9
Giovanna
I winced in pain as I tried to adjust myself against the pillows. Alessio would arrive soon, and I needed to appear strong and not broken when I told him my father was on his way to take me back to Sicily.
While Marta took care of my horrible feet and legs, I spoke to my papà on the phone and told him what had happened tonight. Naturally, he was furious. Our call had been short and unpleasant. Unpleasant for me when I realized it had been a mistake calling him while I was so emotional and in pain…
“What kind of man puts his young wife in danger like that? Alessio is a disgrace. Call the ceremony off!” he yelled into the phone.
“No, Papà. We have already signed the marriage document. We are legally married.”
“So? Only on paper. I’ll bring you home where I can keep you safe.”
“Papà, please hear me out. I’ve given myself to him. I could be pregnant already.” I winced registering my words. I placed my hand on my stomach, but it was true. As weird as it was to inform my father that I was not a virgin anymore, he needed to know.
“No, Gia. Why didn’t you wait until the ceremony so the Priest could bless your marriage?” A stream of Italian curse words littered the ozone.
I heard my mother ask what had happened. Papà’s retelling was compelling. I should go home. It was in my best interest to leave Alessio.
A knock at my door shook me out of my head.
“Gia, can I come in?” Alessio asked.
“Sì. Come in.” I inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“Ciao, Dolcezza,” he said softly and came to my side. He took my hand and pressed his lips against it, lowering onto his knees. “I’m so very sorry. Please. Please forgive me.”
“How is your cut?” I was relieved to see him all cleaned up. “Does it hurt?”
“A little. Marta did well with the stitching. She said six tiny ones. See.” He pointed at his eyebrow. It was refreshing to get direct replies from him instead him blowing it off. “How do you feel?”
“I will heal too. I don’t think I’ll be able to comfortably walk for a few days.” My feet were pretty torn up.
“No worries. I will carry you everywhere.” He teared up staring at me. “You were right.”
“About what?”
“Everything, Dolcezza. Cara. The way I handled what happened. Putting your life in danger. But I promise, nothing like this will ever happen again.”
“Alessio.” I wanted him to stop so I could tell him about my father.
“No. Let me finish.” He stood and started to pace. “All my life I’ve been treated like a prince. My father encouraged me to run wild and sow my oats. And I did.” He stopped and met my gaze.
“Alessio, please listen to me. My father is coming tonight to get me. He wants me to go back to Sicily.”
“What?” He sat on the bed next to me and took my hands. “But we are married. Our celebration is on Saturday. Valentine’s Day. La Festa degli Innamorati. It’s going to be incredible.”
“I don’t think I could walk in heels, which you seem to like.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cara wears spiky high heels. That’s what you like. And my body isn’t like hers.”
He grabbed onto his head. “No. No. No, Dolcezza. You are what I like. Only you. You can’t leave me.”
“I didn’t intend to leave you, but when I called Papà he insisted on coming for me.” I blinked away tears. “It’s dangerous here, Alessio.”
He swallowed his emotions. “Sì, it is dangerous. I won’t stop you. I will respect your wishes.”
I gasped, feeling punched in the gut. He wasn’t going to try to convince me to stay. Why would he? He didn’t love me. He only liked me.
It hurt to know my feelings were stronger than his. I’d only realized I was in love with him when I woke up and he wasn’t there. I’d freaked out and Marta had to calm me down and assure me that Alessio was okay and would be back.
I’d given him my body. Opened my heart to him. I was willing to sacrifice myself so he could get away and live. And he only liked me.
“I want what you want, Gia. You mean a lot to me. I don’t want to hurt you.” He shook his head, appearing ashamed. “Tonight, you could have been killed like Dino. The risk is too much, yes?’
“Sì.” I wiped a tear that had escaped out of the corner of my eye. “Do you want an annulment so you can marry someone else?” I choked out a sob as my heart broke. Never in my life had I cried so much. What was it about Alessio that made me feel raw with so many emotions?
“Oh, Gia. Don’t cry.” He hugged me. “I don’t want to marry anyone else. But if you want to be free, I will agree to the annulment.”
He was confusing me. He wouldn’t stop me from leaving but he wasn’t professing his love either. He didn’t want to remarry but would set me free so I could remarry. Whiplash. The man gave me serious whiplash.
“What do you want?” I asked him, desperate to hear his answer.
“Nothing. What you want, I want.”
“That’s not good enough. We must agree on the same things. I won’t force you to be my husband. Or push you back into Cara’s arms.”
“Cara is out of my life forever.” He kissed my forehead. “It’s late. Tomorrow will bring clarity. Good night, Dolcezza.” He stood and went to the door.
“Good night, Alessio.”
Well, that went horribly.
He was only being nice to me out of guilt for tonight. Where was his bossy, cocky persona? The one that called all the shots and seduced me in the bathtub?
I curled into a ball on my side and cried my eyes out. He was confusing me, and I didn’t like it. He should be straightforward.
Why, Gia? You didn’t speak your mind either.
No, I didn’t because I didn’t want to manipulate him and guilt him into being with me. I wanted him to choose me on his own.
Could he be doing the same for me because he cared more for me than he let on?
The events of the day left me spent. I yawned and let sleep take me. Tomorrow would come faster than I wanted, then I’d have to face Alessio, again.
My eyes flashed open feeling a heavy weight on my stomach. My bedroom was dark. Someone had turned off the lights and pulled the curtains closed.
His natural scent surrounded me.
Alessio.
Alessio Remotti.
My husband was in my bed and holding onto me like his life depended on it. I smiled and stayed still so he didn’t wake up. What did this mean?
“I can hear you thinking,” he whispered. “If you want me to leave, I will.”
“What do you want?” I asked, trying not to breathe. It was wrong to assume anything. He was here and that meant something, but I didn’t want to guess anything. I needed to be clear about his intentions.
“To stay here.” He shifted his head closer to mine on my pillow.
“Then stay here.” I turned my head toward him. “I don’t mind.”
Our lips nearly touched. His breathing tickled my nose. Those same sensations I’d had when we made love were back. That was good, right?
“Gia, my heart aches terribly when I think about you going home to Sicily.”
“It does? But I thought you weren’t going to stop me.”
“I won’t stop you, because I love you, Dolcezza.
I know it sounds crazy because it’s only been a few days.
But I’ve known about you for years. I saw pictures of you.
I basically studied everything about you so it’s like I’ve known you since you were sixteen.
How can I stop you for my own selfish reasons? ”
I started crying. Those were the words I needed to hear.
“I love you, too. I don’t how it happened so fast, but I’d like to believe it’s because it is God’s plan for us. And I don’t argue with God.”
He snuggled closer to me. “Me either, Dolcezza. Does that mean you’ll stay?”
“I never wanted to leave. It was my papà’s idea.”
“That makes me so happy.” He kissed me. “I love you.”
“You’re my person and I know as time goes by, we will get closer and fall more in love with each other than we are tonight.”
“It’s morning, but I know what you mean,” he said teasingly.
“I want to promise you that I will support you always. You can count on me to be on your side no matter. But I won’t stop voicing my opinions.”
“I wouldn’t dream of you being the obedient silent wife. I love your fire and your compassion. You’re the wife I never knew I wanted.”
We continued kissing frantically, and before I knew it, we were making love.