Riccardo by Elle Raven, Aimie Jennison

before standing. “Come on, let’s go for a walk. We’ll be fine without Raph for a little while.”
    “Okay.” I jumped up and slipped my feet into my wedges. We were out the door and walking down the quiet street in a matter of minutes.
    Paulie started the conversation where we had left off. “I heard the car and turned to see who it was. Riccardo made direct eye contact with me, so I know he saw me. He didn’t say a word. He walked past us without batting an eyelid. I was dreading that hour before we left your house for the flight. Waiting for him to call me up on it, but he didn’t. The only time he spoke to me was when he warned me to not allow any man near you, and told both Raph and I to look after you, or there would be repercussions.”
    I was just about to question him about his ‘random’ when my phone chimed in my pocket. I glanced at the screen as I pulled it out. Daddy. “Hi, Daddy. Yes, I’m still as okay as I was when you rang an hour ago,” I berated him. He’d been ringing almost every hour and was driving me mad. I hoped he calmed down with his calls before I started the course because I’d never learn anything if he disturbed me every hour.
    “Don’t be like that, Lorena. I’m your father, I’m entitled to be concerned about your safety. I worry when you aren’t under Riccardo’s watchful eye,” he admitted, unafraid to show his shortcomings. It always made my heart squeeze when I heard him say something that reminded me of how much he loved me.
    “I love you, too, Daddy,” I whispered into the phone. Paulie directed me towards a little coffee shop with a hand on my shoulder, as I talked to my father. “Paulie and Raphael are taking good care of me.”
    “No they aren’t. Raphael isn’t even with you right now.” I cut my eyes towards Paulie, wondering how the hell my father knew that. There had been many times in my life when I’d wondered if he had cameras on me. “Before you ask, I called Raph before I called you. I was sure you might be sick of hearing from me by now,” he admitted.
    “Never,” I replied, hearing Matias cry in the background. “How is my little brother?” I asked as I took a seat at an outside table. Paulie ordered our drinks whilst I listened to my father’s reply.
    “He’s grouchy. Sierra says he’s teething. I think it’s just the genes. You were a grouchy little thing at this age, too,” he said with a laugh as Matias cried a little louder.
    “I’ll let you go give him cuddles. Make sure you give him one from me,” I said before hanging up. I didn’t give him the chance to say goodbye. He would have only given me a lecture on being safe and then demanded to talk to Paulie, so he could give him the lecture too. All the while poor Matias would be crying his little heart out.
    Placing the phone in my pocket, I directed all my attention on Paulie. “So, tell me all about this friend of yours,” I demanded.
    ***
    I was so lucky to have been able to enrol in this course and get in. I was sure my father had something to do with it and pulled some strings because I heard from other students that the waiting list was huge. Either way, I was so grateful to have been selected. The interior design course was truly amazing,
    The weeks had flown by and in a matter of days; I was going to leave this beautiful country and head back to Australia. Back to face Riccardo. I couldn’t let him affect or cloud my final days here as I had learned so much in such a short time. I was so motivated and I couldn't wait to kick-start a career in the industry once I returned to Australia.
    For our final assessment, we had to design a room from a blank canvas, just an empty room measuring five square metres. I chose to make mine a bedroom; it had a vintage feel. I wanted to stay close to my roots, ensuring I put as much Italian culture as I could into it. I put my all into it and it paid off. My lecturer was the famous Giancarlo Settimano. He was so impressed with