Chapter 4 : Stars Aligned

*Sophie’s POV*

Luca and I were now sitting on the plane, with Italy coming into view as we descended. We'd both managed to get our affairs in order and delegate our projects to other people, freeing up the time for the villa restoration. It had been easy for both of us, as we had finished up the large projects we were working on.

We were both ecstatic to see what was in store for us here and the scenery around us was breathtaking. The vast expanse of land, revealed by the clouds slowly lifting, had our eyes wide open in amazement.

"Oh, my God," Luca said as he pointed to the countryside coming into view.

The fields of rolling greens, lined up against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains seemed like something out of a postcard. The tiny little towns nestled in between them looked so quaint and peaceful from our vantage point in the air. Everything below just looked alive - buzzing with energy and life that only added to my excitement for this new adventure.

My cheeks hurt from smiling, and I turned to Luca and spoke, "This is going to be amazing. I can't believe this is real life."

He nodded in agreement, his eyes still glued to the window. "And how are we getting to the villa?" he asked, finally breaking away from the view before us.

I paused for a moment, trying to remember what Alessandro had said to me during our meeting.

"We're flying into Rome and then taking a car ride of unspecified length," I replied hesitantly.

Luca looked at me with raised eyebrows, an expression that spoke volumes about his disbelief that such information was all I'd been given.

"Oh, Mr. Rossi is secretive, I love it," he responded after a few moments of contemplation.

And with that, we both settled back into our seats and prepared ourselves for the landing.

The tires screeched against the pavement as we touched down, and passengers stood up to grab their overhead luggage. We rushed to retrieve our bags. We noticed a man standing near the luggage carousel wearing a black suit and a pair of dark sunglasses that obscured his eyes.

"Ms. Anderson, Mr. Bianchi? I'm your driver, Georgiano. I'll be taking you to the villa."

He gave us a tight smile as he greeted us with a slight nod of his head before ushering us into the sleek black car waiting outside the airport.

We began to drive off toward our destination, winding through quaint streets lined with old buildings and cobblestone roads that seemed to carry on forever. As we traveled further from Rome, it seemed like time was standing still; with the sun high above us in the sky and not a soul in sight, it was almost as if we had found some kind of secret passageway back in time.

Every turn we made revealed something new - whether it was a hidden garden behind an ancient stone wall or an old abandoned building that looked like it had been there since time immemorial - and for brief moments I felt like I was living in some kind of fairytale-like storybook world.

“We’re going to be living here temporarily, Luca. Look at this. We’re going to wake up every day surrounded by this history and beauty. Pinch me please, I know I’m dreaming,” I wondered aloud.

Luca, always literal, reached over and pinched my cheek playfully. I laughed and pushed his arm back on his side of the backseat. “You’re dumb,” I told him.

“God, we’re going to gain thirty pounds eating all of the authentic Italian food,” he surmised, “I can’t wait. And the gelato and espresso? Have you ever had real Italian gelato? It’s going to change your fucking life, Soph.”

We chatted about everything we wanted to see and do while we were here as our driver drove us through the countryside. We passed many beautiful pieces of architecture, and I tried to make notes of things I wanted to come back and see. This was a work trip, but we’d have downtime, and I wanted to make the most out of every second we spent here.

Finally, after what felt like hours, but could have only been minutes later, we arrived at our destination: The Villa Rossi Estate. The old, crumbling Tuscan villa stood before us, almost as if it had been plucked straight out of a dream.

Despite its age and the obvious signs of disrepair, there was something about this place that was strangely beautiful. The stone walls were weathered and covered in ivy, and the window frames were all made of intricately carved wood. Wildflower gardens lined the cobblestone walkway leading to the entrance, and an old wooden door with an intricate iron handle beckoned us to enter.

Luca nudged me in my side. "We get to restore this. That's insane. How did we get so lucky?"

My wide eyes glanced toward him and saw the exuberant expression I felt mirrored on his face. It wasn't lost on me that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that had essentially fallen into my lap. I sent a silent thanks to the universe for crossing my path with Alessandro Rossi's.

We stopped the car just inside the gates of Villa Rossi. Luca hopped out first and began jumping around and clapping his hands together.

"SOPHIA!" he shouted, "Look at this! The possibilities are endless. This is going to catapult us to the top. Everyone will know who we are. My God, I can't believe this."

The driver cleared his throat and informed us, "Mr. Rossi will be joining you shortly. He said to let you both know he'll be ready to hear your initial thoughts, as well as what you'll need to get started in the coming days."

I smiled at him and said, "Thanks, Georgiano. We'll begin our assessment so we don't keep Mr. Rossi waiting."

I stepped forward, Luca following close behind as we started our observation of the grounds. We carefully noted every detail; the crumbling stones and fraying mortar within the walls; and any necessary repairs that needed to be made for the villa to pass inspection. With a notebook tucked under my arm, we calculated costs for different materials and labor. This was going to cost a fortune, but Mr. Rossi didn’t seem like the kind of man who worried about money.

“Did you see the gazebo toward the back of the property?” Luca asked me, nodding his head toward the long-forgotten structure.

I nodded and said, “That actually seems like it won’t take too much work to fix. The wood looks good, it just needs to be sanded, stained, and sealed.”

“Right?” Luca started, “Imagine waking up every morning and walking out there with a book and a cup of coffee. Rich people get all the best shit.”

I rolled my eyes and began to walk around toward the front of the house. The outside was going to be a lot of work. In fact, this was going to be the most taxing project I'd ever taken on. I realized how important it was going to be to maintain the integrity of the bones of the building. I wouldn't simply be renovating this place, but restoring it like I had the painting collection for the Met. Keeping the integral pieces of this property that the original designers had included.

Once we finished our inspection of the grounds, it was time to make our way inside. The interior of the estate was in even worse shape than the exterior - cobwebs filled corners, furniture lay broken and scattered, dust covered every surface - but beneath all the dirt and debris there was still beauty present - intricate frescoes painted onto walls; marble floors littered with chips; grand fireplaces that still held remnants of past fires - remnants of memories embedded into these four walls.

"Oof," I said out loud to Luca, "It's always depressing to see such a marvel in a state of decay. I wonder how a man like Rossi allowed it to get this bad. He seems so prideful, it doesn't make sense."

The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm orange hue over the crumbling walls of Villa Rossi, when we heard it - the hammer of a gun being pulled back, followed by a voice saying, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

The click made me jump, and I spun towards the sound. The man from the flea market stood in front of me, his eyes narrowed and focused behind the sights of a gun. His incredibly handsome face was pulled into a menacing snarl, and my brain couldn't comprehend what he was doing here.

"You're trespassing," his melodic voice echoed across the room, "I’ll ask again. What. Are. You. Doing. Here."

My heart clambered in my chest, and I exchanged a look of confusion with Luca. We were here to look at the villa, nothing more. Even though I was scared of the gun in his hand, my natural instinct to defend myself kicked in, and I stepped forward.

"We've been sent to assess the damages and begin renovations," I said calmly.

"Nobody should be here. You need to leave," he said angrily, his voice becoming more accented with every phrase he uttered.

"But, we're being hired. We're not trespassing, we have permission to be here. I swear. Call the owner of the property."

He stepped forward, his gaze fixed on me. "I am the owner of this property. What are the odds that I'd meet you in New York, and days later you'd be here in Italy? Were you stalking me so you could rob me?"

My mouth hung open in shock, "Excuse me? No! What, you think I'm involved in organized crime?"

He gave me an odd look and said, "Crazier things have happened here, bellissima. Now, I want to see your ID. Both of you. The clock is ticking."

“We don’t have our ID,” Luca finally spoke up, “A driver dropped us off for our assessment. Our luggage was in the car. I’m not sure where the car is now.”

The gun-wielding Adonis took a step back and gave us a terrifying smile, “Well, then. I guess your time here at the Villa Rossi has run out, hasn’t it? Turn around.”

Tears formed in my eyes. Something about the look in the man’s eyes told me he really could pull the trigger and kill us both. There wasn’t any softness or charm that I had seen at the flea market the day I met him. Why was he here and who was he? Is this really how I was going to die? Shot by a lunatic in a foreign country?

I turned around slowly and closed my eyes tightly, taking his advice and saying a prayer for the less-than-perfect life I’d led up to that point. I prayed my family knew that I loved them. God knows I didn’t pick up the phone as often as I should. Luca reached over and grabbed my hand, and I made eye contact with him. He looked as terrified as I was.

I mouthed, “I’m sorry,” and then we heard it.