first thing in the morning. I love this version of Grace, when her mind is quiet and she’s in the moment. She looks at me and I know that I’m all she sees.
“Good morning,” she says quietly. Her expression is so soft and sweet.
I’m falling more in love with her all the time.
“How did you sleep? You seemed like you were out right through the night.”
She wets her lips. “I think so? I was so tired when we got home I just passed out the moment my head hit the pillow.”
It’s true. Once we arrived back to Villa Rosa from Florence it was fairly late, and we were all exhausted since we tried to cram so much in that last day. Even Vanni fell asleep in the car on the short drive home.
But with Vanni knowing about us, and giving us his approval, I knew that if Grace wanted to sleep in my bed, that we wouldn’t have to hide it. I still want to keep things light in front of Vanni, for obvious reasons, and I’m a bit wary of even kissing her in front of him, but he didn’t seem to notice she went to sleep in my room.
In our room.
Because that’s what this is now.
“Allora,” I say slowly, not wanting to scare her off. She might love me, but what I’m about to say to her could still come on too strongly for her. “When are you going to move in with me?”
She stills, staring up at me. “Move in here?”
“Yes. We talked about this before. You suggested I come up to Edinburgh…”
“Oh, I know. I know. And that’s not an option. I just…”
“I’m coming on too strongly?”
She grins. “You are coming on just strong enough. You wouldn’t be Claudio otherwise. You wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with.”
Fuck.
I can’t get enough of those words. I’m aware that it’s been only a couple of days since she first told me she loved me, but I have been reveling in them ever since.
She loves me.
My heart couldn’t be more full. I have a son that loves me, and respects that Grace and I want to be together, and I have the love of an amazingly talented, inspiring, complicated woman who keeps me on my toes. I’m excited to go back to the marble statue today, and I know it’s going to be one of my best pieces, all because of her.
I have everything I want.
Except I want her to move in with me.
And then marry me.
And then it will be complete.
“Besides,” she goes on, “you told me the other day that you want me forever and I told you the same. Forever means I’m going to be moving in here. I just have to figure out the process.” She pauses and sits up. “It definitely means I need to finish my book first before I get any more distracted.”
Then she goes stiff.
I sit up beside her and put my hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She nods, her face pale. “Aye. I just realized…what’s the point of finishing the book when I don’t even know if I have an agent?”
Right.
After Jana found out about us, and I ended up arguing with her in the streets of Florence, it was unclear what Jana’s plans were. She was pissed, that much was true, though she never outright told me that she didn’t want to represent Grace anymore. Perhaps she knew if she did, then I’d really let my temper fly. We’ve had so many fights in the past that it gets pretty exhausting, and I don’t think either of us wanted to deal with that.
All Jana wanted to do was see her son for the rest of that night, and then the next morning she flew back to London.
I haven’t contacted her yet, knowing she needed a few days of space to clear her head and calm down. I know her pride was damaged, and the bear was poked, but I figure she’ll eventually come to her senses.
At any rate, it’s not Grace’s job to contact her. She did nothing wrong.
“I’m going to call her today,” I tell Grace.
“Oh no, don’t,” she cries out, her forehead creasing. “Please don’t.”
“Why not? She is my ex-wife. We had a fight and I need to make sure she’s not punishing you for no reason.”
“It’s not for no reason…”
“Tell me, Grace, if you were in her shoes, how would you react?”
“I…” she rubs her lips together, thinking. “I would be taken aback.