Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“I researched jukeboxes online last night so I’d know what to look for, and then I searched for any that were for sale in Southern California. That one was in an antique store right here in San Diego. I went and took a look at it as soon as the shop opened this morning. It’s been fully refurbished and it sounds great, so I bought it. But if you don’t like it, or if you had your heart set on something else—”
“No, it’s absolutely perfect. Thank you, Tory.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“Are you still in town?”
“Yes. I got something to eat after I left the antique store, and then I went for a walk. I’m in a huge park now with a lot of tourists.”
“Stay with me tonight,” I said. “It’s already Thursday, so you’d just be driving up and coming right back for our date this weekend.”
“I’d love to.”
“Okay, good. I’ll see you soon then, but first, I have to ask. What made you decide to do this?”
“I care about you, and I want you to be happy, Arie. That means everything to me.”
I couldn’t help but grin. No matter what he’d said the night before about keeping things as they were, he’d just shown me his cards. He might not be ready to call it a relationship, but he was in this as deep as I was.
10
Salvatore
I was starting to relax. Bit by bit, I found myself letting my guard down. It was the beginning of August. Several weeks had passed since I’d moved into the flat Dante had rented for me, and since I’d gotten my new IDs. The thought of being hunted wasn’t pressing on me like it once had.
Even so, I still felt like I was in limbo—like it was too soon to make plans, or put down roots, or take this thing with Arie to the next level.
It was ridiculous to try to claim we were casually dating. This had turned into a relationship, no doubt about it, and he meant the world to me. But when he’d tried to talk about it, I ended up stalling for time.
I just felt like I needed some sort of resolution to my predicament before Arie and I could move forward. Dante was still digging into Ashcroft, with the hope of finding some sort of leverage to use against him. If he didn’t find anything, I had no idea what I was going to do. A man as rich and powerful as Ashcroft had unlimited resources. If he wanted to make me pay for my part in ripping him off, there was no reason to think he’d call off his thugs and stop looking for me any time soon.
Not that I should be dwelling on that this weekend. I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind as I double-checked the address Arie had given me and pulled into a steep driveway.
I was in a beach city called San Clemente, roughly halfway between L.A. and San Diego. Up until now, I’d been the one to plan and pay for all of our dates. That was perfectly fine with me, of course, but Arie had wanted to take over this weekend.
I parked in front of a pretty, Mediterranean-style house, which sat off by itself at the end of a quiet residential neighborhood in the foothills. Arie had found it on a vacation rental site two weeks ago, and he’d been very excited about the two of us spending the weekend here.
As I started to walk up to the door with my overnight bag and a canvas shopping bag, Arie stepped onto the front porch. He tried to look stern as he asked, “What did we agree to?”
“That I’d let you pay for everything this weekend.”
He pointed at the shopping bag. “Then what’s that?”
“I brought wine, but that’s just me being a good guest and bringing a gift for my host.”
Arie grinned at me. “Leave it to you to find a loophole.”
When I reached him, I said, “This place is beautiful.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet!” He took the overnight bag from me, and then he grabbed my hand and towed me inside. The interior was bright and pretty, with an open floor plan and lots of natural light. As we cut through the house, he told me, “There’s a gourmet kitchen, a huge tub in the master bath, and a game room with a pool table and a bunch of other fun stuff. But the very best part is right out here.”
He put down my bag, and I placed the wine tote next to it before following him out the sliding glass door at the back of the house. “There’s a pool and hot tub, obviously,” he said, as he gestured around the beautifully landscaped backyard, “and an outdoor kitchen, complete with a pizza oven. How cool is that? And look around! We have total privacy back here, which is very good news, because we also have this.”