Doubt colored her voice. “But we just got back from Hawaii.” She was right. We’d returned from Kauai only a month ago. It was too soon for another trip, especially with everything I had on my plate. But the thought of that asshole possibly getting his hands on her… It took only one slip up. One distraction, one mistake, and I could lose her forever. I forced my lungs to expand past a rare bout of panic. “The first half didn’t count since it was for work,” I said. “It was basically a long weekend.” Stella shook her head. “I’m beginning to suspect you don’t actually work when you go into the office. I’ve never met a CEO with more vacation time than you.” My mouth tipped up despite myself. “It’s a different type of work.” I earned a decent salary from Harper Security, but the bulk of my net worth came from the secret software and hardware I developed and sold to the highest bidder. There were certain groups I didn’t do business with—terrorists, certain governments, and a few distasteful individuals. Other than that, everyone else was fair game, and they paid a king’s ransom for technology their competitors didn’t have. I spent fifty percent of my office time running Harper Security and the other half on development. “Are you sure a month isn’t too long?” Traces of doubt lingered. “We can’t just up and leave for that long.” “I’m a billionaire. We can do whatever we want.” I smiled at her playful eye roll. “Consider it my birthday present.” “We already celebrated your birthday,” she pointed out. I’d turned thirty-four last week. We’d celebrated with a weekend of food, sex, and me eating her pussy out until she came on my face. It’d been a good birthday. “Besides, it doesn’t make sense that you would take me on my dream trip for your birthday. We should go somewhere you want to go.” Stella hooked her arms around my neck. “Spill it, Harper. What’s your bucket list destination?” “Don’t have one, and spoiling you is for me.” I dropped my forehead to hers. The note and photos burned a hole in my pocket. “Last chance, Butterfly. You in or you out?” “When you put it that way…” A giddy smile spread across her face. “I’m in.” “Perfect.” I kissed her again, this time on the mouth. Fuck rationality. When it came to Stella’s safety, rational thought didn’t exist.
38
STELLA
June 16
I’M GOING TO ITALY! Okay, I just had to get that off my chest because I still can’t believe it.
I’ve wanted to visit for so long, but I kept putting it off because I didn’t want to go for just a week.
I wanted to do the whole shebang like Christian said. Venice, Rome, Positano… I never found the time or money, but now, here I am, packing for a month-long trip. I can’t wait. I’ve already messaged Bridget for a list of her must-sees. I know Christian has visited Italy tons of times before too, but he’s a guy. It’s not the same. (Plus Bridget knows all the cutest cafes and best boutiques). It does make me a bit uncomfortable that I’m spending so much of his money. I told Jules this the other day, and she told me not to worry about it because Christian has so much money that the amount he’s spent on me is pennies to him. I guess that’s true. Every time I try to pay for something, he refuses and says I should invest that money into my brand instead.
That’s the one thing I drew a line at. I didn’t want him throwing money at the line. If I do it, I want
to do it on my own merits. I don’t want to succeed just because I have a rich boyfriend who can bankroll me. But, if I’m being 100% honest, it’s hard for me to protest too much about the trip because I want it so much. An all-expenses-paid trip to Italy? That’s every girl’s dream.
Daily Gratitude:
Bucket lists
Italy
The best boyfriend in the world <3
*
Italy was as incredible as I’d imagined. The food, the beauty, the culture…everything lived up to my expectations and more. Granted, part of that had to do with Christian getting us VIP access everywhere so we could avoid the crowds and explore at our leisure, but it wasn’t just that.
There was something magical in the air that melted my stress and turned my worries into distant memories. Unlike Hawaii, which had a work element despite the dreamy second half of the trip, Italy was pure escapism. I took videos and photos, but they were for memories more than for social media. I couldn’t share that I was currently in Italy, anyway, so I’d been posting old photos. Other than that, there was no work, no cameras, just us. In Italy, I wasn’t a brand ambassador or a content creator chasing the perfect photo. I was just a girl on vacation with her boyfriend. It was liberating…when said boyfriend wasn’t being a jerk about my driving skills. “It’s a Vespa. How hard can it be?” I planted my hands on my hips and leveled Christian with an insulted glare. “I’m not saying it’s hard. I’m saying there are a lot of pedestrians you can run over in the city.” His mouth twitched at my gasp. “I am not going to run over anyone. I have zero vehicular deaths on my watch, thank you very much.” “What about near deaths?” I didn’t dignify that with a response. It was our first full day in Rome and our second week in Italy. We’d flown into Milan, made our way down to Florence, and arrived in Rome yesterday evening. We had a full day of activities ahead of us, and I’d insisted on using Vespas to get around. It might be cliche, but could one say they’ve visited Rome without riding a Vespa at least once?
Unfortunately, Christian and I had different opinions on how many we should rent. I thought it would be fun if we each had our own while he was convinced I would kill someone if left to my own devices. Apparently, he wasn’t over the ATV incident in Hawaii. It hadn’t been my fault; I’d merely been rusty. I rarely needed to drive a car in D.C. when the Metro and buses were right there. He sighed when he saw I wasn’t backing down. “Let’s compromise. You let me teach you how to operate one, and if you pass the test, you can get your own.” “What is this, the DMV?” I grumbled, but I agreed. Secretly, I was glad he’d offered to teach me because I had no clue how to operate a Vespa. It couldn’t be that different from riding a bicycle, right? The only difference was it had an engine. We’d rented our scooters from our hotel, and we stayed in the courtyard while Christian walked me through the proper procedure. “Sit straighter and bend your elbows a little…a little more. Like this.” Christian adjusted my position until I sat properly on the Vespa.