It had been over a week since I let Damiano kiss me, and I kissed him back.
The memory was fresh in my mind every morning, before I fell asleep, and even worse when our eyes locked or he came into the room.
I was ignoring him, successfully so, I hadn't said a word to him since then.
I always caught him staring, at dinner, or when he would watch me as I read on the couch or stood on the balcony looking at the stars. I could always feel his eyes on me, but he always kept his distance.
After a couple of days of me ignoring him and avoiding him, he stopped talking too and just let me be. Which made me feel even worse than I'd like to admit.
My days had fallen into an exhausting pattern. I'd stay in bed till later, so I wouldn't run into Damiano, then have some toast and coffee no matter the day, I'd grab a book and sit by the pool, or I would take swims like I was practicing for the Olympics.
I'd also avoid the room down the hall that had all my paintings and art supplies. Matteo visited there a lot, saying it was the most perfect place to read. He always asked me to come with him but I always refused.
I couldn't bring myself to go into that room again, to stare at my paintings or even to look at a blank canvas.
I woke, my hair in a mess, yawning, noticing the light beaming into the room that indicated it was late morning.
Perfect, he was gone.
Turned to the side table to look at the time, when I saw a piece of white paper, perfectly folded in two with my name on it.
It was written in black ink, gorgeous cursive, even after years of practicing my autograph on paintings, they never looked like that.
I didn't have to think hard about who it was, I opened the note and before I could read it, I saw the black credit card, taped at the bottom.
> *You need some air*
It read I picked up the card accessing it, and it looked like those credit cards that had no limit.
An Amex black card?
Suddenly my hand felt heavy when I realized what it was.
"Sleeping beauty!", I heard Matteo say as he knocked on the door loudly.
"It's a beautiful day today, wake up", I heard him say again, his knocks getting louder with each knock.
"Come in!", I yelled as I dropped the note back on the table.
"You look lovely", he said as he walked over to me.
"What's this?", he asked before taking the note.
"Oh wow, so where are we going?
Jet shopping? Hermes? Island shopping maybe?", he said as he took the card in his hand, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"Nowhere, I'm not using that thing", I said, hopping off the bed and walking over to where I normally found my breakfast.
I took a sit on the couch and poured myself a cup of coffee, allowing the beverage to wake me up. I don't know who was brewing the coffee but Coffee here was on another level, better than even overly priced coffee shop coffee. It was rich and dark, and even the cream tasted like luxury.
Matteo sat opposite to me, I saw his eyes fall to my chest for a split second, only then was I aware that I was in a very skimpy silk nightwear, which gave him a clear view of my cleavage with how I leaned forward.
I swallowed, pushing down the awkward feeling, then sat up straighter.
"Don't be modest.
He wants you to, and you can get whatever you want.
Whatever you want.
There's no limit, he might not even notice it if you decide to get a mansion".
I knew Damiano was rich, but was he that rich?
"No", I said then turned my attention back to my breakfast.
"I wasn't asking a question.
I've watched to mope around and do nothing but swim and read Damiano's boring collection of novels for over a week.
We're going out today, and if you won't splurge on his card, I will", he said standing, his face looked serious, but he couldn't possibly drag me outside, so I remained unfazed.
"I don't feel like going anywhere Matteo", I said as I took a bite of my toast.
"I'm not asking Sibel.
You have an hour, I'll be waiting at the front door.
If I don't see you there, dolled up and looking cheerful, I will carry you out myself".
I didn't have time to respond, I had a mouth full of toast and before I could swallow, his long legs had carried him to the door and out of the room.
Somehow I felt like he wasn't bluffing and was fed up with my moping.
His threat had just as much effect as his brother's, only I didn't see the need to fight him. Matteo just wanted the best for me.
So I decided to down my coffee fast and devour one more toast as fast as I could and some tangerines before starting to get ready.
Being close to Damiano's twin had almost made me forget just how identical they looked, from the way their chin was sculpted to cut glass, to their rich olive skin and dark timber hair, to their identical height, model long legs, and even identical lips. Only Damiano's stayed in a flat line but Matteo always had a smile playing on his lips.
Their only distinctions were their character, their posture, and of course their eyes.
Damiano I had realized had hints of green in his storm grey eyes, but Matteo had rich green eyes, emeralds, without any hint of any other color, and his eyes paired rather nicely with his deeper olive skin, unlike Damiano who always wore a suit and covered himself from the sun, Matteo always wore loose vintage shirts that let the sun touch his skin.
Today, he wore a white vintage shirt, that was practically see-through, allowing me and all the workers to get a nice view of him in a white skin-tight tank top that left little to the imagination. And deep brown pants that fit him perfectly, making you wish his long model legs were in full view.
"You look gorgeous", he complimented as I joined him at the front door, his eyes scanning me in approval.
I suddenly felt more confident in my choice of outfit, shifting my weight and feeling more conscious under his gaze today.
He led me outside the front door, holding the door for me.
"Thought you'd be more comfortable in a car than on my bike", he said holding out the car keys.
"You own a bike?", I asked as we went down the steps, walking to the black Land Rover parked closest to us, I took notice of the other two cars that looked ridiculously expensive, one I was sure was a Lamborghini.
"Yeah", he shrugged as he got the door for me.
"Good morning, permit me", we heard Dave say, his hands holding the door open and his other hand stretched out asking for the car key.
"We can drive ourselves Dave", Matteo said, the hint of annoyance in his voice making me wince, Dave remained unfazed.
"Mr. Gusto asked me to drive Ms. Rooney into town today, I wasn't sure which car you were taking. My apologies", he said referring to me, I gave him a tight-lipped smile, then looked over at Matteo who was glaring at him.
"Give us some space Dave, we don't need you to drive", Matteo said coldly, his voice sounding almost as flat as his brother's.
I grabbed the key from his grip, handing it over to Dave, feeling uncomfortable at their constant glare off.
"It's fine Matteo, let him do his job.
Come on", I said as I pulled him with me into the back seat.
I saw him glare at the back of Dave's head as we got in.
Maybe this outing would be good for him, to let go of whatever animosity he had for Dave or maybe even tell me about their history.
The tension between them was a clear indication that they had a history.