Page 186 of The Italian Obsession

“Who brought you here?” I ask as I lead her over to my chair. I sit down and pull her onto my lap.

“Maso. Have you eaten?” she asks, concerned.

“I’m not hungry.”

She pushes my hair back from my face. “You need to eat.”

I bite her nipple through her blouse. “I’ll eat you tonight.”

She smiles as she wiggles away from me. Her eyes hold mine. “I’ve been thinking, and I’ve had an idea.”

I chuckle. “Ah, the real reason you’re here.” I kiss her shoulder. “You didn’t come to see if I’d eaten. Do tell.”

“You know how we haven’t had a very good week?”

“I think that’s an understatement.” Since the day after she moved in, I’ve been in Hell. My entire life seemed to fall apart with news of Angelina.

“Well, the thing is, I don’t really like everyone around us when you’re going through stuff. I think we need privacy.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“There are too many people at Lake Como, and it’s all the time. They walk in and out of the house. They gather out the front, they gather out the back, and it feels more like an airport than our home.”

“It bothers you?”

She begins to fiddle with my tie. “More so now that you have things you are dealing with. I want us to have some time alone. We’re just starting our lives together. I don’t want us to have to share ourselves with anyone.”

I watch her as I listen.

“Can I get a small apartment in Milan for the week?”

“What?”

“I want to get a place for us. Something… different.”

I frown in confusion. “If you want to stay in Milan, we have an apartment here. In fact, we have, like, twenty.”

She shakes her head. “No, I want a place without things.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want fancy. I want to bring us back to basics, just you, me, and the clothes on our back. I want to simplify our lives completely.”

“Olivia.” I roll my eyes. “I am not staying in a dump just to prove a point.”

“It won’t be a dump.” She kisses me softly and runs her hands up the back of my neck to try and sweeten the deal. “Please?”

“Olivia,” I sigh. “This is unnecessary.”

“Baby… please? It’s just one week.”

“No.”

She bounces on my lap. “For me?”

My eyes hold hers.

“Why?”