The Italian's Fake Fiancée

34

Leo stared at the girl and wondered how he should ask the question.

It would be tactless to ask her why she had been hugging Alberto because then it would reveal he had been watching them for long before he came down.

With a gloomy face, Leo asked, "So what did you and Alberto do today?"

She stared up at him. "Hmm?"

"The tour? What sights did Alberto show you?"

After saying that, an unexplainable joy entered her eyes, and she spun around with eyes full of excitement. Facing Leo, her back to their path. 

"You don't know?" Leo stared at her and she grinned. "Alberto took me on a tour around the estate. Oh, it was wonderful, I was fully able to see the structure of the palazzo, the pool too." She snapped her fingers together.

"I went down to the cellar. I didn't know you guys had the winery nearby," she said giddy with excitement "And the skill with which Alberto drove the car, the speed, and the cold wind on my skin were so exhilarating i didn't want it to stop," the girl muttered so passionately. "I have never felt anything like it." 

Seeing the glow in Paige's eyes and the excited look on her face, Leo's face gradually darkened as he picked up on one word she had used several times. She said 'Alberto' and not 'your cousin.' And why didn't he think of that earlier? He should have been the one to take her on the damn tour. Damn it.

When will she ever smile at him like that, with such intense joy on her face?

As Paige continued to praise Alberto and the tour, Leo didn't think he could take it anymore.
He was in danger of exploding.

"*Basta*!" He gritted out through clenched teeth. "I think I have heard enough."

"What did you say?" Her blond head turned in his direction. Obviously she had not heard him.

Leo sighed. "I said you might fall if you keep walking backward as you are doing now."

"You think so?" She sighed and turned the proper way, immediately Leo grabbed her hand and held it in his own. The girl didn't protest, but he saw her sneak a glance at him.

In silence, the duo walked along the grassy path that led to the vineyard and Leo stared at the girl's head. Intensely aware of the tension her nearness created. She was wearing a tank top and denim shorts, a pair of sneakers, and a small bag crossed over her shoulders, her blond hair in a messy bun. She was dressed more like a college student than an assistant, and it made her look so young and adorable — and equally exposed.

He wanted to use his jacket and cover her body but then that action would seem so unlike him it would bring forth question he wasn't ready to answer.

With great effort, he pulled that hand that been itching to do that thought inside his pocket, and the other one which was holding her hand tightened. She looked up at him but he did already assumed an expressionless mask, blank and empty that would reveal nothing of his intentions.

It would be alright to say he was holding his breath as her eyes lingered on his face, on his nose, mouth, and then pulled away.

Soon they arrived at the vineyard and Leo stared at the land he loved so much and felt his anger and jealousy slowly slip away from him. Nothing else could do such a thing to him aside from the land he loved so much.

He stared at the dirty brown earth, the rows of grapevines supported by a trellis system. The purple clusters of grapes contrast against the greens, yellows, and browns of the vine and beckoned Paige to come.