Finding Beauty in the Darkness - Nikki Ash Page 0,32
Your girlfriend doesn’t seem too thrilled about it, either. You can just have your guard stand at attention in front of one of those rooms.”
Giovanni lets out a deep breath. “You aren’t sleeping anywhere else but right here, and Cecilia’s not my girlfriend.”
Huh. “Does she know that?”
Giovanni chuckles. “Yes, she does. She just thinks if she tells enough people otherwise, my stance on the topic will change.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Giovanni smirks at me. “Why? You want to apply for the position?”
“What? No! That’s not what I meant.”
“I’m just joking,” he says between fits of laughter. “Plus, you’re like twelve years younger than me.”
“And I’m not even sure if I have a boyfriend,” I add. “Hey! Wait a second. It’s a proven fact, women mature ten years quicker than men. Technically, at thirty-one years old—”
“Thirty-two,” he cuts me off.
“Fine. At thirty-two…” I emphasize the two, rolling my eyes. “…you’re only twenty-two, which means you’re technically only a year older than me since I’ll be twenty-one soon.”
Giovanni’s entire body shakes with laughter. “If women mature ten years quicker, I think that means you’re technically thirty-one, putting you at a year younger than me.”
“Either way, we’re only a year apart.” I shrug.
“This supposed boyfriend of yours…”
“Antonio.”
“Antonio…Were you guys serious?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. It was mostly just hanging out. It’s hard to take anything too seriously while in college. Do you think I could borrow your phone to call him? And to call my best friend, Amber.”
Giovanni thinks on this for a moment. “Okay, but don’t say anything stupid, Aria, or you won’t be making any more phone calls.” He hands me his phone from his pocket after typing in a code to unlock it.
I first dial Antonio’s number, but it says it’s not a working number. Damn.
“Not in service.”
I dial Amber’s number, and after several rings, I hear her voice. “Hello?”
“Amber?”
“Oh my God! Aria, is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me!” Tears of happiness race down my cheeks.
Chapter Eleven
GIOVANNI
This girl is getting to me. She’s making me joke around and laugh, and fuck, when she got excited about Italy, I wanted to call my pilot and fly her to Italy today. Then when she mentioned a boyfriend, my chest tightened and I wanted to lock her back up in the room and never let her out. I need to get myself together. What started as a way to fuck over Weston for nonpayment has turned into something more. I laugh to myself at the idea of seriously holding Aria captive because let’s face it, the entire situation has turned into a damn joke. This woman has been out of bed less than a day and it’s embarrassing the way she’s running circles around me. I’m vomiting out information about my business, assuring her I don’t have a girlfriend, and giving her tours of the place. I don’t know what the hell she’s doing to me but more shockingly, I don’t think I mind.
I handed her the phone so she could call her boyfriend and friend, but there was no way I was leaving. I played it off like I needed to make sure she didn’t mention anything that would incriminate me, but with Weston already knowing I took her, I’m not really concerned. If he was going to turn me in, he would have already done so. And even if he did, the police aren’t going to do shit about it. The truth is, I wanted to remain in the room to find out where she stands with her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend’s number wasn’t in service, but her friend answered her phone. Aria’s first question was if anybody reported her missing. I can’t hear what her friend is saying, but Aria’s facial expression is one of confusion.
“What do you mean?” Aria’s nose scrunches up, making me want to kiss the confusion away. Jesus, I need to get this girl out of my head. I can’t be thinking this way about her. While the age difference might not be a problem for her, after everything she’s been through, she deserves more than a guy who isn’t capable of anything more than a fuck. Nothing can happen between us. I need to separate myself from her. She’s here so I can keep her safe and find out what Hightower is up to, and I need to remember that.
“He told you I left by choice? Why the hell would he say that? I never told him I was going anywhere… Are you still at UNLV? Okay,