like it.

Maximus barks in the backyard and I jump up, hoping that means he can hear a car. I run out onto the front porch and see the gates opening. A large moving truck passes through and heads up the drive. They made it!

Chris cuts the ignition and Cassie gets out, looking pissed and tired. “I thought it was always hot and sunny here. It snows in Arizona? What the hell,” she grumbles, stomping towards me. A hen-pecked Chris follows closely behind.

“It snows up north, Cass, not here,” I say, hugging her, despite her surliness.

“Well, it’s been spitting this cold water on us all the way here. I thought I left Denver,” she complains. Chris looks at me apologetically.

“Come in,” I reply, warmly. “I have a fire going and we can get you some food. You sound a little hungry, Cass.” She’s a mean one when she’s hungry.

My friend rolls her eyes and walks into the house. I watch her shake herself off in the foyer and kick off her shoes, before heading into the living room where she plops down in front of the fireplace. Just then, Maximus charges through the dog door and tackles her with big, sloppy dog kisses.

Cassie explodes with laughter. “A dog? That’s awesome.”

“His name is Maximus and he’s um, friendly, as you can see.”

Cassie rolls around on the floor with him and he is more than happy to play. Chris smiles and visibly relaxe
s. The great and powerful Cass has been subdued by a puppy.

Leaving them, I head for the kitchen to get the food out. I ordered a plate of Italian meats and cheese from Marcello
that Enzo picked up for me yesterday.

Chris catches up with me. “Sorry about that, Ava. You know how she gets. She’s been pretty much pissed off the whole trip.”

I turn and ask, “Why?”

“She got sick shortly after we got on the road. I had to pull over a few times for her to hurl.” He crinkles his nose. “Then last night, we stopped at a hotel to sleep and she woke up with cramps.”

“Shit, she got her period too? How did you survive?” I laugh.

“I barely got out alive. Thank God for Enzo’s directions or we’d still be driving through New Mexico.” He laughs softly.

“Well, I have food and a dog. That should calm her for a while. I put out some towels for you both in your bathroom.”

“Great,” he replies. “I’d love a shower.”

“Help yourself.”

First I set out a tray on the counter with some bread, the cold cuts and a big pitcher of sangria. Then I
set some ice cream on the counter in preparation for feeding Cassie’s hormones. Picking up my phone to call Enzo, I hear the garage door opening. He’s here.

Out in the living room, Maximus runs playfully around Enzo’s legs while he tries to greet Cassie. “You made it safely, I see,” he says, kissing her on the cheek.

“Barely,” she replies. “It was awful.”

Unruffled by his guest’s bad mood, Enzo says, “Well, you’re here now and it looks like lunch is ready.”

Cassie sits down at the dining table and makes herself a sandwich, which she chews quietly for a few minutes. “This is really good,” she comments, looking down at her food as if she is waiting for it to respond.

“Glad you like it,” I tell her.

“Place looks good too. Did your sister do this, Enzo?”

“Ava did it.” He kisses the top of my head and puts his arm around my waist.

Cassie looks at me. “No fucking way. That’s impressive, girl.”

“Thanks. His sister trained me,” I admit.

“Somewhat, but Ava’s got very good instincts,” Enzo says, holding my stare for a moment.

Cassie rolls her eyes. “I forgot how lovey-dovey you two are.”

“Well, you’ll get used to it now, won’t you?” my husband replies.

She cackles. “Guess I’ll have to.”

Ah. Blood sugar stabilized.

After a short while, Chris walks in, freshly showered. “We missed this house,” he says. “It’s so nice. I can’t thank you guys enough for letting us crash here a while.”

“You’re not crashing here, you can live here for as long as you want,” Enzo insists. “The house is so big that it needs more people in it.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure you guys will want the space to yourselves eventually,” Chris says.

“Yes, I can see how you guys would start to crowd us out in a six thousand square foot house. I mean, between the separate wings, massive living room and a kitchen big enough for thirty people to eat in, we’re going to be on top of each other,” I say, breaking into laughter.

“Ava makes a valid point, but, most importantly, it makes her happy that you are here. And her happiness matters to me, so you can stay.” Enzo smiles in his ‘and that’s final’ way.

Cassie shrugs. “Works for me. I’ll stay here as long as possible and retire in that bedroom.” She takes another bite of her sandwich. “So, Enzo, why did you build such a big house? You didn’t know you would have Ava and us at the time.”

He grins. “I just wanted a big house – one, for the design and, two, to have my family over. And I hoped for my own children someday. When Ava is ready, I want to fill this house with our babies.” He kisses my cheek.

“That’s actually very sweet.” Cassie smiles, in spite of herself.

“Oh, Cass, I have ice cream for you, if you want it,” I tell her. “I know it is cold outside, but…”

She lights up. “Thank the stars above. You bet your ass I want it.”

Everyone laughs while I go get it for her.
Knowing Cassie’s appetite for ice cream, I’ll just bring the tub and a spoon to save time. Setting the dessert down in front of her, I watch as Cassie digs in, knowing it will keep her quiet for a while. My puppy sits patiently at her feet, waiting for anything to drop. Sorry Maximus, not gonna happen.

“Your dog is so cute. I love him,” Cassie remarks, rubbing his nose. The Labrador wags his tail happily in response.

I lean against the table. “Glad you like him. You’ll be babysitting him when we travel.”

“My pleasure. Who’s a cute boy?” she coos. “You are. That’s right.” I can’t believe gangsta Cass is baby talking to the pup.

“What kind of stupid name is Maximus though? Is this a result of your dumb
Gladiator
fixation?” She narrows her eyes at me.

“Guilty as charged. Besides, I think it’s cute.” I cross my arms.

“Well, Enzo, you dodged a bullet getting her the dog first. Otherwise that would’ve been your kid’s name,” Cassie says, hitting her fist against her chest in true gladiator style.

Enzo laughs and rubs my arm. “Then the dog was indeed a good choice.”

“Har, har, har,” I reply.

“You guys have internet here, right?” Chris asks.

Before we can answer, Cassie swings around in her chair to face him. “We live in a mansion. They have internet.”

I turn to Chris. “It’s not a mansion, but, yes, we have internet. I’ll write the password down for you.”

He playfully smacks Cassie’s arm. “It’s polite to ask, you know.”

“And when have you known me to be polite?” Cackling, she slurps another spoonful of ice cream.

Enzo stands up. “Come on, Chris, I’ll get you set up on the computer.”

“So, how’s life being married to Prince Charming?” Cassie asks, as her spoon hits the bottom of the ice-cream container.

Sitting down at the table, I look at her in shock. “Did you seriously just knock out a pint of ice cream?”

Cassie peers into the container and laughs. “I guess I did.” She actually blushes.

Laughing, I reply, “Life is good.”

“Oh good, so no
more psycho chicks trying to kill you,” she comments. “How do you deal with normal after that?”

“I guess my life is normal, as much as it can be with Enzo. Our life is far from traditional. I’ve been working with his sister on the new hotel and I spent a few weeks on this house. And then there’s the baby, of course. I’ve been keeping busy.”

“Baby?” Cassie cries. “What the hell. How could you keep that from me?”

I roll my eyes. “Good Lord, Cass. The baby is Maximus, not a human.”

She sinks back in her chair. “The dog. Right.”

“Like I would or
could
keep that from you.”

“Yeah, okay. So when are we getting a human baby out of you?” she asks. “You need to open the baby factory for business, sister.”

“I know. I was hoping to make it to our one-year wedding anniversary before we started having kids. We’ve only known each other a short time. I’d like to enjoy being a wife and getting to know my husband before we add kids into the mix.”

“Are you scared? I would be.”

I ponder her question for a minute. “Yeah, a little,” I admit. “So much has happened since June. It felt too chaotic to bring a baby into this.” I shake my head. “Anyway, it’s just been a lot to handle. But, I’m starting to warm to the idea.”

“I know it’s easy for me to say, but you’re going to be a great mom. And from what I can see, Enzo will be great too. And he loves you. That much is obvious.”

“I know he does. I feel secure in our relationship. So, hey,” I change the subject, “do you want to take a shower? I’ve put some towels out for you and your room is freshly cleaned.”

“That’s cool. You didn’t have to clean our room for us.”

“I didn’t – the cleaning service did.”

“Oh, of course, your highness,” she teases. “Queens don’t scrub toilets.”

I giggle. “No, they don’t.”

“Seriously though, you seem really comfortable with your lifestyle now.”

“I’m used to it for the most part. I tried to fight it, but it was useless and stupid. You were right – my life is awesome now that I’ve accepted the benefits that come along with being his wife. There’s been some drama, of course, but the money does make things easier.”

“Hell, yeah,” Cassie says. “Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it buys a lot of things that make me happy.”

I giggle again. “Very true, and I even have a laundry service now. At first, I was like why should I pay someone to do my laundry for me? Now I come home and everything is washed, folded, ironed and put away. Love it.”

“That’s awesome. I can’t imagine.”

“You don’t have to imagine it. What’s mine is yours, you know that.”

“I know, and as cool as that is, I don’t want to take advantage,” Cassie says in a serious tone. “You guys have been super generous as it is.”

“Cass, come on. We have so much and the one thing that really makes Enzo happy is sharing it with the people we love. In fact, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Just accept it, like I did.”

“Yeah, it’s really nice. I’m on board, trust me.” She smiles.

I prod her arm. “Hey, so any more marriage hints on the Chris front?”

“All the time,” she answers. “And baby hints. I’m sure it’s coming soon. I just don’t know when.”

“Maybe at Christmas?” I guess. “That would be exciting.”

“Yeah, maybe… At this point, I just want him to ask, so we can move onto the next stage of things, you know,” she explains, before asking, “Can we really stay here as long as we want?”

“Yes. We travel a lot, too, so you’ll have the house to yourselves then. I think we have a small travel reprieve until after the first of the year. But we’ll have to go back to Italy several times.”

“Oh poor baby, you’ll have to go to Italy?” She wipes away fake tears.

“Whatever. If you act right, maybe you can come along, once or twice,” I tease.

“Well, you need someone to carry your things for you. I could be your lady-in-waiting.”

“You’re so dumb,” I tell her, laughing.

“Nah, girl, I’m smart. Do we have plans for turkey day?”

“We are going to Franco’s house to eat with Enzo’s family.”

“Cool. Alright, I’m going to take a shower and maybe a nap,” Cassie says. “These cramps are kicking my butt.”

“We’ll be here.”

I walk into the office to find the guys typing away on computers; Enzo at the desk and Chris sitting with his laptop on the sofa. They really are the same.

Maximus pads in behind me and curls up under the desk. Enzo looks up, winks, and blows me a kiss. I return the gesture and then head into the living room to sit in front of the fireplace. Everything is exactly how I want it right now.

5
CHAPTER FIVE

I walk into Enzo’s office and find him typing away on his computer. He looks up at me and flashes his superb smile. “Ciao, bella. I have news for you.”

“What’s that?” I ask, as I sit on the small sofa in the room.