Two days went by fairly quickly. Lia spent some time in the vineyards helping with the late summer harvest. She enjoyed being outside, and her skin had acquired a soft, copper glow. Paul and Donny had been busy getting ready for Lia to spend a few days in Palermo. Donny had not been able to get much information on the young man, Marco. He'd tried to follow him, but lost him in the maze of narrow alleyways. For this reason, Paul had insisted that Lia not go to Palermo alone. He promised they'd stay at a distance, but it was too dangerous for her to go alone.

The morning she was leaving, she sat down and penned a letter to mail on the way out. 

Dear Gavin and Tara, 

Greetings from Catania. I hope this letter finds you both well. Everything here is pleasant. We're all working to get ready for the late summer press. There is much to do, but it's wonderful the way everyone here works together. 

I'm leaving for Palermo today to spend a few days at the beach. I met a guy named Marco there who is going to show me more of the sights. With Paul and Donny five steps behind, of course. Should still be fun. 

I hope things are going well for you two. I don't get a lot of news from America here. I've gotten a few notes from Uncle Joe, though. He says Tara has been keeping an eye on my businesses. I really appreciate that. He also says they don't have much on the Carlitos, but they've identified the reporter who broke the story. I just hope everyone is staying safe.

If you ever get a chance to visit Sicily, it's a beautiful place. I highly recommend it. 

Well, I need to get going. I hope you enjoy the wine I'm sending. The case has both reds and whites, as well as a new rose` they are testing. 

Be well, my friends.

Love, 

Lia S. 

Lia,

It's so good to hear from you; please keep sending updates. Also, before I move on to other things, please keep an eye out for any profitable future business ventures you could potentially bring back to The Pier (or Vegas, I suppose). Wine? A restaurant? Anything? Just throwing it out there.

As you can probably tell, this is Tara. Gavin is sitting just a few feet away from me, lounging on his bed and flipping a quarter repeatedly, possibly just to annoy me.

He says, before I've even read him most of your letter, to say hello and to mostly stay out of trouble- but not to totally stay out of trouble so you don't get bored. Personally, I'd refrain from his advice.

The late summer press and Palermo both sound exotically enticing from her in Philadelphia. For my part, I'd be careful with strange men, but you have a good head on your shoulders and I've no doubt you can manage your own affairs. 

Everyone here is safe. Our world continues to be productive and I will, of course, try to look after your businesses when I can. Work keeps me busy, as always, so I'm pleased to note that many of your employees have stepped up to run things. I remain available, of course, for larger issues.

Business, unfortunately, keeps us in firmly in America for now. But perhaps in a couple months we'll have the opportunity to travel?

Best, 

Tara and Gavin Byrne. 

PS -  Thank you very much for the wine. After tasting it, Gavin questioned whether you'd ever return. 

Around 1:30 in the afternoon, Lia arrived at the little restaurant in Palermo where she'd promised to meet Marco. She was dressed in an off-white sun dress with blue flowers all over it. Her hair was pinned up in two big curls, secured with a matching blue ribbon. Her shoes were blue, peep toe pumps. Over her shoulder was a canvas bag, holding her bathing suit, sun hat, and a towel. Paul and Donny remained in the car.

She opened the wooden door, squinting to let her eyes adjust from the bright morning sun. 

"Ciao! Senoria Russo? Marco?" 

Mrs. Russo emerged from the back with a smile. Without asking, she immediately poured Lia a glass of pinot grigio.

"Ah! You are back! What brings you into the city today, miss?"

Smiling, Lia gratefully accepted the glass of wine. 

"I am meeting Marco again. I felt awful that I had to leave so hurriedly last time, so I promised him I'd come back today with plenty more time. We're going to a beach somewhere, I believe. Have you seen him today?" 

Mrs. Russo smiled and tut-tutted the mention of Marco, giving a grandmotherly look at the idea of two young people dating.

"Not today, no, but I'd be shocked if he wasn't here shortly. Can I get you something to eat while you wait? Or just the wine for now?"

"Oh, the wine is fine, thank you. I had breakfast before I left home. I didn't get a chance to tell you the other night how much I enjoyed your food. It was just amazing. You have a perfect little place here!"

Lia sat at the same table she and Marco had occupied two nights ago as she sipped her wine. The flavors burst in her mouth and tingled her senses. Lately, it seemed that the smile on her face as permanent as a tattoo. Sicily agreed with her more than she realized it could. The Viacelli family had made her feel as if she were blood. In fact, they had virtually adopted her. She loved the winery and vineyards, the fields and the horses, playing with Sienna. This was the happiest she could remember ever being.

​​​​

Mrs. Russo smiled at her.

"Ah, thank you dear. We love it, and we love feeding our guests. We don't bring it quite as many tourists as we used to. Maybe we're just too old fashioned. Or too old in general."

She chuckled.

"We're both good cooks, and we like to think we're friendly enough. But it's hard to compete with these new, fancy places. Neither Cal nor myself have extra had a particularly good head for business."

Lia thought deeply while the older woman spoke.

"Oh, you don't need business smarts, you just need a little more marketing! You offer something so unique here. Fancy restaurants are a dime a dozen - you can find them anywhere. This place is...rustic, feels like home. That's your hook."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a pen and started roughly sketching something on the back of an empty envelope. Pausing for a sip of wine, she looked back to Mrs. Russo. 

"If you like, I can help you. I own two businesses of my own in America. I'd be glad to lend a hand."

Mrs. Russo smiled broadly.

"Well! That would be something to see. You come and talk to us later, dear, and we'll see. But don't trouble yourself too much on our account. Especially when you have other plans!"

Marco strolled into the room with a smile and dropped into the seat opposite Lia. 

"Who's making other plans, eh? You're not stealing away my date, are you?"

Lia's eyes brightened as she saw Marco, and she felt her skin blush a bit as he referred to her as his date.

"I was just talking to Mrs. Russo about some marketing ideas. I thought I might see if I could help them drum up some more business. The food is just outstanding, they should be rolling in something more than pasta dough!" 

Mrs. Russo smiled happily and headed back to the kitchen, stealing a glance at the two of them over her shoulder before disappearing. Lia looked to Marco, a shy grin on her lips. 

​​​​​​"I'm so sorry about the other night. Paul and Donny...they tend to get too excited sometimes. But, I'm their job. It's...complicated. They're ghosting me today. I couldn't convince them to stay home. But they've promised to give us space."

Marco grinned.

"Anything you can do to help the Russos would be most excellent. They are good people, but they are old and helpless and-"

He covered his head as Mrs. Russo pulled a wooden spoon from her apron and rapped him on the head. 

"- ah, perhaps not so helpless. Are you ready to go to the beach? We can get driver to take us there."

Lia laughed and stood, nodding and pulling her bag over her shoulder.

"Absolutely. Paul can drive us. Just tell him where to go. He speaks Italian, far better than I, so he'll do fine."

The pair exited the restaurant. Donny stood by the back door of the car and opened it for Lia. 

"Miss San Cano."

Lia rolled her eyes and smirked at his overt formality and slid into the back seat. Donny then gestured for Marco to follow.

"Signore."

When Marco was inside the car beside Lia, Donny closed the door and quickly went to the front passenger side. As Paul pulled away from the curb, Lia slipped on a pair of sunglasses. 

"I'm so excited! I've been looking so forward to a chance to relax by the water, swim, and enjoy the sun."

Marco sighed. He was hoping for a cab, but he supposed her plan made sense. Still, quiet men in suits made him nervous.

As they drove, he whispered to her so that the men couldn't hear him over the engine.

"Why do you have bodyguards? You are super rich, no?"

"Something like that."

Lia replied with a wink, and a smile that said there would be more coming. She had already made up her mind that she was going to tell him a little bit. Just enough that he wouldn't feel concerned about her guards. She had also made up her mind to find out more about the mysterious young man. He was intriguing, and mysterious. He'd been able to elude Donny, and that's like escaping a bloodhound.

Lia could see the uneasiness on his face. She gave him a gentle smile and nodded toward Donny and Paul, then whispered two words in Italian that would likely clear it up for him. 

"Uomini d'onore."

Marco's eyes widened, but he still managed to maintain his whisper.

"Them? Are they... your brothers? Is your father a...?"

Marco seemed unwilling to finish his sentence, but he popped his eyebrows to suggest someone important in one of the organizations.

Lia whispered to him. 

"I'll explain it all at the beach, when we're alone."

Following Marcos directions, Paul wound through the narrow streets of Palermo until the cobbled road seemed to just end suddenly at an old stone gateway with a metal gate. Paul looked confused.

"This it?" 

Marco was already out of the car before he finished, holding the door for Lia. He led her through the gate and down a short, wooded path that ended in the sand of a picturesque, quiet beach called Arenella. As promised, Paul and Danny stayed several places behind. Lia slipped her arm into Marco's and slipped off her shoes. 

Ten minutes later, Marco had spread out Lia's blanket on the soft, golden sand. Lia changed into her swim suit behind a large rock, then joined him on the blanket. To keep from looking too much like she was spilling the beans, she casually rubbed sunblock on her arms as she talked. 

"I'm a business woman in America. I work for a man with many friends, and many connections. He's a good man, and takes care of his people. I did something for him that put me in a bit of danger, so I came to Sicily to escape problems with the American police. It'll be alright, but may take some time. Uncle Joe insisted that I not come alone. Donny and Paul work for me, and came here to keep me safe. That's all they are concerned with."

Lia reached into her bag and took out a straw sun hat with a black band around it. 

"If you want to know more, I'll tell you; but you have to tell me more about yourself, first."

Smiling, she stretched her legs out over the blanket and took a deep, refreshing breath, wiggling her toes in the warm sunlight. 

Marco finally relaxed- at least in some ways- when Lia was changed and lounging next to him, but he still occasionally shot glances back at the men accompanying them. To hear that they worked for her was an extremely pleasant surprise. As for his own story?

"Well, there's not much to tell. I am the Last Medici, cheated out of my family fortune by cruel fate and-"

Lia laughed, and he smiled in return.

"Eh, don't believe that eh? What is there to say? I grew up on the streets of Palermo. Some nights I went hungry, eventually I learned that, if I wanted something, I had to take it. I am the third best pickpocket in Palermo- and improving all the time! Also, the best pickpocket in Palermo is retired, so I may be considered the silver medalist. I'm far from rich, but I make a living."

Marco leaned forward, stretching out on his stomach. He was thinner than Gavin, with much less muscle, but there was still a wiry strength in his arms. 

"So... this thing... you killed a man, yes? You are beautiful and deadly?"

Without showing it, Lia was relieved to hear that Marco was a simple man. While her guards would be less quick to believe him, Lia sensed truth in his words; they matched his demeanor, not to mention his build and his gusto for a good meal. 

The sun warmed her skin, relaxing her muscles deeply. From behind her sunglasses, she peeked at him, grinning slightly.

"You read me like a book, Signore Medici." 

Lia flipped onto her stomach. 

"My real name is Stella DiVasio. I own businesses in Las Vegas and Philadelphia that do millions of dollars of business a month. My mother was a stripper that died from a cocaine overdose, and my father was a small time book maker that ratted out a new York gangster. He was killed when I was very young. My family was dishonorable, but my Godmother guided me to make a better life for myself. I proved myself loyal and hard working for my boss, and now I am a woman of respect. I owe everything to my Godmother. It is her family that I am staying with, in Catania. The Viacelli family. Until it is safe for me to return home, I am Lia San Cano."

Lia studied his face carefully, hoping the sudden influx of new information didn't put him off. 

Stella DiVasio. Millions of dollars of business a month? Marco rested his chin on his arm as he looked at her.

"You... are very exciting... you know that?"

He winked.

"It is amazing you're single, Miss San Cano."