Damon didn’t seem impressed by Micah’s deductive reasoning. “You didn’t know where I was taking you, but you went with me anyway? On a plane?”

Well, it sounded moronic when he put it that way. “I trust you,” Micah said simply.

Damon’s expression softened at the admission, but that didn’t stop him from scolding Micah. “Don’t ever get in a car – or on a goddamn plane – with anyone ever again if you don’t know where they’re taking you, got it?”

Micah rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I’ve got men lined up around the block, dying to fly me out to Italy,” he pointed out.

A muscle in Damon’s jaw twitched. “Still. You need to be more careful.”

Not in the mood for arguing about whether or not he could take care of himself, Micah sighed. “Yeah, sure. I promise not to get into any more cars, planes, trains, or pirate ships with any strangers, alright?”

Damon’s mouth twitched at that last one. “Thank you. And I apologize for not telling you sooner where we were going. We’re in Siena right now, but my family’s estate is about thirty miles south, nestled in the Tuscan hills. We’ll be driving there in a rental.” He pointed at the black Lincoln Town Car waiting for them on the tarmac.

A customs agent greeted them on the runway, and after a quick conversation, wherein another employee of the airport loaded their bags into the vehicle, he and Damon were on their way.

Micah couldn’t help but marvel at the view out his window, hardly believing that he was in Italy. The airport was located on the outskirts of Siena, so Micah didn’t get to see much of the city – only blurred images of tall buildings that seemed to be made entirely of brick, red and bronze colors dominating the landscape.

The vast majority of the ride was through the countryside. Having lived in New York City for the majority of his life, Micah hadn’t been exposed to much nature outside of Central Park and the occasional tree planted here and there along the sidewalks, but the Italian countryside… it was beautiful.

Micah felt like he was in a winter wonderland. Evergreens were everywhere, and even the snow here was somehow prettier. Instead of being gray from smog and other air pollutants, it was so white, it glittered in the sunlight.

As they drove, Damon explained that while most of his business was conducted in America, he also owned a handful of restaurants throughout Italy and the third largest vineyard in the country. Despite this, he generally only visited his family’s Italian estate a handful of times a year. Apparently. the house was “pretty big”, and he kept a team of housekeepers and landscapers on payroll to upkeep it throughout the year.