19
GAbrIELA DUARTE
I woke slowly, aware first of warmth, then of the weight of Luca’s arm around my waist.
The storm had passed. A pale band of light cut through the curtains. Luca’s shirt lay on the floor; my dress was drying on the chair. He slept behind me, his chest against my back, his breathing deep and even in my hair. There was no distance between us. No regret. Not yet.
There were, however, very real consequences.
I’d spent the night in the group president’s room.
If a housekeeper found me, or Beatrice heard before we’d had a chance to talk, no professional explanation would put an end to the questions.
I wasn’t ashamed of the night. I was afraid of what other people would make of it.
Luca hadn’t stirred. I carefully lifted his arm and looked for my shoes beside the chair. He woke before I could get up.
“Where are you going?”
His voice was rough with sleep.
“Back to my room, before anyone sees me.”
He opened his eyes.
“It’s six in the morning.”
“The staff starts at six.”
“There are people in the kitchen at six,” he conceded. “They take a little longer to reach this hall.”
I tried to get up again. Luca pulled me back and buried his face in my neck.
“Five minutes.”
“Yesterday you wanted to think about consequences.”
“Today I want coffee and five more minutes.”
The unexpected tenderness disarmed me. I turned to find his face without its usual defenses. His hair was a mess; a pillow crease marked his cheek.
“You look human,” I said.
“Don’t tell the board.”
“Beatrice might put it in her next report.”
Luca grew serious.
“She won’t speak to you like that again.”
“You can’t control everything she does.”
“I can control her access to the project.”
“Are you going to remove her?”
“Her access to the living quarters has already been dealt with. I want her requests to the team to go through project coordination, in writing.”
I rested my hand on his chest.
“Because you spent the night with me?”
“Because she withheld information from the report and kept attacking you even after the audit. I should have dealt with it yesterday, without waiting for this conversation.”
“So does this mean there’s something between us?”
Luca looked at me.
“The bed seems like fairly good evidence.”
“I’m not asking about sex.”
He sat up, pushing back the sheet.
“I want to keep seeing you.”
“Only me?”
“Only you.”
I needed to hear that without a kiss, without his hand on my waist. I held his gaze a moment longer.
“Then we understand each other.”
His fingers touched mine on the sheet.
“And Cris?” he asked before he could stop himself.
“Cris is going to laugh so hard when I tell him you asked again.”
“Don’t tell him.”
“Too late. I’ve decided.”
He grimaced, and I laughed against his shoulder.
“How long do you plan to hide this?” I asked.
“Until we get through the next stages of construction.”
“That could take months. I’m not pretending nothing’s happening for months.”
He looked at the dress on the chair.
“I don’t want to make an announcement on-site.”
“Neither do I. But I don’t want you denying it if someone asks.”
“I won’t deny it.”
“The audit safeguards stay in place, Luca. Even if we break up.”
“They stay.”
“And you don’t have to let go of me in front of Sofia and Paola as though you’ve done something wrong,” I said.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I’d like to see you remember that when your grandmother walks in.”
He glanced at the door and gave a low laugh. I caught his wrist before he could lie back down.
“If you change your mind, tell me. Don’t spend days avoiding me.”
His expression sobered. He brought his forehead to mine.
“If this ends, you’ll hear it from me. I won’t leave you waiting or trying to guess.”
I nodded. He kissed me slowly, and I didn’t have to brace for him to pull away at the end. We stayed together a few more minutes, until I reached for the shirt he offered me. We decided to go downstairs separately that morning.
I crossed the hall barefoot in Luca’s borrowed shirt, carrying my dress and shoes. I almost made it to my room unseen.
Almost.
Sofia appeared from the staircase in a silk robe, carrying a cup of tea. She stopped in front of me and looked at the dress in my arms.
“Good morning, my dear.”
“Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well?”
My face burned.
“Very.”
“Wonderful. Did Luca sleep?”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
Sofia smiled over the rim of her cup.
“Naturally.”
I slipped into my room and closed the door to the sound of her quiet laughter.
I hung up the dress and left Paola a message asking her to arrange for it to be cleaned before I returned it.
Two hours later, I found Luca in the project room.
Carlo and the other technical staff were already there.
Luca looked up and greeted me before returning to the schedule.
I took my place and presented the week’s work plan. Luca questioned two dates and approved an expense. Nothing in the discussion changed because of the night before, and I was able to concentrate on the drawings. After the meeting, I gathered my papers. He closed his folder and waited.
“Did you notify the audit team?” I asked.
“Yes. The oversight stays in place, as agreed.” He glanced at the door. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Yes.”
I closed the door and came back to the table.
Luca walked around it, took me by the waist, and kissed me. I rested my hands on his chest, laughing when I bumped into the folder I was still carrying.
“Good morning, Gabriela,” he said.
“Now it is.”
He touched my hand and threaded his fingers through mine.
Sofia knocked once and opened the door, with Paola behind her. Luca kept holding my hand beside the table. Sofia showed no surprise.
“I came to ask whether I can start planting the yellow roses.”
“Gabriela’s checked the beds,” Luca said, looking at me. I confirmed they were ready.
Paola looked at our hands, then at the ceiling.
I gave Luca’s fingers a small squeeze. When they left, I opened the plans again.
The rain had exposed a drainage problem in the north courtyard, beyond the section we’d corrected at the start of the work.
Carlo’s proposed solution would sacrifice some of the original paving.
Luca suggested an alternative, but before he’d finished, I pointed out where it would interfere with the foundations.
“You’re thinking like an owner,” I said. “Water doesn’t care about the chain of command.”
“And you’re enjoying disagreeing with me a little too much the morning after.”
“Sleeping with you doesn’t come with a clause requiring me to agree.”
His smile came slowly, intimate. Then he turned back to the plans and pointed to a level marking.
“Here too?”
I leaned over the table.
“Here too.”
He sighed and called Carlo back. At lunch, we sat across from each other at the table with the team.
Paola complained that the drainage work would mean redoing three orders.
Luca discreetly pointed at me. I kicked his leg under the table and hit the chair instead.
He lowered his face over his plate. No one seemed to notice that he was trying not to laugh.