Chapter 35
GAbrIELA
I wake with a groan as Beppe licks my hand, alerting me that it’s time to feed him. He probably needs to go outside, too.
Beneath me, Romeo is still asleep, and he looks so peaceful I don’t want to wake him. He hasn’t had much rest lately, and he needs it.
Still, I linger there for a moment as I study him, letting it sink in all over again.
He loves me.
Warmth settles in my chest, and it takes me a minute to identify what I’m feeling. Then I realize…it’s happiness.
Naturally, the second emotion that follows is anxiety.
I’ve wanted this for so long, I think it will take a while to accept that it’s real.
There are still things to resolve—like telling my family, and figuring out where we go from here. But if there’s one thing I know about Romeo, it’s that when he’s made up his mind, he doesn’t falter.
I slip from the bed quietly, scooping Beppe up and setting him on the floor while I raid Romeo’s closet. I grab one of his black T-shirts and pull it over my head, stifling a laugh when I glance at my reflection in the mirror. It looks like a dress on me.
“Okay,” I whisper, lifting Beppe up into my arms. “Let’s go find you something to eat.”
I leave the suite and pad down the hall, pleased to find Beppe’s travel bag on the kitchen island. Julian said he’d go back to the penthouse and get his things, and he must have dropped them off this morning. I sort through the bag and gather what I need to feed him.
After he has a full belly, I dress him in one of his cozy sweaters and take him outside. He doesn’t waste any time doing his business. It’s chilly today, and we’re both content to get back to the warmth of the house.
When I round the corner and enter the suite with Beppe in my arms, I catch Romeo throwing on some briefs in a hurry.
“Fuck, Gabi.” He releases a harsh breath when he sees me.
The noticeable relief on his face tugs at my heart. He was obviously worried about me, or even worse—he thought that I had run off again.
I set Beppe on the bed, and he disappears beneath the covers.
When I approach Romeo, I wrap my arms around him and press my face against his chest. “I wasn’t going anywhere. I just had to take Beppe out.”
“You should have woken me. I would have done it.”
“You were finally sleeping.” I point out. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“That’s because you were in bed with me.” He brushes his lips against my hair.
When I look up at him, I’m surprised to see that he’s not joking. At least, I don’t think he is. He seems to understand my confusion, so he explains.
“Don’t ask me why, I only sleep well when you’re with me. I think you’ve hexed me.”
A smile spreads across my face. “Nurse Gabi to the rescue.”
“You’re the only medicine that’s ever worked, little shark.”
My heart melts at that name, and I feel how seamlessly the two halves of him fit together. They were never really different. They were just…Romeo.
“Can we get back in bed now?” I ask. “It’s freezing.”
“I can start a fire,” he offers.
“Maybe later.” I thread my fingers through his and lead him back to bed.
Romeo and I settle in as he wraps his arms around me, warming the chill in my bones.
He kisses my face, then my neck, and pretty soon, one thing leads to another, and he’s back inside me. This time, he sets a slow, unhurried pace, like he has all day, and I guess he does.
It feels less frantic than last night and more like a declaration.
We both finish, and he drags me back onto his chest, fingers combing through my hair. It almost puts me to sleep before the deep reverberations of his voice pull me back.
“I want you here with me on the island.”
Tension pulls at his muscles as he waits for me to answer, but there’s no need for him to worry. I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d want to be, and now that I’m studying remotely, I don’t have to stay in the city.
“Okay. But what about all my stuff? Can I bring it here?”
His hand tightens on my hip reflexively. “You can paint the whole place pink if you want. I don’t care what you do as long as you’re here with me.”
“You’d really let me do that?” I ask, not because I plan to, but because I think he’s actually serious.
“In case it wasn’t clear already, there isn’t a thing you could ask me for that I wouldn’t give you.”
Bliss settles deep in my bones, and I snuggle closer, holding him tight.
He rubs my back with one hand while he reaches for his phone with another.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Texting Julian. I’ll have him get a crew to pack up your things and bring them here.”
“I don’t want them packing up my underwear,” I say, mortified at the thought of random men going through my dresser.
“They won’t be.” Possession bleeds through Romeo’s voice. “I’ll make sure they bring a female guard to pack up your room and everything in your workspace.”
I nod, closing my eyes as he handles the business on the phone, and I start to drift off again. At some point, I think I hear him say something about food, but I’m too warm and comfortable to move.
When I wake up again, there’s a fire burning in the hearth, and Beppe is curled up on his dog bed in front of it.
That’s not the only addition to the room, either.
His ramp is at the end of the bed, and boxes of my bedding are stacked in the corner.
On the nightstand, there’s a tray of breakfast pastries and a bottle of water. Romeo, however, is nowhere in sight.
I’m still exhausted, but I don’t even know what time it is, and I should help move my belongings.
I amble into his closet again and help myself to a pair of his briefs and sweatpants, along with one of his hoodies.
I take a quick shower and brush my teeth, and when I get dressed, I have to roll the pants halfway up so I don't trip over them. I could probably have Abella bring me something to wear, but Romeo’s clothes feel more comfortable than anything else would right now.
I braid my hair and venture back into the room, searching for my shoes. But as I’m looking for them, the well-worn sketchbook on Romeo’s desk captures my attention.
My curiosity gets the best of me, and when I open it, the air punches from my lungs.
It’s a drawing of me sitting in the school stairwell, hugging my knees to my chest as tears track down my face. As I trace the lines with my finger and study the details, I realize it’s not just a drawing. It’s a memory.
I remember that day because Miles Pennington asked me to the school dance. He was a spoiled Society kid, and he couldn’t believe it when I turned him down. By lunchtime, he’d made up a story that I tried to kiss him and told everyone I was a weird loser.
“You looked so vulnerable that day.” Romeo’s voice startles me, and when I glance over my shoulder, he’s standing behind me.
“This was before we were even friends.” My gaze drifts back to the drawing, silently questioning how he could have known about this.
Even though we’d grown up together, I can’t remember us ever really talking until I was around thirteen. I always assumed he wasn’t paying attention before.
“I didn’t know what to say to you then.” He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. “So I did what I could.”
“Is that why Miles showed up with two black eyes the next day and never spoke to me again?”
When I glance up at him, his lip twitches, but he doesn’t confirm or deny it.
I flip through the next few pages, uncovering more drawings of me at school and on the island. They’re memories I didn’t even realize he captured. When I find one of us together, I pause to examine it more closely.
We’re sitting beside each other in the lighthouse during one of our spooky story sessions, and I’m bundled up in a soft blanket from the Vitale home.
That night, I’d been disappointed because Michele grabbed it first, not realizing it was my favorite.
When we got to the lighthouse, Romeo stole it back and gave it to me.
In the drawing, there’s a hint of a smile on his face as I look up at him like he’s my hero.
“That was the first time you ever spoke directly to me,” he says.
“Really?” I meet his eyes. “What did I say?”
“You always seem to notice things.” He smirks. “That’s what you told me after I got your blanket back. You just didn’t realize the only things I seemed to notice revolved around you.”
My stomach flutters as I turn into his hold. “I’d had a crush on you forever, and when you looked at me that day, I thought I was having a heart attack.”
“I could tell.” His warm gaze drops to my lips as he angles my head back to kiss me.
“You were always quiet.” My words brush against him. “I never had the courage to talk to you before because I didn’t think you liked me.”
Dry amusement darkens his voice. “You had no idea.”
He takes me by the hand and leads me to the club chair.
When he sits, he pulls me onto his lap, settling me there so I can finish looking through the sketchbook.
It’s been years, but our entire history is preserved between the pages.
I’m fascinated by seeing our story through Romeo’s eyes, and I take my time with each drawing, studying the details.
“What was this one?” I ask, pausing on the image of me watching him draw on a napkin.
“It was the first time you smiled at me,” he confesses. “You were overwhelmed, so I drew something to distract you. It seemed to help.”
My heart squeezes in my chest, emotion clogging my throat as I nod and flip to the next page, noticing the date penciled across the bottom.
April 15th.
415—the numbers in his username.
“And this one?”
“That was when I knew I was in love with you.”
“Really?” I stare at the image of me feeding the stray cat that used to hang around our high school. It was the same year everything changed for us. “What made you realize it then?”