After I Fall (Immortal Billionaires #1) - Melissa Sercia Page 0,43

I wore when I ran into him at the Met, and a pair of black leather riding boots.

A note sat on top.

Buongiorno, darling, take as long as you like to shower and change. I’ll be waiting for you on the terrace. Yours, Ozi.

I could feel a smile pulling at my lips. I’d never been pampered like this before. Alex’s idea of romance was letting me pick the movie after I had cooked and done all the dishes. It was our fifth anniversary and he showed up at my house with a six pack of beer, smelling like he had already downed a few. We ordered pizza and fell asleep watching some sports channel.

Back home, that’s how all the guys were. They worked all day and drank beer all night. Date night was going to the Maplewood tavern for shitty hamburgers and cheap wine. I thought that was normal back then. Actually, I thought that was normal until about a week ago when Ozi took me to Juliet’s. Not that I didn’t still love a good greasy burger, but not every single night. That got old real fast.

I showered in the lavish bathroom. The counter was stocked with beautiful and exquisite smelling soaps and lotions. I dressed in the outfit he’d laid out for me and made my way downstairs. The house was even more gorgeous with the sunlight shining in. I could see all of the wood and marble sparkling with fresh eyes. I stepped out onto the terrace and couldn’t hide the awe on my face.

My mouth dropped open. Ozi sat waiting for me at a table covered in treats—waffles, blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, muffins, and pastries. A white gloved attendant stood nearby, holding a tray of mimosas.

“Ozi…this is too much. How can I possibly eat all of this?” My eyes were bigger than my stomach but not that big.

He shot me a playful grin and I lost my breath. His hair was still ruffled from our romp. He too wore a cashmere sweater, beige with a couple buttons at the neck that were undone. He looked like a catalog model. “Eat as much as your belly will take and I’ll have the rest dropped off at the nearby food bank.”

Oh, and he was a philanthropist too? Could this man be any more perfect? How could a demon, as he called himself, have such a big heart?

The grounds were beautiful in the daylight. After stuffing my face with as many delectable pastries as I could muster, we went for a walk on his property. Emerald green grass sprawled out around us as we walked. The scent of it being freshly cut wafted in my nose, making me nostalgic for my youth. Summers in Maplewood were the best part of my childhood. Playing with the neighborhood kids down by the river and then racing back home as the sound of the ice cream truck called to us like a dinner bell.

Those were simpler times. Days when Alex and I were just innocents, falling into our puppy love without a care of the world around us. A slight ache in my heart resurfaced at the memory. A twinge of sadness and regret. Like being homesick for a person.

“Care to talk about it?” Ozi asked. I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed he’d been studying me.

I shrugged. “Not much to tell. The truth is, I caught my boyfriend with another woman. My sister to be exact.” I took a big swig of the champagne flute I’d brought with me for our walk.

Ozi’s eyes softened. “You walked in on them? Oh, Raven. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, I can’t ever unsee that. Remember the night I ran out of the Red Apothecary? Well, I had just gotten a voicemail from him—Alex—telling me they’re getting married.”

Ozi took my hand in his. It felt soft and warm and strong. His fingers gently curled around mine, sending shivers up my spine. “I’m sorry, Raven. You deserve so much more than that. Men can be cruel and selfish. I hope I can show you different.”

I was letting my mind wander back to a time that no longer existed when I was currently having a magical moment right now. “The past is the past. Tell me about you. How did you end up here? When did you leave Italy?”

He pulled me over to a shaded spot under a great oak tree. His smile became almost dreamlike. “I came over on a boat in…” He hesitated, sighed,