Dante’s Girl (The Paradise Diaries #1)(53)
Author: Courtney Cole

The world doesn’t get any better than this.

Chapter Twenty-Four

To: Becca Cline <[email protected]

From: Reece Ellis <[email protected]

Subject:  OHMYWORD

Becks,

I told him I loved him. And he said it back.  I can’t wait for you to meet him.  You’re going to love him, too.

Xoxo,

Reecie

PS

Don’t mention this to my mom.  I don’t want her texting me twenty times a day for details.

I’m still floating on a cloud.

I barely slept last night, even after being driven back to Giliberti House in the carriage under the stars.  Actually, especially after being driven back in a carriage under the stars.  Dante’s arm was wrapped around me the entire way home.

I was awake when the sun came up and started shining in my windows.  I carried my coffee out to my balcony and curled up at my bistro table, hoping that Dante would come out to his.

But he didn’t.

And I don’t have the guts to slip into his room.

Not yet.

I thought about it.

In the night, when I couldn’t sleep and I was staring at my ceiling and the moon was passing across my walls and the shadows were moving along the floor, I thought about it. I won’t lie.  

But then I thought the better of it.

Marionette is a force to be reckoned with.  And I have a feeling that she would know the second that I crossed the threshold and there would be hell to pay.  She’s sweet and adorable, but Dante wasn’t lying when he said that she runs Giliberti House with an iron fist.  It may be tiny, but it’s still iron.

I smile as I cross the room to leave and then I stop still in front of my door.

And smile wider.

There is a white linen envelope lying in front of my door.  Someone slipped it underneath. And I can tell from the scrawling bold script exactly who that someone was.  The fact that Dante chose to write me an old-fashioned note instead of texting me turns my insides to jelly.  It’s just one of those little quirks about him that fascinate me.

I open it up.

Good morning, little Sunflower.

I hope you slept well.  I had an amazing evening with you last night.  I hope to do it again soon, if you will have me.

I have to make a quick trip into Valese to see my father.  I promise that I will drive carefully and I will be back after lunch.

I love you.

D.

Several things about this note make me happy.

He calls me his Sunflower.  And that makes me happy.

He had fun last night.  And that makes me happy.

He actually thought to reassure me that he will drive carefully and that makes me happy.  It shows that he is thinking about my feelings.  And that makes me super happy.

And he says that he loves me.  That makes me so, so, so freaking happy.

Oh- and last, he signs it with a simple D.  Not DGG like his previous notes.  It seems more intimate and personal.

Reece and Dante.

Dante and Reece.

D and R.

We’re a couple.

We’re really happening.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and try to just for a while, think of things other than Dante. It’s hard.  But I give it the old college try.

I have breakfast with Mia and Marionette in the kitchen.  It’s so much more casual in there rather than the dining room.  And after we stuff ourselves full of fresh croissants, Mia and I pile into the cart and head for the shop.

“So, you didn’t end up doing anything last night?” I ask doubtfully.

She shakes her head.

“Nope.  After we left the yacht, Vincent was pretty tired so we just went home.  It was sort of a let-down. But there will be other nights.  Trust me.”

She waggles her eyebrows and I am laughing as we round the final curve.

And there, standing on the side of the factory, is Vincent.

And he is talking with Nate Geraris.

What the hell?

Vincent is sweaty and dirty, like he’s been in the fields already.  Nate, with his white blonde hair and ice blue eyes and his buttoned up shirt and loafers, is pristine and clean and I know he’s never been near a field or manual labor in his life.

The little worm.

But what the eff is he doing here?  Just because he came for the obligatory visit to Dante’s hospital room, does not let him off the hook for being a jerk.  He bruised my arm, he lied to Dante. And there’s something about him that just isn’t right. That’s what my gut tells me.

Although, to be fair, my gut could just be angry about the bruise.

“What’s he doing here?” I hiss to Mia.

“I’ve got nothing,” she tells me. “I have no idea.  I haven’t heard from him since he pissed Dante off.”

“I haven’t seen him since he came to the hospital with his father to see Dante,” I say as I unconsciously rub at where my bruise used to be.  It’s long gone so I have no idea why I’m rubbing at it.

“How was he at the hospital, anyway?” Mia asks as she unlocks the front door of the shop.

“Polite.  That’s pretty much it. He knew that Dante was still pissed, so he pretty much just said hello and waited while his father visited.”

I look over my shoulder and Nate’s cold blue eyes are staring at me through the window. And HonestToGod, I feel like shivering. Because his eyes are just that cold.

“I don’t like him,” I mutter to Mia.  “I just don’t.”

“Not many do,” she says cheerfully as she empties out the cash drawer and turns on the various machines.

“What in the world is he talking to Vincent about?” I muse as I cut pieces of cheese into bite-size samples.  “It’s not like they run in the same circles.”

“Probably nothing,” Mia answers.  “I’m guessing that he came to find Dante and just bumped into Vincent.”

I turn back around to look and both Vincent and Nate are gone.

Mia could be right.

But somehow, I just don’t think so. A little niggling doubt in me flares up and I honestly just don’t think so.

A few hours later, I find that I honestly just don’t care.  Nate is long gone from my mind.

I’ve been texting with Becca all morning.  Her mom finally agreed to let her come.  So in another three weeks, she’ll be here.  And I can’t wait. Cannot. Wait.  I chatter excitedly to Mia.