Serena POV

We walked around in the water as the bodyguards lingered in the sand a few feet away.

"You can come join us," I say over my shoulder to the men trailing behind on shore. We were only calf-deep. I was using one hand to hold up my dress and the other was in Clayton's.

They seemed to look at him for permission at my lingering question.

"Come one, give the men a break. They have been following us for a good two hours."

He looks at me for a second and smiles.

"So kind, even to strangers," he says, brushing his hand on my cheek. He looks over his shoulder. "If you want to join, you are more than welcome."

One of the men didn't hesitate as he kicked his shoes off and stepped into the water behind us. I laughed and turned to him.

"My feet were getting hot in those shoes," He says in a higher pitched voice. I step a little closer to him while squinting my eyes. I drop Clayton's hand in the process when I get close enough to see his face.

"Chester?" I ask with an arched eyebrow. I watch as his eyes squint at me before they widen.

"Serena?" He asks and I laugh. I was going to correct him when he continues. "Yeah, yeah! I thought your voice was familiar, told you guys," he says the last part over his shoulder.

"I thought you were lying," One of the men says. "Everything you say about women is a lie."

I let out a laugh as hands go onto my hips and pull me back slightly.

"How do you know him?" Clayton asks into my ear, his breath fanning my face.

"I can't tell you," I say and he turns me towards him with a strange expression. Jealousy. "HIPPA."

"I don't care about that," Chester says walking closer to us. "This is the nurse from the states that patched me up before I came back."

"Really?" Clayton asks and I nod my head.

"He came into the ER I work at."

"She is awesome man, you found a keeper. She even knew I was going to leave after I was patched up and told me how to care for it. She must be a mind reader or something, so you better be careful," Chester comments, and I laugh.

"Do you know how many people come into the ER with gunshot wounds then leave before the police can ask questions? They wait for care and then sneak out only to get an infection. Most of them end up needing amputations when the infection spreads to the bone," I say and shake my head.

"How are you healing?" I ask with curiosity.

"Perfectly! It's only been three weeks but it is healing well. Doesn't hurt anymore."

"Did the ibuprofen help?"

"Surprisingly well. I thought it was going to hurt forever without hospital opioids but it did the trick!"

Clayton's grip tightens on me again as if he didn't want me conversing anymore.

"Well, I'm happy you are doing well," I add before turning to Clayton. He had a salty look in his eyes. "What? If I violated HIPPA I could go to jail in the states."

"I would never let you go to jail," He says in a husky voice. I laugh and shake my head.

"As if you can go against the law," I add before turning away and stepping out of the water, letting my dress fall back down.

I open my mouth to say something else when I am thrown up into the air before being placed over a shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I laugh out at Clayton as he walks us towards the hotel.

"Taking you back to your room like a gentleman."

"Oh, are you now?" I ask and tap his shoulder as my hair swings over my face. "Or are you jealous I was speaking to other men?"

"Watch it, little girl," he growls at me as we get closer to the hotel.

"Hey, I am not little!"

"You kind of are," One of the guys says.

"Hey!" I say and push against Clayton's back to look at them. "I am strong and mighty! I am very well known in the states for beating assholes up like you."

"Oh really? What's your well-known name?" One asks and I think for a second. Being near upside down is making the alcohol go to my head.

"The big, tough Serena!" I shout a little before I giggle.

"Serena huh?" Clayton asks and I laugh more.

"Damn straight. You better remember it! Because Serena doesn't let people manhandle her!" I say but my words start to slur at the end. I let myself dangle over his shoulder as my arms feel like jelly.

"Let's get you to bed," he says as we enter the hotel. "You guys can head home."

"Okay boss."

"Oh, you're a boss business mafia man," I say loudly.

"Shh," he says with a giggle. "The big scary mafia boss doesn't want people to know he's here."

"Right, right. We're undercover," I say in a whisper as we enter the elevator. He takes something out of his pocket before putting it to his ear.

My head starts to feel like the room is spinning and uncontrollable giggles leave my mouth.

Before I know it I am laying on the bed with heavy eyes and a warm vibrant feeling running through my body.

I was drunk for sure, there was no doubt about it.

Without another thought, my eyes start to flutter closed.

"Hey, Serena?" Clayton says in a near whisper next to me.

"Yeah?" I ask without opening my eyes.

"Before you fall asleep, can you sign this?" He asks while rubbing his hand up my arm.

I let out a small yawn while pushing myself up. He was blurry but I could see him laying a paper in front of me while he stood beside me.

"What is it?" I ask with a slur in every word.

I feel him gently press a pen into my hand and I grip it as tightly as I can.

"Looks like a confirmation date and time from the hotel desk regarding your room. It was on the dresser. I'm guessing they placed it there when they cleaned the room," I groan in response and move my hand to sign my name, hoping it was in the right place. I wouldn't want to lose my room.

"Alright, barrisima, get some sleep. I'll get this to the front desk for you."

I nod before slumping back into the bed. I lay for a few minutes trying to get comfortable before I hear the door open with people whispering before the door closes again.

The bed dips next to me while covers are placed over my body. Light lips touch my forehead as my hair is moved from my face in a caring gesture.

"Goodnight, mia dolce moglie," Clayton says before pulling me in his arms. I speak little Italian and the alcohol in my system wasn't giving my brain enough function to try and translate what he said.

Instead, I let my eyes closed and drifted to sleep in his arms.

* * * Two more days.

Two more days of this peaceful vacation before it was back to my regular scheduled program.

"What's wrong?" Clayton asks from across the dinner table.

He decided to make the most out of the time we had left and take me to very popular places around Italy. He took me to see some ancient ruins and told me all about the history and the landmarks.

It was amazing how much he knew about the place and every detail of its history. For every question I asked, he knew the answer as if he studied the history of Italy in his free time.

Maybe he did, what did I know.

It was exciting to see all the different places and be able to experience what he gets to see every day.

Now we were at a wonderful rooftop restaurant for dinner. Strings lights were hanging around the exposed brick, bringing light to the dark sky. Candles were on the white-clothed tables like in every fairytale movie.

A glass of wine was in a bucket of ice on the table between us with our empty plates from the delicious food.

"Nothing." I finally respond.

"You went from a happy smile to a saddened, disturbed look," he comments. I smile up at him to see his eyes trained on everything I did. As if I were prey in a predator's gaze and with every movement I made he caught.

"I was just thinking about how nice this vacation has been so far," I say with a wide smile before taking a sip from my wine. "I can't believe it's almost to an end already."

"Who says it has to end here?"

My hand freezes with the glass against my lips. My eyes slowly hover over the glass to meet his stern eyes and serious expression.

I set the glass down with a huff.

"Clayton, please don't start this again," I shake my head and reach across the table, putting my hand in his, giving it a small squeeze. "These two weeks have been the best of my life and I will never forget them. I thank you for showing me everything life has to offer, but I have to go back and you know this."

He was silent for a minute with his eyes trained on the table. I started to pull my hand back when I noticed the two bodyguards approaching the table.

"Sir," One of them says. I had never met these two before.

"Excuse me for a moment, my love." Clayton says with the same expressionless face. I nod and watch as he stands from his chair and moves towards the entrance with the bodyguards.

I watch as they speak in the corner for a few minutes before my eyes wander to the city lights. This rooftop had a view of the whole city with glowing lights and bustling cars.

I stand from the table and walk closer to the edge. The cool breeze sent a shiver through me as I took a deep breath.

I really was going to miss this place.