Chapter 15 #3
But just as I leaned in, Matteo froze. His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “It’s getting late,” he said quietly, though his voice came out hoarse.
“Not really…” I whispered back.
Before I could say more, something shifted in the light around us. A faint, reddish hue kissed the edge of his hair, tinting the side of his face like paint on canvas. His eyes flicked over my shoulder, then back to mine – soft now, and full of that smile that always undid me.
“Look behind you, princesa.”
Still holding onto him for balance, I twisted in his arms.
And there it was.
On the far edge of the horizon, the first blush of dawn had begun to rise. The sun peeked over the dark water like a shy secret, setting the sky ablaze in deep red and rose-gold. The waves caught the light, scattering it in shimmering ribbons across the ocean’s surface.
I just stared, breath caught somewhere between my ribs and my throat.
The warmth of Matteo’s hands at my waist, the cool water against my skin, the red light of a new day unfurling across the sea – everything collided in that single, suspended moment.
The horizon bloomed like a secret unfolding.
The darkness that had held the beach in its quiet grip began to melt away, replaced by a slow, magnificent fire.
Hues of crimson bled into streaks of orange and soft gold, stretching across the sky in ribbons.
The sun rose slowly, yet with such undeniable power, pushing back the night with every shimmering inch.
It looked enormous – like it was rising just for us.
The ocean caught the light and scattered it, turning into a vast mirror of molten gold. A perfect path of sunlight stretched from the horizon to where Matteo and I floated, as if the universe itself was drawing us into the day.
I felt his hand tighten, warm and steady, against my waist. The strength in that single touch anchored me, even as everything else inside me threatened to drift away with the tide.
“This is…” My voice came out softer than I expected, almost reverent. “The most beautiful view I’ve ever seen.”
“I know.”
The reply wasn’t cocky, for once. It was quiet. Almost tender.
Slowly, I turned my head, glancing up at him over my shoulder.
Matteo wasn’t looking at the sunrise.
He was looking at me.
His golden-brown hair was damp and messy, clinging to his forehead, and the soft red light from the rising sun caught along the sharp edges of his face. But it was his eyes that stopped me cold – deep, dark, and lit with something I couldn’t quite name. Mysterious. Intense. Almost like adoration.
The world around us was transforming – night into day, shadows into light – yet the only thing I could feel was his hand on my waist and the weight of that gaze holding me in place.
I felt him shift beneath me – his chest expanding with a deep inhale, the subtle tightening of his grip at my waist. It was the kind of movement that said we should probably get going.
But I wasn’t ready.
Before he could say anything, I twisted slowly in his arms, the cool water sliding over my skin like silk.
My legs stayed wrapped loosely around his hips for balance, and I lifted my arms to loop them around his neck.
His damp hair brushed the inside of my wrists as I settled against him, holding on – not out of fear anymore, but because it suddenly felt right.
“Do you always get up early to watch the sunrise?” I asked, tilting my head just enough to catch his profile in the growing light.
His gaze flicked to me, steady and unguarded. “I do.”
“No matter where you are?”
“Always.”
There was no hesitation in his voice. Just quiet certainty, like it was a rule he lived by.
I smiled softly, tightening my hold a fraction. “How many sunrises do you think you’ve seen?”
He huffed out a small laugh, low and warm. “Since sixteen… As many as I’ve lived.”
For a moment, neither of us said anything. The ocean lapped gently against us. The horizon continued to blush brighter and brighter, the sun climbing higher like it had all the time in the world.
“What’s the most beautiful sunrise you’ve ever seen?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer right away – not because he didn’t know, but because he wasn’t searching for the memory. He was in it. I could see it in the way his shoulders relaxed, the way his eyes softened.
“I would have to say this one.”
My breath caught. “Honest?”
His lips curved – not into a smirk, but something quieter, more deliberate. “I would never lie to you, mi Donna.”
Something inside me melted.
My hands, still resting on the back of his neck, tightened just a little more, almost unconsciously. And he held me closer in return, steady as the tide, while the sun painted the world gold around us.
“And… what do you do after you watch the sunrise?” I asked, my voice softer than the waves curling around us.
He shifted his grip on my waist slightly, keeping me steady as we floated together in the glowing water. The sun had climbed higher now, spilling molten light across the surface, turning every ripple into liquid gold.
“If I’m in a new place,” Matteo said, glancing toward the horizon as if it held the answer, “I usually go into the nearest town for breakfast.”
The air between us grew quiet again. Not uncomfortable – just suspended, like the world was waiting. My wet hair clung to the back of my neck, and the early warmth of the sun kissed my skin.
Then he looked back at me. His eyes caught mine with that same easy confidence, but something else shimmered beneath it. Something soft.
Ask me.
“Would you like to come with me and have breakfast together, Francesca?”
For a heartbeat, my chest fluttered wildly. It was such a simple question, but wrapped in it was everything – the night, the laughter, the dancing, the sunrise.
“I would like that,” I breathed.
His smile broke fully then, brighter than the morning sun cresting behind him. It wasn’t the usual Matteo grin, sharp and teasing. This one was open, golden, like sunshine poured into human form.
“Let’s go then,” he said, voice low and warm.
And just like that, with the ocean glittering around us and the day stretching awake before our eyes, it felt like something new had quietly begun.