Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Forty minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. I open the door and I’m greeted by a man dressed in all black.

“Miss Maddison?” He asks me as he removes his sunglasses from his face and tucks them into his breast pocket on the inside of his jacket.

“Let me guess, You're with Luca?” I ask unimpressed.

Sheesh.. where does he find these guys? He looks like he’s just stepped out of a movie.

“That’s correct, My name is Anton.” He straightens and puts his hands behind his back.

“At ease soldier.” I roll my eyes and open the door wider.

“Who will be driving the car back?” I ask him as I go to retrieve the keys on the dining room table.

“Derry is waiting down the bottom in the car. He has strict instructions to bring the B.M.W back without a scratch.” He takes the keys as I offer them to him.

“I haven’t filled the tank up yet...”

“That will be taken care of.  Now, are you and Miss Johnston ready to check out?”  He politely cuts me off.

“Yup, our bags are in the room.” I point to where our bags sit on the floor.

“Is it okay if I go in there to retrieve them?” He asks.

“Yes, you have my permission.”

I walk out to the balcony where Chrissy’s been soaking up the morning sun since we finished our breakfast.

“Our bodyguards here to escort us back to Auckland,” I say quietly not wanting Anton to hear me.

“Let's get this show on the road then shall we?” She stands up slipping her feet into her ballet shoes and picks up the book she had been reading.

“Can’t wait to see Conrad.” A glint of excitement flashes across her face.

“No time like the present.” I dramatically sigh.

Every passing minute brings me closer to seeing Luca and causes my stomach to do somersaults with growing suspense.

We check out of the hotel room with Anton lurking in the background the whole time. The guy takes his job very seriously, Good for him. At least I know Luca only hires the best of the best. It gives me comfort knowing Rosalia and Gio have been safe.

We go from the Hotel to the Airport, we are driven around the back to the private bay area. There awaits is a small white plane with the name “Venturi” Splashed across it.

The inside is very luxurious, with white leather seats up the front with glasses of wine resting on top of a table. I look further down and there is a white sofa with fluffy cushions spread along with it. On the wall sits a ridiculously large Plasma T.V, it's so big you can see your whole reflection in it.

I pick up a glass of wine and take it to the back where the sofa awaits. Chrissy picks up her glass of wine and follows me, we sit and take a sip of the chilled wine and a middle-aged lady walks up to us and asks us if there is anything she can do or get us. We politely tell her we're fine and we won't be troubling her for the remainder of the flight.

We only intend to enjoy one glass of wine throughout the short flight back. Wine is a perfect Anxiety depressant, it loosens the mind and the radiating tension coursing through my body, with every sip swallowed. Chrissy and I Chat about her and Conrad, her job and what I plan to do once I get back to work. I tell her I haven’t decided if I want to continue working as a teacher or if I want to pursue another path that will etch out my own life story instead. I can't carry on living in Celeste’s shadow.

All these years I strived to succeed, hoping it would bring me one step closer to my deceased sister. But after I've recently learned that her heart still beats in my niece. The passion I had to strive for has slowly burnt out, the passion no longer serves its purpose and I feel like a big fraud. I have grown to love my Care Bears very much. But I struggle with my demons and I'm afraid those demons will soon surface and destroy everything I love.

The flight back passes in no time, we land at the Auckland airport and exit the jet. I slowly descend the stairs and glance up. I spot Conrad standing by his pickup truck and Luca leaning against the Beast looking effortlessly sexy.

Prick...

The moment my feet touch the concrete, Chrissy slightly pushes me out of the way and makes a run for it towards Conrad’s open and waiting arms. And just like the movies, she runs straight into those wide,  open arms and he picks her up off her feet swirling her around,  kissing her hungrily on the lips.

I slowly walk towards Luca trying to avoid those intense green eyes I can feel burning through my soul. The hundred-metre walk towards him feels like a lifetime away and when I finally reach him, I stand in front of him and greet him.

“Hi,” I say to him softly looking up and meeting those piercing eyes.

“Hi.” His eyes search mine.

He lifts his hand and places it under my jaw and gently strokes his thumb along my cheek.

I lean into his touch and allow my body to enjoy his soft caress just this once. After a few seconds of indulging in his warmth, I straighten and take a step back drawing an imaginary line between us.

Do not pass go and collect the hunk-of-spunk before you.

“Can we please go to see Rosalia?” I ask him with both fear and excitement coursing through my body.

“I’ve missed you.” He says softly and lightly plants a kiss on both sides of my cheek.

He opens the door and waits for me to be seated comfortably before he closes it and gets in on the other side. His phone starts to ring, he looks at me as he reaches into his breast pocket and answers it.  I slightly shift my body and look out the window. Being this close to him again makes me vaguely forget why I can't be with him, the rejection and sadness are too overwhelming for me to push aside.

“Vanessa.” His voice breaks through my trance of deep thought.

I shift, turning my body towards him and look at him without a word spoken.

“Rosalia has gone sightseeing and won't be back till later on this afternoon. I have an urgent matter that I need to attend to, so I will take you to my penthouse and you can wait there for me till I return.” His eyes search my face looking for any reaction to his statement.

“Would it be too much to ask for you to just drop me off at home?  I can unpack and wait for you there?” I ask him doing my best not to show the disappointment I’m currently feeling.

“ If that’s what you want.” He scowls at me.

“ It is, I have a few things I need to take care of as well.”

“Okay, I should only be two hours max.” He says softly.

“Take your time Luca, I’m not going anywhere. If it's an urgent matter it shouldn’t be rushed.”

“Si, you’re right. But it doesn’t mean I should be longer than two hours.” He winks at me before he tells the driver my home address.