He wasn’t just my husband, he was my best friend. He was always the one I talked to. I don’t think I’d told Alessandro a story in our entire relationship that he didn’t listen to with heightened anticipation, like everything that was interesting to me was also interesting to him. The realization that our relationship wasn’t there anymore crushed me. I thought about Ricky phoning it in while I tried to tell him the same story, and decided I was probably going to end up keeping it to myself. In the blink of an eye, I was depressed again and just wanted to go home and go to bed.
“Are you really moving to Harpswell?”
My head shot up at the question. No one knew that the Varassos were relocating to Harpswell. We’d all been specifically careful not to mention what city in Maine we were traveling to. Even Stacy was sacrificing her existing following by not telling anyone where her business was going. She said she’d find new customers but would never forgive herself if someone followed us because of her.
I scanned the crowd for Stacy and was not surprised to see her standing next to fangirl Denise. “How sad that Philly is losing your awesome business.”
“Oh, I know, it’s sad,” Stacy responded, unphased. “It’ll be a bummer losing everyone here, but I’ve got some great recommendations for other studios in Philly on the reception desk outside. You should check one of them out.”
Denise pouted. “Well, I’ll do that, but none of them will be like going to a class led by the Stacy Varasso.” She looked over at me. “Or visited by the Willow Varasso.”
Stacy laughed. “You’re gonna give me a big ego with all that talk. Trust me, I have not had that much of an impact on the yoga scene in Philly. There are lots of amazing, holistically-centered studios here. I’ve talked to all of my recommendations personally, so please give one of them a c
all.”
Denise seemed satisfied for the time being and knelt to start rolling up her mat while Stacy resumed floating around the room. I kept a close eye on Denise as she packed up, and I was waiting for her to take her leave when she pulled her mat under her arm and continued to stand there, waiting. A few times she looked over at me and smiled, and I was careful not to return the gesture. She knew way more than she should, bordering on stalking, and if she was after Stacy or me, or even one of the brothers, I didn’t want to show her any additional warmth that might welcome her behavior.
Stacy continued to talk to her students, passing out brochures to those who asked for recommendations of where to go when her studio closed. One by one, the students said goodbye, thanking Stacy for her time, and then left. Stacy gave a student a tight hug before waving goodbye, and once that student left, the only people left in the studio were me, Stacy, and Denise.
Stacy grinned at her. “Did you need something else?”
“Sorry,” she huffed. “Just being a dork again. I wanted to say that I stood alone with Stacy and Willow Varasso.” She took a few steps forward. “Did Kelly have her baby yet?”
What. The. Fuck? Who the hell was this woman, and why did she know so much about my family?
“Not yet,” Stacy responded normally. “You sure are studied.”
“Like I said, I’m a fan,” Denise replied and then turned her gaze to me. “How’s your daughter? Alexis, right?”
I didn’t like my daughter’s name coming out of her mouth and didn’t respond. It was taking everything in me not to sock her in the face. She didn’t seem bothered by my silence and kept going. “I saw Ricky on television with Sasha recently. Is it cool being best friends with a celebrity?”
I’d take Stacy’s aura stuff over how uncomfortable Denise made me feel. I wanted to tell her to leave immediately. Stacy laughed. “You are a blast. I have a couple more classes coming up. Will you come back? I’ll give you a complimentary session.”
Denise’s eyes widened as much as my jaw. “Yeah!”
“Stace.”
“Cool!” Stacy replied. “I’ll get you a coupon from my bag. Hang on.”
I watched in shock as Stacy skipped over to her bag and dipped into it. “Will you come back too?” My eyes shot back to Denise, who’d gotten even closer to me. “I’d love to see you—”
The familiar click of a gun snapped through the air, and Denise nervously raised her hands in the air. I looked back over my shoulder, and relief flooded over me. Stacy was standing in front of her bag with a black pistol held out in front of her, the barrel trained on Denise.
“Willow, can you call the guys please?” Her sunny expression was gone, leaving only blood-dripping malice in its place. “We’re going to have to find out why our friend Denise knows so much.”
7
Alessandro
Sleeping in the bed that smelled like Willow was as close as I could get to sleeping in it with her. I never got a ton of sleep during my afternoon naps, but an hour or two could make me feel like a new person, at least for a few hours. I stretched my arms as I unfurled my body. I briefly wondered if I could snipe a pillow from the bed and use it on the couch, but it wouldn’t hold Willow’s smell there for long, so there was almost no point. Once I was under a blanket and trying to fall asleep on the couch, I was held awake by the reminder that I’d managed to cost myself the best thing that ever had, anyway.
I cursed at myself until I managed to pull myself away from the embrace of the blankets and pillows. I grabbed my pants from where they hung over the top of the antique oak dresser and pulled them over my legs. My button-up and tie were on the floor, where I’d thrown them after trying and failing to seduce Willow into bed with me, and my jacket was out on the couch, so I collected the items one by one and redonned them. I could see translucent beads of rain hanging onto the window pane, so I expected she would be sitting on the couch, but she wasn’t there. I begged my mind not to panic. She was likely just wandering the house or enjoying the summer rain from a dry place outside.
I walked out of the suite and went down to the back door leading out to the garden first. Just outside the door, there was a shallow cement patio with a couple of chairs under an overhang. I peeked to both sides, expecting to see Willow, but she wasn’t there. I went back up to the top floor and started to walk the hallways, listening for voices or any sign of Willow. When none appeared, I headed down to the second floor and did the same lap. When I didn’t see her on that floor, either, I couldn’t convince my brain not to panic anymore. It wasn’t like her to go somewhere without me, and the main floor of our estate was where a majority of the rest of the family hung out, and her being with them without me was even less likely.
Still, I bolted down to the main floor and started to call out Willow’s name. “Willow?” I ran through our living room and entertainment room, past both bathrooms and the library. “Willow!”
“Sandro.” I shot my head around, and Gabriel was standing behind me.