Santi's Downfall

Chapter 36: The Moonlight

You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.

Gary Allan

Haven Pierce's POV

After our conversation in the living room, Santi and I shared dinner. I still couldn't believe the sudden turn of events that happened today. There was so much happiness in my heart right now that I feared it was only a dream and I would wake up only to realize that it wasn't true.

After our dinner, we decided to enjoy a bottle of wine in the garden since the weather was fine. I liked the summer in California though it can be warm and mostly dry during the day late-night and early-morning temperatures were usually low.

"When do you plan to go back to Sicily?" I asked conversationally, sipping my wine faintly. I still wasn't used to the taste of red wine. I don't know if I like it or not.

His upper lips curved with a smile. "Why? Excited to get rid of me?"

I could feel that my cheeks were warming up. Is that how I sound to him? "No!" I immediately denied it, combing my hair nervously. "Of course, not."

"I like your new hair color it suits you more than the previous one." He commented, glancing at my newly colored hair.

"Really?" My face brightened in his direction, looking down at my dusky pink hair hanging down to my side. "Do you like it? I just thought of retouching the roots of my hair since my natural hair started to be noticeable when I went to the salon but I ended up changing my hair to a different shade of pink."

"I am just curious," he remarked offhandedly. "Why did you decide to color your hair?"

"At first, I was just going to this phase of trying something new I decided to try dyeing my hair with unusual hair color for a change. I didn't expect that I would love my new edgy look and continue to dye my hair since then."

"Is pink the only color you try?"

I felt my lips twitching with a smile. "Nope. Before I went to pink I tried platinum blonde, then grey before finally setting to pink."

"I think you look beautiful whatever color your hair is," Santi said while staring straight into my eyes. There was something about his stare now that I found I bit unsettling. He wasn't starting in an inappropriate way but I still found myself a little bit uneasy.

Am I nervous? But why?

"Do you have schedule plans for the weekend?" He raised the question after a while when silence filled the atmosphere.

I tilted my side to the side a little while looking at him questioningly. "I have none. Why do you ask, anyway?"

He smirked gorgeously in my direction which made my heart flip in my chest. He shouldn't be allowed to have such an effect on me it simply wasn't fair. "I am thinking of asking you to join me on a trip overseas."

"Is this work-related?"

He shook his head, while the sexy smile was still fixed on his face. "No. I want to whisk you away for a weekend getaway. Are you up for that?" When I gave him a dubious look, he instantly added. "I will not take advantage of you if that's your thinking. I will not touch you without your consent I assure you. I just want to take you on a trip."

"Where?"

"In a small but rich country in the Middle East." He supplied with excitement on his face. "I will take you to Saqr."

Oh, I've never been to the Middle East before this might be a good opportunity to experience their culture. I was always fascinated by Middle Eastern culture maybe this was not a bad idea to accept his offer. "Sounds exciting. Have you been there before?"