Page 59 of Troy
As soon as the paperwork is dealt with, Raff and I are on a plane; I’m so excited, I can hardly sit still. Fortunately, in first class, I have a lot of room to fidget. Raff chuckles.
“Troy, baby, you have to calm down; it’s a long flight.” Raff lifts my hand and kisses the ring he placed on there, six weeks earlier. He wears a matching one. There was no way I was letting him get his own, so I took him to the jewelers straight after sharing our news with our friends.
“Do you think the build will be okay?” This is another exciting prospect; the land was purchased quickly and at a steal. The city is happy to sell patches of land to take the maintenance and up-keep off their hands. I made sure we bought enough not to get any nearby neighbors. Raff guffawed, telling me I’d only done it because I scream his name out so loudly.
“It will be fine; in fact, it will be better than fine because they can get on with it without you interrupting them constantly, and I asked Corrie to check up on it each week.”
Corrie decided to remain in the city house when we move, which is great. We can use it, too, if we need to but I don’t see why we would. The new house is going to be stunning: a large, sprawling building on two levels. We have a stunning view of the lake from most of the rooms, but our bedroom has the best.
“Okay. I’m sorry.” I smile and settle down in my seat.
Finally, we land and collect our car. After programming the address into the GPS, we head off. It will take us over an hour to reach the house and I can’t curb my eagerness as we drive through the amazing scenery. Soon, Raff swings the wheel around and we drive down a long, winding road. Olive trees screen us on either side, covered in nets in preparation for the harvest. Thankfully, the property is managed well and the trees and vines are maintained; I look forward to tasting the wine from our own grapes.
Then, like we saw on the photograph, the villa appears, the large, single story house is in front of us. Tears permeate my eyes, not merely at the beauty of it, but because it was Franco’s and he never had the chance to share it with me. Raff captures my hand and smiles reassuringly.
“It’s okay, baby, you are bound to feel emotional. I am, too.” Pulling the car up to the front door, Raff turns off the engine and looks across. “Ready?”
“Yes, I am. Let’s go.”
The door opens and a young woman steps out. I know from our conversations she is the daughter of the family in charge of the property.
“Buongiorno, Troy.”
Smiling, I extend my hand to shake hers. Let the holiday begin!
After a week, simply being together, exploring the area and falling in love with it, we send out the emails. I sit back, a huge smile on my face, and wait for the replies.
“Who’s going to be first, d’you reckon?” I laugh as Raff wraps his arms around me.
“Oh, Nico, for sure. I think we’ll hear the scream here. He is going to go crazy!”
It takes ten minutes before my cell rings, Raff lies back on our super king-size bed, his hands behind his head.
“Hi, Nico, what’s up?” I grin down at Raff then put Nico on speaker.
“What’s up? What’s fucking up? You got married, fucking married! Without any of us with you. You are a fucking dead man, Ballantyne.” Nico sounds apoplectic.
“Yeah, it was sort of a spur of the moment thing. So, does that mean you’re not coming?” I laugh.
“Of course, we’re fucking coming. Ryan’s sorting out the flights now.” He grumbles.
“Then stop fucking whining, you dick!” Raff shouts out, making me snort.
“You don’t need to book flights; didn’t you read the whole email? We’ve got a jet organized for everyone, so just read the rest of the details and we will see you next week.” I smugly inform him.
“I’m still gonna kick your ass.” Nico mutters.
“You’ll have to get through me first, asshole!” Raff shouts again.
“Yeah? No problem, McMahon.”
“Okay, stop winding each other up.” I shout this time. Then laugh when both mumble apologies. “Right then, Nico, read the rest of the email and talk to all the others on the list and we will see you next week. Love you, bro.”
“Yeah, yeah. I love you, too. I’m still pissed, but I love you.” I can hear the smile in Nico’s voice and I know he’s good with it. Really, he purely wanted to sound off.
The call ends and I gaze at Raff and he smiles, eyes roaming my body. I’m wearing a pair of cut-off denim shorts and not much else. My body heats as he continues to study me.
“You’re overdressed, baby, lose the shorts.” Raff takes the last drag on his cigarette and stubs it out before jerking down his own shorts. Slowly, I drag my thumb down my body then flip the button open.