Page 67 of Chasing Caine
“We didn’t miraculously stumble upon him. That would have been nice,” I chuckled.
Chapter 23
Antonio
SamanthaandIsattogether on the scrubby dirt at the end of the peninsula, a strong wind whipping errant hairs out of her ponytail. The ancient remains of the Minervan temple behind us, gray stone steps and worn red brick lining the edge of the cliff in front of us. Three miles away, across the deep blue water, the rocky cliffs of Capri jutted out of the sea.
I leaned back, propping myself on my hands, with Samantha sitting between my outstretched legs. She tucked a granola bar wrapper into her backpack, put her black ball cap on, and settled against my chest, the extra weight pressing my palms into the fine gravel. One leg folded up, her other straight in front of her.
A family and two other couples milled about the area, relaxing after the short hike to the temple. The start of the trail was easy, little more than a sidewalk for a woman so accustomed to braving the wilds. From here, it was a quick stop into the grotto, then a steep climb up to the top of the peaks before winding back to Termini. If we’d arrived earlier, we could have detoured even farther, to the Bay of Ieranto and its small beach.
“This view is definitely worth the hike.” She sighed, tilting her head to let it rest against my shoulder, giving me full access to kiss the side of her hat.
We’d made our way slowly, abnormal for Samantha. My heart warmed with her against me, my fiery girlfriend finally relaxing after being with me for a week.
I drew my knees up and straightened my back, folding my arms around her. “It’s hard to imagine my first hike was just over two weeks ago.”
She laughed against my chest, wrapping her arms over mine. “You won’t need your survival instructor much longer at this rate.”
“Perhaps another hike or two and I’ll be done with her.” I squeezed her tight. “Or two hundred, perhaps? Two thousand?”
Her laughter continued and her eyes slid closed, face drifting toward the sun hanging over the island in the distance.
A couple stopped next to us, chatting in French about the scenery, taking photographs of Capri. A speed boat raced through the channel, a sailboat floated past, and the couple left.
“There’s a longer option to the trail, but I think, given the hour, we should take the more direct route. Unless you want to skip the grotto?”
“Did you really work at your uncle’s Rome studio eight years ago?” she asked.
That mind. It never stopped churning. “Sì, while I was in school, just as I worked with Papa while I was at MSU.”
“And you remember working on one of Riccardo’s paintings?”
I rubbed my cheek against hers, letting out a small sigh. “Bella, he’s very successful. He sells artwork around the world and wouldn’t know if a painting ended up in our hands.”
She sat up enough to turn and look at me but didn’t release my arms. “It was all a ruse?”
“I thought if I had his attention, we would get more cooperation from Eva.”
She smiled and turned back to the water, leaning toward me. “Thanks for that.”
Touring the gallery had not been a hardship. The artwork was beautiful, and Samantha was satisfied. It meant something to her.
And after she went back to Michigan, I’d return and buy that colorful abstract painting from the window. She may not wantstuff, as she liked to say, but hanging a painting that reminded her of that day—of the pleasure I gave her—in my condo? She wouldn’t see it until I was home in January, but the look on her face when she saw it would be worth every penny.
Her phone buzzed in her pack, and she released me to retrieve it. She flashed the cracked screen at me. Lucy Chapman. Samantha’s former protégé at Foster Mutual.
“This should be entertaining.” Samantha put the phone on speaker and before she had time to say hello, Lucy’s stream of consciousness began.
“Oh my god, Sam! I was just out at lunch with Sofia and I was telling her that you and I were gonna do some rock climbing and how excited I was and maybe we’d go this weekend and she told me that you were out of town and I said ‘How do you know that?’” Lucy took the barest breath, her excitement infectious. “Sofia had this big smile on her face and I was all like ‘What's going on Sofia?’ Then she told me! Oh my god, Sam! Oh. My. God! You're in Naples? With Dr. Ferraro?”
Samantha’s shoulders shook and she half-turned to me, curling her bent leg. “Yes, Lucy. I’m torn between staring at Capri and Antonio at the moment.”
“I would totally pick that jawline over Capri any day!” Lucy said.
I kissed Samantha’s cheek audibly, for Lucy’s benefit. “Ciao, Lucy.”
She squealed on the other end of the call. “Antonio, I tried so many times to change her mind about you. How did you do it?”