Minutes later, Kim leaned her head back against the plush leather seats of Antonio’s convertible Maserati as the car wound along the coast toward Sorrento. She gazed out over the water, catching sight of the magnificent island of Capri in the distance. She held her hand out, allowing the warm breeze to pass through her fingers as sunlight danced across the dazzling blue of the sea.

She would never, ever tire of this view and doubted there were many others in the world to compare.

This place had transformed her life six years ago.

Perhaps it could do the same again now.

Chapter 2

Then

She could hear them already. The authoritative voices of her folks filled the house as Peter and Gloria Weston returned from yet another trip abroad.

Kim turned her music up and rolled over on her bed.

It was Saturday, the weekend, and she was doing what she did best—nothing. Which seemed to be all her life was about.

A steady stream of nothing.

It was bad enough that they still ran her life from a distance; with them home she’d have no peace.

Kim was in no hurry to face that. She turned her back to her bedroom door and rolled over.

She was twenty-nine years old and was still living at home, despite spending four years at business school at Cornell. And for what? She wasn’t exactly sure, other than the fact that it was her parents’ will at the time, and their dime. She enjoyed her studies, but since then, hadn’t had much opportunity to put her knowledge to work.

After graduation, her venture capitalist father had given her a position in his company, though he never seemed to let her do anything except put in the hours. And, of course, wine and dine any clients he sent her way.

She learned very early on in life to go along with what her folks wanted, or forfeit the luxury of their purse strings.

Kim liked her life, her Gucci bags and jaunts to the Caribbean, summers in the Hamptons and never-ending nights out in Manhattan. Or at least she did when she was in her teens and early twenties.

As time went on, things had begun to seem same-y and, well...boring. But as much as she disliked being a pawn in the games her parents played, she didn’t really have the inclination or the means to deny them.

Now a hand on her shoulder was shaking her awake, though it was unnecessary as Kim wasn’t sleeping. She groaned inwardly, feeling a bit like a teenager.

“Fast asleep in the middle of the day? How typical,” her mother’s voice chided as Kim grabbed her iPhone and paused Spotify.

“Nice to see you, too, Mother.” She gave Gloria a mirthless grin that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and her mother gave her a deeply condescending glance in return.