A soft gentle breeze blew from the ocean and it made my hair blow in the wind. I could feel the warm sand sift between my toes. Suddenly, someone ran up behind me and held me tight to him. He placed a drink into my hand and I smiled as I turned to face him. His dark hair shone in the sunlight and his smile nearly took my breath away. His usual leather jacket was not needed because it was so hot and as he placed his arms around me, I thought that his bare arms were better than the feeling of a leather jacket. He suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me closer to the ocean. He loved being adventurous. I smiled and followed him willingly. Suddenly a giant 100 foot purple squirrel emerged from the water.

"Gio…" I called to him, even though he was right beside me. He didn't hear me.

"GIO!" I repeated louder. He still didn't respond.

Suddenly, I awoke with a start. It was just a dream.

"This seems to be a pattern with you." A voice called to me in the dark. I opened my eyes to see the beaming face of Gio looking down on me.

"What…?" I asked, as I sat up.

"You never struck me as the type to blow off work for a few drinks and then start talking about purple squirrels." He grinned.

"Purple…squirrels? I don't know what you're talking about. How did you know a purple squirrel was in my dream of us being at the beach?" I asked.

He smiled more broadly, like he enjoyed hearing what I just said. "So you've been dreaming of me! Now, tell me…what happened in this dream of yours?" he asked with a wink.

"Can you ever go a day without thinking something dirty?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Who said anything about being dirty? Purple squirrels were your topic of conversation last night." He laughed.

"No, I dreamed of a purple squirrel coming out of the water. We were at some beach…" I tried to finish my sentence, but he cut me off.

"See! You did have a steamy dream about me. Those beach dream sequences can get pretty…" he explained and it was my turn to cut him off.

"Spare me, please!" I groaned.

"All I'm saying is that you had a dream about me. I think I once saw an adult film with two people at the beach…" He said and then mumbled something inaudibly that sounded something like, "That's always a first step to winning a girl's heart…"

"What?" I asked. He waved me off.

"So I heard that you were coming to Italy for an arranged marriage." I said casually.

He seemed amused. "Yeah, my cousin Francesca is marrying some guy from Sicily. What, you didn't think that I was the one getting married?" he seemed hopeful that I would be jealous.

"Of course not! Why would I care if you got married?" I asked, trying not to sound like I cared.

"Because secretly…deep…deep…deep down you're in love with me!" he said as he sat on a table.

I didn't answer him immediately. Instead, I looked around for the first time and realized we were where my family was staying.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Hangover sitting…" he smiled.

"I do not have a hangover." I lied.

"Please, anyone who talks about purple squirrels right before they black out and have had two drinks nicknamed 'Italian Poison' would have one." He paused. "…Interesting night last night. Anyway, your family went out for lunch without you."

"LUNCH?!" I looked at the clock and sure enough it was a little after noon. I groaned mainly because I was hungry.

"Look, so my little eater doesn't miss any meals…why don't you and I find a café or someplace." He suggested.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked wryly.

"Why won't you answer my question?" he asked quickly.

"Why are you asking me about a question when you didn't ask me any questions?" I argued back.

"Why are we even arguing about this? Besides, your last question made no sense. Now, that means that you need some food. Come on….I won't take 'no' for an answer." He persisted.

"Fine. At least you'll leave me alone." I grumbled as I led the way out the door.

"You know, you can be cute when you're mad at me!" he said casually as we sat outside in a café.

"Well for your benefit, I'm mad at you all the time." I bit hungrily into my sandwich.

"I can take that." He commented reflectively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I griped.

"At least you're talking to me now. Once Egg Salad left, you went all crazy and then I never saw you again." He said somberly.

"Gio." All I could say was his name. I wanted to say more and apologize for ditching him in the elevator.

"Eat." He ordered. I watched him as I finished my sandwich. He seemed to be really distant during our lunch. I felt bad for some reason because his mind was elsewhere.

"So your cousin is getting married then…" I said to break the silence.

"Yep." He responded and stared off into space again.

The waiter came over to us suddenly. "A little wine for the couple. Compliments of the couple sitting across the way." He said as he poured us some wine. I looked over at an elderly couple that raised their glass to us. I couldn't believe it wasn't even 1 in the afternoon and I was about to drink wine.

"Oh, we're not a couple…" I noted to the waiter.

"…because we're actually engaged." Gio cut in and put his arm around me happily. "She's my fiancé and doesn't like the word 'couple'." Gio grinned.

"What are you doing?" I mouthed to him. I tried to pry myself away from him. As much as I was in denial, I enjoyed having his arms around me.

"Trust me." He whispered as I rolled my eyes.

"Ah, well for the little lovebirds, I have a special place for the two of you tonight." The waiter leaned down and whispered something in Gio's ear.

"Sounds great." He said as the waiter wandered off. Gio quickly scribbled something down on some paper and gave it to me.

"What is this address for?" I asked, looking at an address with quick directions to the location..

"Just meet me there tonight. I've got to take care of something right now." He said with a smile.

"Look, I'm not pretending to be your fiancé…" I began hotly.

"You're breaking up with me…here?" he said dramatically. Several people looked over at us. "I can't believe that you're breaking off our engagement." He continued as I blushed. Then he said to me,"Betty, where's your sense of adventure?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, I left it in the club last night." I said dryly.

"Just do what I say." He got up and put some money on the table. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"No." I said bluntly. "For all I know, I could go to this place and you'll be waiting to murder me or something." I was letting my imagination go.

"Murder you? Betty, are you still being affected by the 'Italian Poison'?" he looked worried.

"I was joking. Fine…I'll meet you at this place. Only because…"

"You're secretly and passionately in love with me." He answered with a smile.

"Yes, that's exactly it." I said sarcastically.

"See you later, Betty." He got within an inch of me and looked at me intently. I felt a sudden jolt of electricity between, like the many times we were close to one another.

"Don't…push…your…luck." I said, pushing myself away from his close proximity. He frowned and began to walk away.

"Bring something for the cold weather." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

I held his paper tight in my hand as the waiter came up to me. "You're lucky to have a fiancé like him." He said.

"Yeah, I am…" I said without thinking as I watched Gio leave. I took a look at the address written on the paper and found myself smiling.

As I walked back to my room, I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to interview Francesca and have the interview ready today. My thoughts of Gio literally made me forget about work. I suddenly turned and ran straight for our temporary office.

"Betty…" Daniel greeted me as I sat down, out of breath.

"Not now Daniel…I need to do something." I held my hand up for him to leave me alone.

"I hope you're not about to start on that interview." Daniel advised.

"No, because it's already finished." I answered, hoping he would leave.

"Betty Suarez, you're lying to me!" Daniel had a stupid grin plastered on his face. He has gotten better about telling when I'm lying.

"It's not what you think…" I protested.

"Betty, I know you didn't get that interview." He sighed. "I know because I set you up to meet Francesca in order to see Gio."

"What?" I replied, taken aback. "How…how did you know that …Daniel…that was uncalled for. You lied to me!" I said angrily.

"Betty, he's been a really good friend to you. I thought you could use him now." Daniel looked at me curiously. I appreciated it when he taught me a lesson every once in awhile.

"Look Daniel, I really need to figure things out on my own. I really appreciate what you're doing, but please stay out of this. I'm being cautious. I know what I'm doing."

Daniel sighed. "If you say so. I trust you Betty." Daniel smiled and walked away.

I sat at my desk and wondered what Gio was up to tonight. He refused to tell me why we pretended to be engaged. It had something to do with whatever he had planned. I finished up a few last minute emails at the office and headed back to see my family before I went off to meet Gio.

"Interesting night, mija?" my dad inquired as I entered the room, even though it seemed he already knew about the night.

"Yeah. Thanks for leaving me alone with Gio!" I said sarcastically.

"Ay, Betty he was worried about you. You need to be nicer to Gio." Hilda warned as she handed me some water.

"What's this doing on my bed?" I asked as I picked up a drawing of a purple squirrel.

"Gio brought it by, Aunt Betty. He said he thought he would give you something in remembrance of last night. Apparently, you kept talking about purple squirrels and laughing." Justin laughed and opened up a book and read.

"I don't remember anything about purple squirrels." I turned to Hilda looking for an explanation.

"Last night…after you had two drinks, all you could talk about was something about purple squirrels. You put Latinas to shame when you can't even hold your alcohol very well." Hilda began to fold some clothes.

"Oh." I replied and stared at the picture Gio had drawn. He wasn't too much of an artist either. "So Gio stopped by?" I asked looking up at Hilda.

"Yeah, you must have been at work. It wasn't too long ago. Anyway, what's up with Gio? He didn't look like his normal self." Hilda looked at me, trying to read my mind.

"Gio?" I asked curiously. "I haven't noticed any difference. Anyway, I'm meeting him tonight." I added quickly. "You know, there are so many places in Italy I need to see."

"Wait…un momento…Gio is doing something with you tonight? Like a date?" Hilda eyed me with a smile. Justin had put the book down and was all ears as well as my dad.

"It's nothing. He just has something cool to show me…or something…" I explained.

Hilda turned to Justin. "Cover your ears Justin." Justin immediately followed his mother's directions.

"Betty, when a boy wants to show you something cool…"she began to warn me.

"It's not like that. Trust me. It's not a date…I promise…" I protested.

"Ay, I hope he has something romantic planned. I remember when he was fixing my sink and he went on and on about the things he would do with a woman." Hilda looked into space.

"Hilda, it's ok. There's nothing romantic about Gio…this is just between friends." I said as I looked at my watch. "Ok, I have an hour to get ready…if you'll excuse me." I said as I left.

"Betty doesn't get ready for just friends…" I could hear Hilda say as I was in the bathroom.

As I got ready, my heart has pattering wildly against my chest. This is going to be nothing, I thought to myself. I had no idea why I was so nervous. I took out the sheet Gio gave me and looked at the address curiously. I knew where the place was, but it stuck me as odd that we would be meeting there. I shrugged and looked at myself in the mirror. I hadn't revealed my true feelings for Gio to anyone, but I wondered why everyone seemed to realize it without me even saying anything. I took one last look in the mirror and smiled.

"Alright, I'm leaving. See you later." I said over my shoulder. My family waved and returned their attention to the TV. As I walked into the hall, Hilda followed me.

"Betty…" she said my name, which made me turn to her. "Don't hurt him." She said quietly.

"Hurt him…why would I hurt him?" I asked.

"Look, you like him. You may not have revealed that to anyone, but I can tell. I may not have been the smartest in our school…but I can tell when two people in love look into each other's eyes. They're lost in one another. Just…don't do anything to hurt him. He's a good guy." She smiled and hugged me.

"How did you know?" I asked, curious to know why she figured it out.

"The way you look at him. It's as if right after you want to have a fight, you want to grab him and kiss him. I had that with Santos. I miss him Betty…so don't pass up another opportunity for love. I know I told you the same with Henry…but…Gio's different and here now…for you." She opened the door and smiled before retreating behind the door.

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment and then walked out into the streets. I kept glancing at the address on the slip of paper. Every second passed and I wanted to talk myself out of what I was doing. Finally, I compared the address on the slip of paper, to the building I found myself in front of. They both matched. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Typical." I muttered angrily. He's probably watching me on some hidden camera and laughing at me. I stood there for a few more moments and suddenly I heard music from the heavens. Wait, it was coming from the roof. I walked around the building until I found the fire escape and began to slowly climb it. Once I reached the top, my jaw dropped and I felt like crying.