Chapter 23
I finally saw him again, and it was so good.
That emptiness I'd been feeling seems to have vanished.
I try to tell myself I'm not in love, but the reality is different—very different.
Our weekend was wonderful. We spent every moment we had making up for how much we'd missed each other, until it came to an end on Sunday when he dropped me off at home.
We've been focused on the project for two weeks now.
We made some changes because some of the furniture I'd planned to include ended up not looking right.
We're already in the renovation phase, and this is something I always like to follow closely.
I ran into a structural problem—I couldn't tear down a wall—so we had to install a support beam across the entire span, but it actually added some charm to the room.
I'm there, focused, watching the crew work and discussing the other rooms with the engineer, when I get an unexpected visit.
“Good afternoon!!” Mattia is standing there, gorgeous, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the top three buttons undone, his hair messy and his face tired.
“Mattia, what are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you. Can we?”
“Of course, just wait a moment, please,” I say to the engineer.
I walk over to Mattia. He takes my hand and pulls me outside. It's colder than it has been, and when we step out of the building, I shiver.
“What's going on? You just show up like this—did something happen?”
“Yes, I was dying to see you. I left the restaurant just to come find you.”
He opens the car door and motions for me to get in.
I do, and he walks around, slides into the driver's seat, and just grabs me—kisses me with wild abandon, with passion, with raw emotion.
I think I needed this madness too. In the middle of the afternoon, we kiss, we touch each other, until I pull back and say:
“I need to work, Mattia. I was in the middle of dealing with something.” I smile at him.
“I know. I just stopped by to see you, and I really needed that kiss. Have dinner with me tonight?”
“Okay. I'll be waiting. Is eight o'clock good?”
“Perfect, I'll be there. Now go—I don't want to keep you from your work.”
We had dinner together that night, and on several nights after that as well.
After all, I couldn't leave Sam alone—this trip was planned by both of us.
We were making great progress, already past the halfway point, and we'd finish ahead of schedule.
One night, I was at Mattia's apartment when he said:
“In two weeks, I'll have to go to Venice, and I'd like you to come with me.”
“Mattia, I can't leave Sam alone.”
“Bring her along. You can both stay at my place there, and while I work, you can explore and see the city. It's beautiful.”
“I'll talk to her and give you an answer. We were planning to go there anyway, but toward the end of the trip. The thing is, we rented the apartment for a long stay.”
“If you need help with the rental contract, just let me know.”
“It was rented through Airbnb, so we won't have any problems with that. We just have to let them know we're leaving early.”
“Okay then. I'll be waiting for you in Venice when you finish the project.”
I get home, talk to Sam, and she agrees.
So we found a way to work longer hours, staying late to finish the project early—and we finally managed it, finishing a week ahead of schedule.
But first, we needed the clients' approval.
I hired the cleaning crew, and once everything was impeccable, I called Henry and Nicola to come look at everything.
“You're making us anxious! You've walked through the whole place and haven't said a word.”
“Emma and Samantha, congratulations. It turned out better than we could have imagined. Henry already knows your work, but I didn't—and I can say it's perfect.”
“I'm glad you liked it.”
“I told you she was good, Nicola.”
“I want you for my office renovation project, which is coming up soon.”
“Maybe this could be a starting point for you to stay here, Emma?” Henry asks.
“I work for Carter—he wouldn’t let me stay here, not for very long—but yes, Nicola, I’d be more than happy to renovate your office.”
“It’ll take a while, so there’s no rush. Right now our caseload is heavy, so I can’t just close the office.” Nicola is a lawyer, one of the best around.
“So when you’re ready, get in touch and we’ll schedule a meeting.”
“Will do. As for this place, it’s finally ready. We can get started now.”
“Yes, all that’s left is for the crew to install the machines down here. Upstairs, I’ve already taken care of everything in the break area—the coffee bar with coffee makers and a microwave for anyone who wants to heat something up, plus the lounge with the bean bags.”
“Well, ladies, I’d like to treat you to dinner for the work you’ve done here.”
“Don’t be silly, Nicola, we just did the job we were hired for.”
“I insist. I already made a reservation for tomorrow. Since you said everything was ready, I took the liberty of booking one of the best restaurants in Rome.”
“Well, if you put it that way, we accept.”
“So, since we’re done, let’s go. We also need to plan our sightseeing so we can explore the city.”
“That’s on me,” Henry says. “I knew you’d finish early, so I already planned some interesting outings for us—museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and of course the famous Colosseum, among other things.”
“We won’t be able to do all that in three days.”
“Of course we will, and we can grab lunch along the way so you can try the local cuisine.”
And so we chatted on the way home. It had been an exhausting day, and all I wanted was to shower, eat something, and sleep. When we got there, we ordered delivery and put on a movie, but I passed out halfway through, leaving Sam to watch alone.
We woke up late, but today we could afford to, so we put on warm clothes and went out for breakfast. I was falling more in love with Italy every day.
The food here is amazing. I particularly loved the croissants and cappuccino, and the bruschetta was incredible too.
To keep things interesting, we tried something different each day.
We headed back to the apartment to get ready, since Nicola would be picking us up for dinner soon.
At eight o’clock sharp, he sent a message saying he was already waiting for us.
We went down and headed to the restaurant, and imagine my surprise when I found out we were eating at the famous Cuccina Italiana.
The hostess greeted us warmly and showed us to our reserved table, where Henry was already waiting, sipping a glass of wine.
“Good evening, ladies.” He stood up to greet us.
“Hello, Henry,” we said in unison.
Our evening was wonderful. I tried the restaurant’s food, which was delicious—from the appetizers to the dessert, which completely won my heart. I praised it so much that the chef came to our table. He and Nicola had already become friends, since Nicola was a regular there.
“Nicola, how are you? I heard someone here really enjoyed the food.”
“Ah, yes. Emma, this is the restaurant’s chef, Giuseppe.”
“Hello, Mr. Giuseppe, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine. Your girlfriend is very beautiful, Nicola. You finally found a woman who can put up with you.”
“She’s not my girlfriend, Giuseppe, she—” At that moment, Mattia arrived and cut him off.
“This ragazza is mine, Giuseppe. Keep your eyes off her.”
At that moment, we all looked at each other. What was this man doing here when we had arranged to meet him in Venice a week from now?