Page 49 of Humility

“Dario, don’t fucking try that with me. You would’ve gone back if you weren’t such a loyal fucker to me. We also know you had no choice but to go, and you hated cutting off contact.” A flock of black birds took flight, and we watched them soar overhead, their wings flapping as they squawked about something.

“That doesn’t matter, we’re in this together.”

“I am not an insecure man, but fucking Enzo…he’s her type. He’s a decent guy. She deserves someone like that in her life. What can I offer her now?”

“Have you ever stopped to consider that she never wanted to marry you because you were the son of a Don?”

“You’re right, but talking her into it so she didn’t have to marry someone else doesn’t bode well either.”

I didn’t give it a second thought before I pushed Angelo hard in the chest. He yelled as he flew backward off the grassy edge and splashed hard in the stagnant water. Sluggish green crap hit my legs a second before he completely submerged.

Angelo slowly stood up with green algae hanging off his shirt and jeans and a lily pad sitting on his head. For the first time in years, I laughed. I laughed so hard that tears trailed down my cheeks, and I had to sit down.

“You fucking asshole,” Angelo said, but there was no heat to his voice, and a second later he laughed as well.

He flicked the lily pad off his head, and I held my stomach, laughing harder. One squishy footstep at a time, he walked up the bank and plopped down beside me.

“I guess I deserved that,” he said once we’d quieted down.

“Don’t ever fucking doubt yourself again. It doesn’t look good on you,” I said as I pushed myself to my feet and held out my hand. “Now let’s get you cleaned up, you fucking stink like swamp water.”

“Asshole.” Angelo smirked and slapped his hand in mine. “I do have an idea, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

Maybe I liked him better when he was unsure of himself.

Chapter Twenty-Four

JASMINE

A week had passed since Enzo moved me back into the rental house, and I’d hardly seen him since. When he did drop by, there were no lingering glances or flirting like before. Well, there was a little bit, but it was strange now. It was almost like he thought I would bite him or something. How had I managed to scare him off so quickly?

I wiped the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand and rolled out my shoulders. I looked up and down the rows set up in the greenhouse and smiled. I followed everything exactly how the book said, and it was starting to really take shape.

And bonus, at least I couldn’t make a fool of myself with the plants. Then again, maybe they would shrivel up and die to escape me.

“Stop that,” I scolded, patting the dirt softly over the last seed I planted. “That’s not why you came here, and I won’t allow moping.”

I placed my little card in the dirt that indicated this line was cucumbers and decided that was enough for today. Humming, I tugged at the gardening gloves. I needed a small radio to hang in here. I missed the extensive music selection on my phone. Hours were spent creating playlists of my favorite music or from books I loved, but there was no way to bring my phone with me. I didn’t dare open an account, even under a fake persona. I was born into the mafia and knew just how far their reach went. I couldn’t take that chance. So a cheap pay as you go burner was all I dared to have.

Opening the door to the house, I paused and looked over my shoulder at the neatly manicured boxes and smiled. There was something so satisfying about doing this. I still had a ton of work to do, including building a roadside stand, but first, I needed the fruit and veggies to grow.

I grabbed water and cheese from the fridge and a small handful of crackers for my little pets. The tank now had a nest of fabric, straw, and wood chips.

“Hey there, Hick, Dick, and Dock.” I chimed sweetly in a soft voice.

It was a little creepy whenever the large nest moved like the ball was alive and breathing. Dock poked his nose out first. It was easy to tell them apart once you got to know them.

Reaching in, I poured some water into their dish to top it off, then broke apart the crackers into tinier pieces and did the same to the cheese. By the time I finished, all three were out and happily eating.

“I know I need to get you some proper food. How about a wheel? I hear they are all the rage. I smiled as they looked up at me but continued eating. “Okay, fine maybe not, rough crowd.”

A car rumbled past, and I looked out the window, but the sound faded after the brief flash of headlights. I didn’t think I could get any lonelier than back home, but I was wrong. It was a different kind of loneliness in Italy. There were people to say good morning to or share a cup of coffee with, but here, I only had my thoughts to keep me company.

“Night, guys,” I said to my little roommates, flicking off the light as I wandered to the stairs. I wasn’t a chicken, but it was dark here. That was something else I wasn’t used to, and after the first night of complete exhaustion, I hadn’t slept well. I had a sleep aid, but I hated taking it. The medicine caused strange dreams and made me sluggish the next day.

Stepping into the bathroom, I opened the cupboard and pulled out the Absolem bottle. I needed sleep, and I could feel myself getting irrational and jumpy over nothing. Sitting the bottle aside, I quickly stripped and hopped into the shower. Tomorrow was a new day with new challenges, and I was determined to meet at least one new person in this town. Stepping out of my comfort zone was my new motto.

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