Billie stood in bedroom doorway with her coffee, watching this stranger sleep. He was so handsome he almost didn't look real. He had held her all night long, in his arms, and when she would try to move away or roll over, he would wake up and pull her to him again, and she would feel his body relax as he drifted back off to sleep. He smelled good. He smelled like cologne and soap that she hadn't smelt before. He rolled over and she gasped a little. His entire back was covered in a large tattoo of some kind of family coat of arms. There was a crown at the top with a star and what looked like an elk or deer with antlers in the middle and Italian colors. There was filigree detail swirling around the center. There were two banners, one above and one below. One said "Italy" and the other, at the bottom said "Esposito." It was a beautifully detailed tattoo that must have cost thousands and required a lot of hours. She had a couple of tattoos but nothing that large or detailed.
He began to stir and she walked out and to the kitchen.
She heard him rustling around and getting dressed. He came out and smiled, still looking sleepy, his hair a bit of a mess.
"Good morning, pretty girl." He said. He had a slight accent. One she imagined was passed down vs. acquired naturally. He most certainly was bilingual of some sort. She had taken 3 years of Italian in school. Spanish was the other option but Italian seemed so much more romantic to her. She thought she'd try it out.
"Buongiorno, bellissimo uomo." She said with a smile. His face lit up and he smiled big.
"Sei tu quello bello. Così bello, mi fa male il cuore." He said back, like it was his first language. She blushed.
She had said "Good Morning, beautiful man." To him and he responded, "You are the beautiful one. So beautiful, it hurts my heart."
"Would you like some coffee." She asked after a long silence.
"I have to go. I have... work." He said, seemingly not too happy about it. "Can I take a rain check?" He asked.
"Sure. I'd like that." She said, smiling.
"May I call you sometime?" He asked, putting on his shoes. She looked down and noticed them for the first time. They were Tom Ford. Holy shit. They were the Edgar Alligator Hand-Polished Zip Boot. She sold them on her company's website. Her previous career was working as a consultant on a designer consignment website her friend had created. It was lucrative enough that she only needed to work 20 hours a week to live comfortably on it with hers and Sean's salaries. She missed the job. It had taught her a lot about fashion and how clothes, jewelry and accessories were very much like cars, depreciating as soon as the tags came off. Those boots, brand new, were over 15,000 dollars. She looked up at him and tried to hide her shock with a smile. He smiled back.
She walked over and wrote down her number and handed it him.
"I look forward to the call." She said.
"I look forward to making it." He said back. He smiled and walked to the door. "Thank you for dinner and for... letting me stay." He said.
"Anytime, Easton. You know where to find me." She said.
"I am so glad I do." He said, leaning in and kissing her cheek and walking to his car.
It was a Land Range Rover and it looked fairly new. They weren't cheap, either. What was Easton hiding?
She closed the door and got ready for work.
++++++++++++++++++++
"That was the best night of my life." Ezra said out loud as he drove the 2 hour drive back to Tucson. He was falling for her. Hard. And there was so much he didn't know about her and she about him. Would it work? Ahhhh. He was a mess. He felt something for her. Something different. He was excited and elated yet terrified. It was all brand new to him at 29 and he felt like a child, discovering something new and shiny. He smiled. He hasn't smiled like that as long as he could remember. Holding her in his arms, she was so small and perfect. He needed to stop thinking about it. He didn't even know if she felt the same. She had pulled away from him. Was it her past or was it her feeling toward him? He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking into it so much.
He pulled up the hilled drive to Rattlesnake Canyon Road. Villa Esposito was a property unlike any other, nestled on top of a mountain, with exceptional city, mountain & valley views. Two separate, immense lots in the Catalina Foothills created 1 superbly blended 86 acre property. The 9000 square foot main house sat on 49 acres & was perched between 2 magnificent canyons. The Sports & Fitness Complex & Foundation was 5000 square feet with a Guest House on 37 acres. Both properties had mesquite hardwood flooring, natural stone, flagstone and marble with multiple patios, terraces and balconies overlooking the valley and mountain ranges. The main house had a gourmet kitchen, butlers pantry and formal dining room that flowed outside for entertaining as well as 2 Master Suites, 3 additional guest suites, 2 additional bathrooms and a library. The breathtaking views from every room were something Ezra insisted on when building the 8 million dollar home. The backyard included a wrap around covered patio with an outdoor kitchen, dining, and infinity edge pool and spa. The adjacent sports complex had a 60 foot indoor lap pool, sauna & spa and a full-sized batting cage with a professional pitching machine. Also included was a full, state of the art workout gym, kitchen, sitting area, locker room, bath and laundry. It was his dream house. Yet as he walked inside and put down his keys, he longed to be back in the tiny home where Billie was.