Chapter 37
Giovanni
Two years.
One careless sentence I barely remember saying has been hurting the woman I love for two years.
I turn the memory over and over in my head like I can go back and change it.
The words may be hazy, but the pained expression on her face is devastatingly clear.
Her dimple disappeared, the fire in her eyes faded, and then that smile I despise, that polite and practiced smile, fastened itself to her face.
Tessa may have moved on after my apology, but feelings of guilt still linger inside me as I grapple with the idea that she never knew how much I admired her work—admired her.
She never knew. For two years.
And I’ll spend a lifetime making it up to her.
Tessa saunters around the bedroom in my plush ivory robe, looking clean and refreshed.
Her skin is still slightly damp from the shower.
Seeing her step into my room, wearing my robe, as my girlfriend, is more than I could’ve hoped.
And the thought of what’s under her robe causes me to adjust my athletic shorts.
She heaves a dramatic sigh. “Your shower is heavenly. I want to live in your shower. I’m thinking of marrying your shower and buying your shower health insurance.
Might even give your shower little shower babies.
Also, I found a hair dryer in your bathroom.
How did you not have a line of women outside your door applying to be your girlfriend? ”
I smile, shaking my head. “You need to raise your standards.”
“Well, they’re raised now. They’re as raised as the hills of Brescia.”
“Talk about the hills one more time…”
She chuckles, walking toward me. “I’ll never let it go. When I die, my estate lawyer will require you to mention The Hills of Brescia in my eulogy. You’ve scarred me for life, and I must return the favor.”
I snort. “What do you want to do this evening?”
“Definitely not bike,” she mumbles, giving me a cheeky look.
That’s it. I reach out and tickle her sides to a loud squeal before complete silence—my favorite laugh in the world.
“Enough, woman. Enough about the hills!” I shout.
“Okay, okay! Mercy!” she cries, and I remove my hands from her sides.
“Well? Tell me then, what do you want to do for the rest of today?” I pull her to me and rub gentle circles on her back.
“You promised me a call with your parents that never happened. Time to pay up,” Tessa demands.
I grin. It’ll be fun to talk to them now that we’re actually together. I grab her hand and lead her to the couch in the main room. We both sit down, and I retrieve my phone from the coffee table. “You ready?”
Tessa eagerly claps her hands. “Yes please, I’ve been dying to talk to them. It feels like ages.”
“It’s been less than 48 hours.”
She plops on the couch next to me and quirks an eyebrow. “Exactly.”
I chuckle and dial my parents. It’s late there, but they wanted to stay up for us.
Mamma’s face fills the screen. “Ah, there you are, Gio! Where’s Tessa?”
“Love you too, miss you too,” I deadpan.
Tessa pops into the frame, edging me out. “I’m right here, Maria. It’s so good to see you. I miss you and Roberto so much already.”
“We miss you, too!” I hear Papa pipe in, yet I can only see his ear.
I hold the phone further out so Tessa and I both fit in the frame, and I kiss her cheek. “Mamma, Papa, we have something to tell you.”
Papa’s left eyeball appears on screen, twinkling like he knows something. I squeeze Tessa’s hand, and she gives me a small nod.
“So, I wasn’t exactly truthful about my relationship with Tessa when we saw you in Italy. We were just, uh, pretending to be together.”
Mamma gasps, but it sounds fake.
I narrow my eyes. “Did you two know?”
“No! No… no,” Mamma reacts at an extraordinarily loud volume.
Tessa leans in toward my ear. “One ‘no’ would’ve been okay. Three is suspicious.”
“Mamma…”
“Of course we knew it was fake! Ma credete che siamo così ingenui? It was so obvious.”
I turn my head toward Tessa and quietly translate, “Do you think we’re that naive?”
She bites her lip to stifle a laugh, whispering back, “I’ve missed them.”
“If your awkwardness didn’t give it away, Tessa all but telling Roberto in the garden would’ve tipped us off.”
I swivel my head toward her. “You did what?”
She gestures wildly out of frame. “I felt guilty! I didn’t want to lie to him anymore. I didn’t think he caught on in the end.”
“Technically, you broke the deal. I shouldn’t even tailor your first collection anymore,” I mumble.
She tries to elbow me in the ribs, but I capture her arm first and pull her into my lap.
“Well, we are together. For real, now.” I’m unable to prevent a huge smile from spreading across my face. “And… We love each other. La amo. La amo molto.”
Tessa rests her head against my chest, and I stroke her hair with my free hand.
“Tessa, I meant what I said. You were family no matter what, but we’re so thrilled it’s official. Our daughter for life.”
The implication behind Papa’s words makes both of us blush, but neither of us deny anything. I was telling the truth when I told Tessa I’m hers for as long as she’ll have me. And I hope that’s forever. She’s everything I always wanted, but never thought I could have.
“Now you can finally stop trying to set her up with every man in Italy, Mamma,” I joke.
“What do you mean? You might mess this up, and we don’t want to lose her. Tessa, Luca is still available. If something happens between you and Gio, long distance is difficult, but not impossi—”
I end the call.
“Hey!” Tessa complains. “I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“Poor baby.” I gently tug on the belt of her robe, and it falls open. “Let me make it up to you on my knees, hm?”
* * *
“Hey.” Tessa walks into the bedroom dressed in only a light pink bra and boy short underwear. “My pajama set isn’t washed from Italy, so this was all that was clean.”
She’s so fucking hot. So, I tell her.
“You’re so fucking hot.”
She blushes and ducks her chin, but she never has to be shy around me. Not about her opinions, her body, or her designs.
After a few moments of gazing into Tessa’s brown eyes, I walk closer to her. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
I want to touch her, but I don’t want her to ever feel like wearing less clothes around me is always going to end in sex.
Instead, I approach her and give her a peck on the cheek.
She yawns, wrapping me in a hug. Squeezing her back, I can tell I was right.
Her mind is elsewhere—definitely not on intimacy right now.
“What’re you thinking about in that beautiful head of yours?” I ask, brushing a piece of hair back from her forehead and tucking it behind her ear.
“Only happy thoughts.”
Her jaw moves against my chest as she yawns again, releasing an adorable sleepy sigh this time.
I kiss the top of her hair. “Let’s go to bed, yeah?”
“Are you sure? Should we stay up and have some—” she rubs her eyes—“fun?”
“We should only ever have fun when both of us are wildly energized about the idea. It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah,” she breathes, nodding against my chest. “I’m wildly energized about sleeping next to you, though.”
“I’m wildly energized about you, period.”
She giggles, which turns into another yawn. We both amble into the bedroom and slide under the covers. Through half-closed eyes, she peers over at my nightstand.
“Are you reading The Hunger Games?” She nods toward the book.
My face heats. “You said it was your favorite. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.”
Tessa says nothing, but leans over to kiss me. A long, sensual kiss, sweeping her tongue into my mouth. She pulls back on a sigh, and I reach over to turn off the lamp.
Her arm brushes up against mine.
“Love you,” she whispers, snuggling her head into my chest.
“Ti amo,” I whisper back.