<h4>Chapter 636: Chapter 636 : Waiting and Worrying</h4>


    *Caterina*


    I clutched my arms close to my chest and bit my lip in ongoing worry as I watched Elio back out of the driveway.


    Today was perfect, I thought.


    Well, at least it ‘was’ perfect until Elio received that strange call from Alessandro. I could tell from the faraway look in his eyes that it was something unexpected, but it still needed to be dealt with.


    I’d seen some of the most incredible pieces of art today with him. No one has ever gone out of their way like that to make a whole day geared around my interests. And from the looks of things, I was fairly certain that Elio had enjoyed the day too.


    Then again, I had just watched his leisurely expression change to something resembling hardened bitterness. His mood had taken aplete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn around the moment Alessandro’s name popped up on the screen of his car dash.


    Honestly, I was a bit peeved by the fact that he hadn’t just answered the call through the touch system on his car. Instead, Elio chose to take the call privately. It almost felt as though he was trying to keep something hidden from me.


    Of course, he was entitled to his privacy, but afterst night, I thought we’d reached a breakthrough with each other. Now that I knew about certain things regarding his family’s past, I was almost sure that Elio wouldn’t choose to keep me in the dark now.


    He imed the call was business rted....


    I knew a little about Elio wanting to expand his business over to Italy based on what he’d told me in the past. I loved the idea of him wanting to reach back to his family’s original roots this way. I had no doubt that his work would thrive over there the way it did here.


    But this wasn’t the feeling that this private call from Alessandro gave me. It didn’t seem energetic and opportunistic. It seemed rather cold and filled with an icy venom.


    He and I had barely spoken a word after that. We spent nearly the entire ride home inplete silence. And that was what made things even more troubling for me.


    Our fun day out together was snatched away because of some unknown news.


    ‘For God’s sake, rx,” I scolded myself. ‘Elio said that it was just business. Give him a damn chance, will you?’


    My inner voice was right. I stepped away from the window to try to find something to upy my time while Elio was off handling his own affairs. Meanwhile, my mind fought endlessly with the unruly sensation that swelled inside of me. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.


    I wanted to believe him. I needed to trust him. After the horrific and mentally draining day I’d had yesterday, I refused to think that Elio would proceed to lie to me yet again.


    All that time I spent in his arms—a feeling I didn’t know that I desperately needed—made me realize that I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to end the rtionship that we’d started together.


    Had it been anyone else’s name that appeared on the screen, I didn’t think it would have bothered me as much. But no. It was Alessandro’s.


    What little I knew, and barely understood, was that he was not a man to mess with. His stern demeanor, although softened around his family, gave me chills down my spine.


    I dropped the thought of Alessandro from my mind for the time being. I wandered into the living room and sagged back into the cushions of the couch. Reaching out for the remote, I clicked on the TV and scrolled through the various channels to find something.


    I was desperate for a distraction.


    ***


    I wasn’t sure what time it was at first. The sun had seeped well below the tree line outside, and the room grew dark. I’d send a few messages to Elio in hopes of finding out when he’d be on his way back. Nothing.


    My stomach flipped with the same anxiety I’d managed to dodge from earlier when I nced down to find that all my messages remained unread.


    Something wasn’t right.


    It wasn’t like Elio to not respond to any of my texts. If he was still in a business meeting with Alessandro, the least he could do was open one of them to show me that he at least got it.


    Still nothing.


    It was then that I made the mistake of ncing at the time under the TV. My eyes widened in disbelief. Holy shit... five hours had passed since Eliost dropped me off, and I hadn’t gotten a single word back. What if something was going on? What if something happened on his way back here?


    My nerves coiled and twisted in havoc as my mind continued to find imaginary scenarios. It wasn’t until I heard a sudden screeching sound of a tire outside that I allowed my emotions to stop spiraling in distress.


    I quickly shot up from the couch and rushed over to the window.


    Seeing Elio’s car pull into the driveway offered my nerves a much-needed reprieve. But it also ended up filling me with a severe bout of annoyance. Just as my feet were getting ready to pull me toward the front door, I stopped dead in my tracks.


    Elio was back... but he wasn’t alone.


    My heart skipped a beat as I watched Elio step out of the driver’s seat and leisurely toss his keys at Alessandro.


    ‘Elio, what the hell are you doing?’ I asked myself.


    My brows pulled together in question as the two of them parted ways. Alessandro came around the back to slide behind the wheel. Elio waved the man off and turned to head inside.


    My feet remained nted where I was standing as I heard Elio walk into the house. His deep voice echoed off the walls.


    “Cat?”


    “In here,” I called back.


    A worn expression crossed his features. “I thought I told you to always keep that door locked,” he said.


    I raised a single brow and crossed my arms over my chest. “Yeah, well, I thought that you’d be gone for all of an hour, maybe two at the very most,” I challenged back.


    Elio closed his mouth and dropped his gaze to the floor. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to find the right words to respond.


    I let out a long breath and gently shook my head. I didn’t want some random excuse. What I wanted were answers—an exnation for why he’d proceeded to spend over five hours with Alessandro and not have the decency to simply send me a text, letting me know what was going on.


    “Can I ask why you gave Alessandro the keys to your car?”


    He raised his brows, as though surprised that I would even bring up such a topic. He quickly nced between me and the window I stood next to and pieced the situation together.


    “Oh, Jesus, no, Elio. I was not stalking you from the window,” I told him dryly.


    A humorous smile touched his lips, which caused my cheeks to blush.


    “I merely heard a car pull up to the house and was wondering who it was.”


    Elio chuckled and walked up to envelop me in his arms. “Alessandro doesn’t have a rental and since I have another car, I’m letting him borrow it for the time being,” he said.


    The straining ache in my muscles gradually rxed as I melted into his touch. I let my head rest against his chest and take the moment in.


    “I was really worried,” I muttered under my breath.


    He dragged his hands along the nes of my back, rubbing in small, calming circles.


    “I know,” he said.


    I tilted my head back to look at him. “Why couldn’t you just let me know that you were okay?”


    “You’re right. I should have and I’m sorry. We got caught up in talking about possible expansions in the European market. I hadn’t realized how much had gone by until I checked the time myself,” he told me.


    Even with his exnation for histeness, I felt a strange twinge inside my gut. His voice wasn’t at all wavering in any way that would’ve signified that he was lying, yet... something seemed off.


    ‘There’s probably nothing wrong and you’re overthinking again, as usual,’ I told myself.


    Again, I wanted to believe my inner voice on this. I wanted to believe that Elio really was discussing the European market with Alessandro for nearly six goddamn hours and that nothing else was going on. Even though the nerves in my body were telling me that there was something else at y here, I fought the urge to continue to question him.


    I wanted so badly to believe that Elio wasn’t keeping things from me again. I also wanted to believe that any business that was going on between him and Alessandro was nothing more than literal ‘business.’ There was no doubt in my mind that Alessandro was a force not to be trifled with. And Elio was not foolish enough to get himself involved in something so heinous... so dangerous.


    ‘I’m going to believe what he’s telling me,’ I concluded.


    Wanting to push Alessandro and the rest of my wavering thoughts out of my head, I took a sudden step back from Elio. His eyes curiously followed me while I gestured my head toward the kitchen.


    “Come on. Let’s see if we can find something in the kitchen that I can make for dinner.”


    Elio smiled and graciously followed me.


    A short while after we were through making a mess, I gingerly ced our fettine on three separate tes. I heard my mome in. She looked exhausted from work as usual, but she was happy to see Elio and me moving about the ce together.


    “Hello, you two,” she greeted us.


    “Hi, Mom. You’re just in time. I just finished up with dinner. Come sit down.”


    The three of us took our seats at the table and fell into afortable silence. We were all about halfway through when my mother lifted her head.


    “So, New Year’s Eve in two days,” she began. “Do you two have any special ns?”


    My face instantly flushed. It was crazy to think that now my mom knew the truth about Elio and me being together.


    “Um, I was just sort of thinking about staying in that night,” I said. “We could all hang out and watch the big countdown on TV.”


    My mom smiled. “Sorry, Cat. As rxing as that sounds, I actually have a date for that night.”


    My brows raised. “Really?”


    She sheepishly nodded her head.


    “Oh, well, that’s okay. I’m d that you’re seeing other people. What’s he like?”


    She shrugged her shoulders. “His name is Robert. He’s nice, I suppose. It’s nothing too serious as of right now.”


    I had half a mind to press for a little more information, but I could tell that the woman was exhausted. My mom finished what was left of her pasta and offered to help clean up. I shook my head and softly pushed her off to her room to rest.


    I carried the dirty dishes over to the sink. Not a momentter, I felt Elio snake his arm around my waist and pull me back into his chest. My breathing grew hitched when his lips brushed the side of my ear.


    “Since your mom won’t be here, let me n a trip for us,” he suggested.