It’s been two days and ten hours since I last saw her. Way too long for my liking. She tastes of freshly squeezed oranges, and I savour every inch of her.
Pulling away, she grins up at me. “Hey, you.”
“Hey.” Clearing my throat, I steal one more kiss.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispers, her lips plump, drawing me back to her.
“I’ve missed you too,” I tell her, speaking the truth.
Resting her head against my chest, I wrap my arms around her, keeping her as close as I can.
“Father Luke…”
Jerking her head back, she presses her finger to my lips.
“No. No prophecy, and no family wars—not today. I just want to be with you.”
I was going to tell her that Father Luke sent word to me that he’ll marry us on our birthday, but if she just wants today to be about us, I’ll happily oblige.
Breaking away from her, I pick up the blanket and cooler I brought with me in one hand while holding her hand in the other. Across the grass is an enormous old oak tree offering plenty of shade.
Laying the blanket on the grass, Mila slips her sandals off and lifts her dress to sit, tucking the fabric around her knees.
Opening the cooler, I reach in and pluck out two bottles of water. She gratefully accepts hers, and I watch her throat as she swallows down two large gulps.
Sitting beside her, I forget about the water and lean in to kiss her neck. I already know she’s ticklish between her ear and shoulder, and I smile against her warm skin. She smells like summer.
“Cut it out, Raphe,” she giggles.
Pulling away, I opt for a water so I have something to do as she lays down, closing her eyes.
“You think laying down doesn’t give me a thousand more ideas of what I want to do to you?”
Keeping her eyes closed, she stretches her hand out and pats the space next to her.
“Lay with me.”
Whatever she wants.
Chucking the water bottle into the cooler, I kick off my boots and make myself comfortable. Lacing her fingers through mine, I bring it up and rest on my chest.
“Since I met you, I haven’t felt so alone,” she admits, and my heart misses a beat.
Shifting onto my side, I rest my head in the palm of my free hand, smiling down at her.
“You’ll never be alone, my Mila.”
It’s a promise I’ll never break if it’s the last thing I do.
“What have you been doing since we last met?”
My smile fades.
“My father is growing impatient with me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not showing enough enthusiasm in becoming his shadow, or wanting to learn everything I can about the family from him.”
“I’m glad you’re not. I wish you could have a father like mine, and then you wouldn’t have to dodge him. My father acts like I don’t even exist, except for when he wants to parade me around like a prized cow in front of who he deems worthy suiters. Which is pointless, by the way, seeing as his plan is for me to marry the mayor.”
A rush of jealously threatens to drown me when I think of her standing before men wanting to marry her and take her to their beds. We have just over a year to get through, and it’ll be my ring she’ll wear for the rest of her life, and it will be my bed she sleeps in every single night.
As if she can hear my thoughts, she asks, “Where will we live when we’re married?”
All I’ve been doing since I first spoke to her in front of the fallen angel is plan, so I answer without hesitation.
“I’m going to buy us a house on the outskirts of the city where we can see the mountains from our bedroom window and the city from the front.”
“Our families aren’t going to be happy at all. It’s going to be messy for a long time, I think.”
“Hey, I thought we weren’t speaking of our families today?” I remind her.
“I guess there’s no getting away from them.”
“I have a plan if our marriage doesn’t unite our families, but I don’t know how you’d feel about it.”
She leans up on her elbows, knitting her brows together.
“How will you know unless you tell me?”
“The part of me that believes in the prophecy accepts that our plan will work. But in the cold light of day, when reality sets in, it tells me the only obstacles that would stand in our way would be our fathers. The Marocchi’s