Turn Towards the Sun: Book Three- Forever in Bloom (The Sunflower Trilogy) (17 page)

I nod again, not able or willing to speak. I watch as my beloved turns to leave. As soon as I hear the garage door close, the pain that I feel bubbles to the surface and I throw myself face down on the couch and cry it out.

I try to compose myself but the tears keep flowing. The painful, breathing hard, rocking yourself, ugly cry that only comes from a broken heart. At this point, I don’t even know if I’m more upset about Anna and what she did or that Enzo lied to me.

Pulling myself off the couch, I go in our bedroom and lie down. My phone buzzes indicating a text.

Enzo:
I am at Girasole.

Me:
Okay.

Enzo:
Will you be at work tomorrow?

Me:
Unlikely.

Enzo:
I’m dying without you.

Me:
I haven’t left.

Enzo:
Yet.

Me:
I just need some time alone.

Enzo:
I don’t deserve your forgiveness but I do pray that somehow I receive it.

I close my eyes. I can’t do this even via text. He has a way of melting my defenses. I don’t want him to suffer, but I do need him to understand that what he did affected me deeply.

Me:
I’ll talk to you soon.

Enzo doesn’t respond for several minutes. I know he is doing everything he can to avoid coming back here. Finally, he replies.

Enzo:
I love you, Ava. Per sempre

Me:
I know

I roll over and stare out the French doors to our idyllic backyard. This house and that man were my refuge from a crazy world. Now I fear the crazy is going to follow me wherever I go. I have a major decision to make. Can I move forward and deal with what is going to come and I can I find a way to trust my husband again? These two thoughts plague my mind as I fall into a restless sleep.

LYING ON THE bed in my hotel room, I wrack my brain trying to recall what happened that damn night in Vegas. In my heart I don’t believe anything happened between us, but damn it if I can remember anything. I exhausted every possible test to make sure I didn’t contract anything from that whore and paid a small ransom to have the test results expedited. It’s a small solace to know that I’m untainted. Still, I don’t know the extent of what occurred that night and it’s driving me mad.

Now Ava knows I lied and I deserve her rage. I did everything I could to keep this from affecting her and it backfired. All she knows now for certain is that I lied to her. I roll over on my side and catch a glimpse of Camelback Mountain out of the French doors in my room. That woman is everything to me and she has rightfully pushed me away. I pray I can find a way to help her understand that I thought I was doing the right thing.

“HEY, AVA.” I look up as Cassie’s voice greets me where I sit on the back porch. “Where’s Prince Charming?”

“He had some work to do,” I say, completely lying.

“Cool. What are you up to today?”

“I’m not sure. I have a headache so I’m just resting.” At least that much is true.

“You alright?” she asks.

“Mostly.”

Cassie stares at me with a suspicious look on her face. She knows me all too well. “Did you guys have a fight or something?”

Or something
. “Yeah.”

“Well, it’s normal, even for the two of you. It can’t be all sunshine and rainbows all the time.”

Her comment makes me want to scream but I’m not at all ready to tell her what’s happening. I smile weakly and sip my coffee.

“I’m off to work,” she says. “Unless you need me to stay here with you.”

“No, Cass. I’m fine.”

“Okay, but if you need me just let me know. Chris and I are gonna run around town after my last appointment.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay, Ava.”

“Yeah,” I say. I can’t be sure that’s true yet.

My phone buzzes again and I pick it up to read my texts as Cassie leaves for the day.

Enzo:
I miss you so much. I didn’t sleep at all.

Me:
I barely slept.

Enzo:
Ava, I love you.

Doesn’t he understand that this isn’t about his love for me?! How I wish that love alone would solve this problem.

Me:
I know that.

Enzo:
When you are ready to see me just say the word and I’m there.

Me:
I know that too.

I finish my coffee and walk into the bathroom for a much needed shower. As I stand under the hot water, I’m taken over again by tears. I realize that this is so much more than just Anna. My mind rushes back to the little baby that left me too soon and I sob, clutching my stomach, and leaning against the shower tiles for support. Will there ever be a time I don’t feel this pain and sadness?

After my shower, I lie on our bed feeling weak and tired. I know that I can’t just cocoon myself in my house and hope all my problems go away, but I really want to. My phone rings, startling me. I look at the caller id and see it’s Grayson.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Milano, it’s Grayson. There is a security concern at the house this morning and Mr. Milano is on his way back home.”

“What kind of concern?” I ask, alarmed as I sit upright in bed.

“We saw a suspicious vehicle driving around the property this morning. When one of the guards approached, the car took off.” He pauses for a moment. “I understand there is some concern that Anna may be attempting to get to you and Mr. Milano.”

“Yes, that’s true.

“Well don’t be worried. There is plenty of security at the house right now. Marisa and I are on the way.”

“Enzo is coming?”

“Yes, ma’am, just to check things out.”

I know from his tone that he’s aware of what happened between Enzo and me. It makes sense that Enzo would confide in him though.

“Okay, thank you for calling.” I hang up the phone and get dressed quickly, then pace back and forth waiting for everyone to arrive.

Enzo arrives first, which is no surprise to me. He enters the house and walks briskly down the hall into the living room where I wait. When he sees me, his eyes fill with tears, which he quickly wipes away. I want to run to him but make myself stop.

“Ava, are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes, I wasn’t aware of anything until Grayson called.”

“We need to make sure it’s safe to be here. The gate and the security helped, but I want more than that.”

A knock at the door gets our attention. Enzo lets Grayson and Marisa in and the security discussions begin. This is by far the heaviest detail we’ve had. We will have armed security at the house every day, at all the hotels, and I will have bodyguards. Anna was the last thing I ever thought I would have to deal with again. It’s become clear to me that she will go to any length possible to get to Enzo. That knowledge chills me to the bone.

“Enzo, I’m afraid,” I announce as everyone turns to look at me.

“I know, Ava. It upsets me greatly that you were left unprotected. I assure you that I will resolve that today.”

I nod actually thankful for the increase in security. Being caught alone is the worst possible thing I can do when it comes to Anna.

“Enzo, I want to speak to you alone for a moment,” I say.

Grayson and Marisa excuse themselves. Enzo walks towards me in an attempt to hug me but I hold my hand out again. I need to get this out first. “I need you to promise me that you will talk to me and treat me as the partner you say I am. I thought we resolved this over the book drama, but let me make sure we are clear. You cannot keep things from me in an effort to protect me. I have just as much right to know what is happening as you do. Promise me, Enzo.”

“I promise, Ava. I stupidly thought I could find her and get the situation taken care of sooner than this.” He walks towards me again and this time I let him. “I wish there were enough words to express to you how sorry I am that this is happening, bella.”

“I just hope we get it resolved quickly.”

“As do I. We need to talk about us.”

“We can do that later. For now, let’s just deal with the task at hand.”

“I hope that answer means there is still an ‘us’ to talk about.”

“Of course there is, Enzo. Do you think I’m just going to walk out on you? Surely, you give me more credit than that?”

“I give you more credit than you know.”

I shift my eyes away, not wanting to gaze into the deep blue beauty looking back at me. I need to keep a clear head. “I think you should call Grayson and Marisa back in now.”

“Okay, amore.”

Grayson and Marisa return and we all discuss our next steps. There is a security detail at the house, at each hotel, for each car ride- a protocol must happen to ensure my safety. Grayson or another bodyguard will always drive me whenever I’m not with Enzo.

“Do you think Francesca is in any kind of danger?” I ask. “Or any of our friends for that matter? We don’t know what her objective is this time and she could attempt to hurt anyone close to Enzo too.”

Enzo sighs. “I didn’t even think of that. You’re right.”

“I think we need to get others involved in this conversation- at a minimum Cassie and Francesca.”

“I agree, amore. I’ll call Checca.”

“I’ll call Cass.” I dial Cass and explain that she should come home as soon as possible. She informs me she will finish up and get Chris to pick her up and head home.

Moments later, Checca arrives in a flurry- her voice filling the air with frantic Italian as she stomps towards the living room.

“What is happening? Neither of you would answer your phone. I was worried.”

“We’re fine, Checca,” I answer. As much as we can be, I suppose. “You need to be involved in this discussion.”

“Yes, what is happening?”

“Ava made a good point that you could also be in danger.” Enzo says. “Anna could be angry with you as well and attempt to harm you. We need to discuss security measures.”

Francesca nods and sits on the couch. In the middle of all this my phone rings, startling me. Glancing at the caller ID, I see Gabby’s number displayed.

“Hey, Gabby,” I answer.

“Hey there. I was checking if we were still on for lunch today?”

“Oh shit. I forgot. You won’t believe what happened and I’m still at the house.”

“What’s going on?” she asks.

“Anna called me and well, it’s even worse than that.”

“Shit, Ava. Seriously? Do you need me to do anything?”

“I might later. Right now, we’re just figuring out shit. I will definitely have a security detail around me again though, just like Italy.”

“It’s like that?”

“Yep. It’s like that. Sorry about lunch. I’ll make it up to you.”