Surviving Broken(7)
CHAPTER TWO
Luca was devilishly charming and as their romantic weekend came and went, he asked her to stay. Lured in by his cocky self-assurance and magnetic personality, JC found it impossible to turn him down. Cautiously, she agreed to visit longer, but only after making the definition of the word stay perfectly clear. She refused to utter the words boyfriend or living together, preferring to use the term visiting.
He lived in a quant village an hour from the vineyard. His apartment encompassed the entire second floor of the building, overlooking the cobbled lane below. Arriving in Tuscany with only a small suitcase, she shopped at local boutiques for anything she needed, jeans, dresses, shoes. JC was accustomed to living out of a suitcase. For the last few years, she’d traveled around the world modeling, crashing at her parents’ homes in Malibu, Colorado and Greece. She used to regard Las Vegas as her home, but now, home was wherever her head hit the pillow.
The pages of her rulebook started to fade from black and white to a muted gray, but after several months, she still refused to use the term living together. Living together came along with big meaningful words. Words like; trust, love, commitment, marriage, and babies. Words that could completely fill a new rulebook and JC wasn’t ready to settle down to write a new chapter in her book of life.
JC savored the novelty of dating, and Luca wasn’t wearing off. He loved to talk, constantly enticing her to share stories from her past. Opening up to a man wasn’t JC’s strong suit, yet Luca had a smooth, skillful way of getting her to recant funny childhood memories. However, some stories involving her father were tucked close to her heart and still too painful to share. Slipping past her defenses, he somehow managed to get her to divulge details of her dating life, asking, How many lovers have you had? Big rule breaker! Luca warmed up his buttery voice and coerced it out of her after she’d drank two glasses of wine. She didn’t know the exact number of lovers, but keeping her wits about her, she decided to round down.
Working at the winery wasn’t his dream job, but it turned into a great career. At one point in his life, Luca hoped of having a modeling career. His aspirations shifted toward a more stable career in business, but he still held onto those dreams of earlier years and had even created a portfolio before being hired by Vincent’s family at the Giovanni Vineyard.
JC did plenty of modeling, making quite a name for herself in the industry. A fragrance campaign, cover shoots, commercials for sporting wear, swimwear, and watches. She even did one to kick off the new Las Vegas slogan. She fully admitted to Luca that she’d gotten lucky. The only reason anyone approached her for modeling was her association with The Tom Clemmins.
Paparazzi hounded Tom relentlessly. After an impromptu wedding to an unknown gorgeous woman, the paparazzi besieged, throwing JC, John and Tracy into the frenzied sidekick spotlight. Tom Clemmins had gone from one of Hollywood’s hottest bachelors, to married with three grown stepchildren overnight. The fact that Tess wasn’t a model or actress only fueled the fires of curiosity. Tracy and John hated the unwanted attention, but JC didn’t mind some of the perks. She shined in the spotlight. However, she learned the hard way to seethe the paparazzi.
Luca snickered, “Lucky you. Rich, famous stepdaddy.”
JC clarified firmly, “I’ve never taken advantage of Tom, but he gladly opened a few doors for me.”
****
“It’ll only be a few days, Luca. I haven’t seen any of my friends in months. Hell, I’ve barely seen my sister!”
“I don’t want you going away without me,” he fumed, chucking a pen across the kitchen.
Luca was thrilled when JC suggested they go to Greece for the weekend after she received a call from a friend inviting her to a private bash at a club in Greece. He was a music producer making a video debut of a hot new up-and-coming DJ. However, Luca wasn’t quite as pleased when she mentioned leaving a few days earlier than him. She needed a little bit of space, some breathing room, and figured he might appreciate some down time too.
“I talked to my mom this morning. They’re in Bora Bora, so she said it was fine if we stayed at their house.” Inviting him to stay in her parents’ home was a gigantic step for JC. “I’ve already booked my flight.”
His temper simmered under the surface of his growing silence. He slammed the palm of his hand on the marble counter making a loud slap. “Si`, you made plans to fucking go without me.”
JC nearly jumped out of her shoes, startled by his angry reaction. “You have to work. It’s just a couple of days, Luca.”