By the next morning, Giulia had convinced herself that things couldn't possibly get any worse than they already were.
She had been wrong.
As the maid led her down the grand staircase toward the dining room, Giulia followed quietly and admired the photos on the wall, one hand resting against the railing.
Her head was better, not completely, but much better.
The pounding headache had faded into a dull ache, and after a restless night, she had finally managed to get a few hours of sleep.
Unfortunately, sleep had done nothing to untangle the mess in her life.
Beau's words kept replaying in her mind.
You weren't shy. You were hiding.
It made her want to hide better, she did not want to be found.
She didn't know what bothered her more, the fact that he had noticed her or the fact that he had noticed her so accurately.
The maid opened the dining-room doors. Giulia stepped inside, already bracing herself for whatever awkwardness awaited.
And froze.
For several seconds, she simply stared.
The dining room smelled of fresh bread and strong coffee, but the sight before her made Giulia lose her appetite entirely.
Finn was sitting at the long dining table with Abby comfortably on his lap.
Their breakfast had apparently been forgotten.
Their attention was entirely occupied with each other, and they were far too distracted to notice anyone entering the room.
Giulia's mouth fell open.
Then she slowly looked at the maid.
The maid looked at the ceiling.
Giulia looked back at the two people practically glued together, their lips doing their own version of a samba dance.
"I'm sorry," she said dryly. "I thought this was the dining room."
Finn's head snapped toward her.
Abby jumped off his lap so quickly that she nearly knocked over a glass.
"Giulia!"
Abby's cheeks immediately turned bright red as she tugged at her clothing and attempted to compose herself. Giulia noticed the bright glint in her eyes.
For someone who had been caught in an embarrassing position, she recovered remarkably quickly.
Her embarrassment transformed into a shy smile.
"Oh my goodness."
She pressed a hand to her chest.
"I didn't realize you had come in here and seen us like this."
Giulia raised an eyebrow.
Obviously.
Abby glanced at Finn, then back at Giulia.
"It's the honeymoon phase," she continued with a little laugh, slipping her arm around Finn's. "Finn and I simply can't seem to keep our hands off each other since we got together."
Giulia stared at her.
Honeymoon phase.
Her stomach tightened.
That probably meant they had gotten together fairly recently, probably around the time she and Finn started dating, around the same time Abby came around her.
Giulia realized that Abby had used the cover of a friendship to get close to Finn, who was her real target all along.
She could only blame how naive she had been, given that she had not had time to really build female friendships in the real world.
It meant Finn must have been relatively easy to seduce. Giulia was almost disappointed.
"That's..." Giulia searched for the appropriate word.
She settled on "Nice."
Abby smiled and deliberately leaned closer to Finn. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and they kissed right there, in front of Giulia, long enough to make the message painfully clear.
Giulia stood there awkwardly, wondering whether she should leave or pretend she hadn't seen anything.
She chose the former and tried to skulk out. Unfortunately, Abby wasn't finished.
The kiss ended pretty quickly, and Abby glanced toward Giulia.
"Oh, look."
Her lips curved into a teasing smile.
"My virgin bestie is blushing."
The words hit Giulia like a slap and forced her to stop and face her. Abby knew exactly how to make that term sound even worse than being a killer.
"I'm not blushing."
"Yes, you are." Abby giggled. "Your ears are completely red."
Finn laughed.
But there was something different in his expression.
He didn't seem to be laughing because the situation was funny, He was studying Giulia.
His eyes moved over her face, he wanted to see if she was moved by his act with Abby.
Giulia's eyes seemed brighter without the frames he'd always considered ugly. Her face looked softer, more delicate, more attractive than he'd ever noticed before.
Without her glasses, she looked like a fragile beauty that could get blown away with the wind.
Finn's smile widened when he noticed the colour spreading from her ears to her cheeks.
This is perfect.
If everything went according to plan, Giulia would become jealous.
Seeing him with Abby would wake something in her.
She would realize what she could lose him, that was sure to get her in line.
And when they eventually got back together, she'd be so desperate to keep him that she'd finally stop arguing about all those ridiculous boundaries she wanted to insist upon.
No more waiting.
No more excuses.
No more complaints about taking things slowly.
He would finally get what he'd wanted from her.
His eyes drifted back to her face.
Those glasses had always annoyed him.
They hid too much.
He mentally made a note.
Once Giulia came back to him, the first thing he'd do was throw those ugly things away.
She wouldn't need them anymore.
"You're really pretty without those glasses." The words slipped from his mouth.
Giulia blinked.
For a moment, she simply stared at him.
Then her expression went blank.
The compliment did absolutely nothing to her. If anything, it made her skin crawl. After everything he'd done, he thought a few kind words about her appearance would win her back?
Before she could respond, footsteps sounded behind her.
Heavy.
Unhurried.
Controlled.
Finn's smile faded.
Giulia turned.
Beau was walking into the dining room.
He was looking refreshed and had none of the scruffiness or tiredness of the previous day.
His dark hair was still slightly tousled, but he was dressed in a crisp black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, and he had shaved.
His expression was unreadable.
His eyes moved from Giulia to Finn.
Then to Abby.
Then back to Giulia.
Something changed in his gaze.
It was subtle.
So subtle that Giulia almost convinced herself she had imagined it.
Then he walked toward her.
"Good morning."
His voice was calm.
Giulia opened her mouth.
"Good…"
She didn't finish because Beau stepped directly in front of her.
Before she could react, he leaned down and pressed a brief kiss to the top of her head.
Giulia froze.
Finn froze.
Abby froze.
Even the maid looked like she had suddenly forgotten how to breathe.
Beau straightened as if what he'd done was something natural.
Giulia stared up at him.
Her face was burning.
"What..."
Beau didn't give her the opportunity to finish.
"I was thinking we should go out today." He glanced toward Finn and Abby. "And leave the lovebirds by themselves."
Finn's expression hardened.
"Beau."
Beau ignored him.
Instead, he reached for Giulia's hand.
She instinctively pulled back.
He looked down at their hands.
Then at her.
There was the faintest amusement in his eyes.
"Come on."
"I..."
Giulia glanced toward Finn.
His expression had changed completely, the smugness was gone.
His jaw was tight.
His eyes were fixed on Beau's hand around hers.
The angry flexing of his jaw caused Giulia to realize something.
Finn wasn't enjoying this anymore, he was jealous.
And that realization made her feel very satisfied. It was what she wanted, and seeing his self-appointed torture made her want to laugh in his face.
Beau gave her hand a gentle tug.
"Unless you'd rather stay here and watch them eat breakfast."
Giulia looked at the table.
Then at Abby.
Then at Finn.
"No." She stood.
Beau immediately began walking.
"Wait."
Giulia hurried after him.
She had barely made it three steps before she heard Abby's voice behind them.
"Giulia!"
She turned.
Abby was smiling.
But the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Have fun."
Giulia stared at her for a moment.
Then smiled sweetly. "You too."
Beau opened the door.
Giulia stepped through, he followed.
The doors closed behind them.
Only then did Giulia release the breath she'd been holding.
"What was that?" she demanded.
Beau continued walking.
"What was what?"
"The kiss."
Beau glanced at her, his expression infuriatingly innocent.
"What kiss?"
Giulia stopped with her arms akimbo like a schoolmarm.
"You know exactly what kiss."
He looked almost amused.
"I kissed my girlfriend good morning."
Her mouth dropped open.
"You can't just do that!"
"Is there a reason why I can't?" He tilted his head and studied her intensely, waiting for her answer.
She stayed silent for a minute, then, with a huff, she turned away and left him standing while he watched her in amusement.
For someone who had amnesia, his girlfriend was easy to fluster.