Quiet Wealth by J.L. Drake

“Thank you. I’m unsure how I can breathe at all.” I laughed along with the lady I was chatting with, who had pointed out how tight my dress was. She wasn’t wrong. If I wasn’t used to dressing this way, I would have heaved over.

“Well,” Mariano huffed by my side, “I wanted you to meet my business partner, but he needs to do his part up there first.” He nodded toward the podium.

“That’s all right. I can wait.” I sipped my drink, enjoying myself in a room full of high fashion and good times. It had been too long since I’d let loose and done something that wasn’t calculated to the tenth degree.

“There he is.” I followed where he was pointing and did a double take at the man with a killer smile onstage.

The crowd whistled and cheered. They obviously loved him, and even the men seemed to be under his spell.

“Welcome.” He smiled, feeding off the room’s vibe. “I could stand up here and thank you all for coming, but I think my uncle did that already, so instead, let’s have some,” his gaze swept across the crowd and suddenly landed on me, “fun…” His word trailed off, and I nearly dropped my glass. “Ah.” He struggled to find his words while I struggled to breathe.

This couldn’t be real.

He couldn’t be real.

No one had said his name yet. Maybe it wasn’t really…Elio. “I’m sorry.” His eyes were locked onto mine, both of us stuck in a strange point in time. “Please be sure you eat lots, that your drink is never empty, and that you bid on anything here that might pique your interest. After all, all the proceeds are for St. Paul’s Church. Cheers!” The crowd went wild as he hopped off the stage.

“That was odd.” Mariano shrugged and sipped his drink.

“Mariano,” my throat was dry as sand, “what is your friend’s name?”

“Elio Capri.”

A puff of air escaped my lungs, and I felt the Earth tilt slightly. Then something strange passed through me. I knew he was there. I could feel his presence deep in my chest, sending it into a dangerous chaos of butterflies. It was like an addiction. The craving was starting to spread, and my will to stay away was being tested.

I scanned the faces in the crowd, eliminating them one by one, while my heart played tug of war with itself.

“Are you all right?” Mariano leaned down too close, and I struggled not to jerk back. “You seem nervous.”

“No,” I barely breathed, “I think I just need some air.”

“I’ll take you outside.”

“No.” I froze as I spotted his dark eyes at the bar. I blinked to see if he was real, and he was gone.

I can’t do this.

“Would you mind if I stepped away alone for a moment? I think the wine may have gone to my head.”

He seemed uncomfortable with me leaving by the way his jaw flexed.

“Of course.” He lowered his eyes and waited for me to leave.

“Thanks.” My exit couldn’t happen soon enough. I needed to get out of there. Gathering my dress in my hands and utilizing the high slit in my skirt, I rushed for the door.

My heart thumped so hard it made me lightheaded.

I felt disoriented and bumped several shoulders as I made my way out, desperate to find some space. I stumbled backward and turned when I was suddenly face to face with him.

“You’re not real,” I barely whispered, sure he was going to disintegrate into the air.

The dark eyes that had held me prisoner since I was very young seemed to carry many secrets. Time had been good to Elio. Just as time had in its turn slowly picked away at my core, reminding me that I had been left alone in the wake of his existence. He seemed uneasy.

I shook my head and tried to ignore how dangerous and sexy he had become. His dark suit and crisp white shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders gave him an elegant look. His light beard suited him and matched his jet back hair that he wore slightly long and was gelled back.

“Sienna,” Mariano handed me a glass of water, “I thought you could use this.”

“Thank you.” I turned to take it, and when I turned back, Elio was gone.

“Did you still want to go outside, or do you feel fine now?” I couldn’t help but hear his annoyance that I left him on the dance floor.

“Let me use the powder room, and I’ll meet you back at the table.”

He nodded and leaned in for a kiss. I tensed, and I knew he felt it.

What was he doing?

“Are you always this tightly wound when you party?” he whispered, drawing away.

“I think I’m confused with what you were about to do.” I nervously forced a laugh. “I just need a moment.” I hated that I felt the need to justify my feelings to someone.

“Well, I’ll be over there when you return.”

He left, and I let out an unsteady breath on my way down the marble hallway. Arched windows provided a beautiful view of the Olympic swimming pool that was lit with a thousand floating lights. I couldn’t help but recall the last time I saw a setup like this.

Stop.

I pushed open the powder room door, only to find it was crowded inside. Girls were spraying a boatload of hairspray and some God-awful perfume.

No, thanks.

Instead, I turned on my heel and headed down another hallway, hoping to find a quiet place to digest my thoughts.

Three turns later, and I thought I heard Piero’s voice. My feet moved in that direction, knowing that if I saw him, I would know this was real. Huge double doors were at the end of a hallway, and I stopped outside, unsure what I was going to say. What if he didn’t want to see me? Or what if it wasn’t him?

“That’s not how he should die!” someone yelled, and my hand retracted from the handle. “He deserves to feel the pain of all those he tortured.”

“I think a little trip down to the beach wouldn’t hurt anyone,” another voice chimed in.

None of this was meant for my ears. I stepped back then heard someone heading in my direction.

“Damn.” I spotted a small restroom and slipped inside, only to have someone come right up behind and press against me as the door clicked shut. The light was off, but the glow from under the mirror was just enough to know it was him.

“Sienna.” My name sounded like velvet. My knees trembled, and I locked them in place.

“Elio,” I whispered back, “how…” I trailed off when his lips brushed over the back of my shoulder and one hand slowly slid down my dress to the top of the slit, brushing it aside. In a moment of weakness, I gave in, closed my eyes, and allowed my head to fall back against his chest. His hand brushed the inside of my thigh, skimming my thong. My breasts strained against the fabric of my dress as his finger commanded my chin to turn to look up at him.

“Is this real?” he whispered.

“No,” I answered, caught up in his spell.

“Kiss me,” he hovered over my lips, “so I know it is.”

I snapped out of the moment, and I tried to move, but his muscles locked, trapping me in his hold.

“Elio…” I shook my head and pushed on his arms to free myself. I slipped around him and escaped the little room. Once around the corner, I held on to the wall.

“Holy…” I took a moment then started the hike back to the party.

“There you are.” Mariano stepped away from his friends. “Come, I want you to meet a few people.”

What? I was spinning.

Names went in and out of my head. I plastered on a smile and tried to be as polite as possible, which was hard because I could still hear Elio’s voice in my head as he said my name. It repeated over and over and nearly brought me to tears.

“Wow, son, she’s just gorgeous.” I blinked back my thoughts and tuned in to who was in front of me.

“Sienna Giovanna, this is my father Roberto.”

His father? I wasn’t in the right headspace to meet his father right now.

“Lovely to meet you.” The very large man smiled approvingly at his much younger wife.

Roberto set his drink down on the table and stepped closer to me. “I’d really like to have a few moments alone with you, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Sure,” Mariano answered for me.

I wanted to protest, but Roberto took me by the elbow and steered me out of the party room. He didn’t say anything as he escorted me outside to the opening in the garden that led to a giant water fountain. I fought not to trip over my feet. I was caught up in a storm inside my head at the very worst of times. The noise inside became consuming, and I tried to silence it, but it took a tremendous amount of effort.

“I can tell my son likes you,” he finally said. Yes, I discovered that tonight, too. “How long have you known one another?”

“Just a few weeks.”

“Has he shared anything with you?”

“Ah,” I tried to pay attention, “such as?”

“Such as what he does for a living?”

I squinted confused. “Well, yes, that’s how we met.”

He smiled like he was happy with my answer.

“I read the article about you in Fab Magazine. I understand your past, and I think you would have a place here in our lives.”

“Okay…” I still felt that I was missing half the conversation.

“A beautiful woman, with a difficult past, and no family. I feel that you could perhaps use some love in your life?” He stepped closer, and I felt my walls flinch to shoot up. “If our son likes you, that means we like you, Sienna. Will you join us for dinner tomorrow?”

What if I don’t feel the same way about your son? As the thought ran through my head, given the present company, I thought it might be best to be polite and go along with the invitation.

“I would like that, thank you.” I tried to catch up with all that was coming at me this evening.

“Wonderful.” His smile was as wide as he was. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

“Me too.”

“We should get back.” He pressed his freezing hand against my back to direct me ahead of him. I cringed at the contact.

“Do you mind if I take a moment? I’ll meet you inside.”

“Certainly.”

I waited a beat and let the events of the night wash over me for a few minutes. I decided I had better get back to Mariano, but as I hit the bottom of the stairs, I felt him before I saw him and looked up to see Elio with his hands in his pockets watching me from one of the balconies.

Breathe, Sienna. Breathe.