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Azzurra gave a proud smile. “I’ll leave you alone now. If you need anything, ring the bell.”
She turned and moved out, giving us privacy. I knew she meant well. After all, this was the morning after our wedding night, but speaking with her was so much easier than talking to Samuel.
Samuel picked up a cornetto, bit into it, then regarded me curiously. “Some people don’t care about the people who work for them.”
My lips pinched. “I want to know who’s helping out in our house. These are people with stories, and I want to get to know them.”
“I agree,” he said, then took a sip from his cappuccino. His phone lay beside him. Messages and emails kept popping up, but he ignored them, just like the newspaper that rested beside it.
“If you have important business to conduct, I don’t mind, you know?” I motioned to his phone. “Danilo always checked emails at the dining table.” Eventually, I too had chatted with Giorgia or other friends during our meals.
Samuel gave a terse shake of his head. “It’s rude. At home, we tried to focus on the people at the table with us. I work all day. During meals, I’m off.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” I liked the idea of being one hundred percent present during a meal, focusing on eye contact and conversation, even if it would be awkward initially because Samuel and I were near strangers. “But how do you not miss anything urgent?”
Samuel smirked. “Is that how Danilo justified being on the phone all the damn time?”
I furrowed my brows. “Yes.” I took a deep breath because what I had to say next might make Samuel angry, and maybe I shouldn’t do that as a newlywed wife, but I didn’t want to have to swallow down when I felt uncomfortable. “I know you don’t like my brother, and he doesn’t like you, but could you at least trynot to bash him constantly? If not for me, then at least for Sofia. We’re family now.”
Samuel sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You’re right. He’s your brother, and differences aside, he always took good care of you. Except for agreeing to this marriage.”
I blinked. “Excuse me? Why would you say that?”
“Because I’m not a good deal, and you’ll realize it one day.”
“You could just tell me now.”
He chuckled without any mirth. “I could, but I won’t. Because I don’t want to ruin this marriage before it’s really started.”
“I’d like this marriage to work out. Don’t you?”
“I do,” he said quietly, but I could hear the doubt in his voice.
I wasn’t sure why I had told Emma I was a bad deal. It was true, but telling her didn’t serve any purpose. She sipped her cappuccino silently, obviously frustrated. She had every right to be. I wasn’t in the mood to discuss this topic more, so I decided to distract her. “How would you like a tour of the house and garden now?”
She glanced up and gave me a small smile. “I’d love that.”
I rose to my feet and waited for her to wheel back from the table. “Would you like me to push you?” In our short interactions so far, I’d quickly realized that Emma liked her independence. I had no intention of coddling her. I was relieved that she seemed much tougher than I’d thought. Maybe she could handle all the shit that came with being married to me.
“I’ll follow you. I’d like to see your face when you tell me about the house.”
“Last night was only the third night I spent here, so I don’t know that much more about its hidden corners than you do.”
She tilted her head. “You bought the house a while ago. Why didn’t you move sooner?”
I could have lied and told her my father preferred to have me close for business reasons, but the truth was simple. “It might seem odd, but I prefer company. Living alone in a house didn’t really seem appealing to me. I had all the freedom I wanted at my parents’ house, so I stayed.”
Emma nodded. “That makes sense. You have a hard job, so having family at home afterward is important.”
I nodded. After tough days, I’d often have a drink with Dad in the office.
“You can rely on me, Samuel. I won’t ever break your trust.” She flushed. As usual, Emma looked lovely, sweet, and sexy.
I motioned to the front window. “Let’s start with the view from the porch.” I strode toward the double doors and swung them open. The view over the lake was spectacular. Emma rolled out, and her entire face lit up. She pointed at the wide but narrow fireplace in front of two comfy deck chairs.
“It’s gas, but it’s cozy.” I turned it on with a remote, and the flames flickered up at once. It wasn’t as nice in bright daylight as it was in the dark.
“You still enjoy swimming?” I asked. I remembered from our trip to the Cavallaro mansion two years ago that she’d been ecstatic about swimming in the lake there. I had only been there to guard my sister Sofia back then and had hardly talked to Emma at all. Maybe I should have made an effort.