Chapter 43
It's been a week since I started living every moment to the fullest with Mattia.
I couldn't take missing him anymore, and at dinner, when he gave me an ultimatum, saying we weren't going to stay apart any longer, that was what finally made me give in.
Yes, I had already forgiven him, but when he saved us, I decided to give us another chance—both of us, and our son, deserved to be a family.
I went back to work as usual after a few days at home. Mattia still hasn't left. We're planning my trip to Italy so I can meet his mother and introduce Matteo to the family, who haven't met him yet. I'm getting all my work done ahead of time so I can travel worry-free.
I hope everything goes well. I have to admit I'm pretty anxious about meeting Mattia's family.
We still don't have a label, as they say—we're just living in the moment.
But I hope we can figure this out as soon as possible, because I want to be with him.
What worries me is my work, and where we'll live, but since we're taking it slow, I'll deal with that later.
We arrived in Italy and went straight to his mother's apartment.
Her name is Germana, and she lives there with her twin sons, Leonardo and Lorenzo, who came back from college not long ago.
I'm nervous about meeting everyone and wondering if they'll like me.
Mattia said his mother would welcome me warmly—she's dying to meet her grandson—and that's exactly what happened when I finally met them.
“Mom, I'm here.”
The apartment is beautiful—large, on the penthouse floor, very feminine, bright, and cozy. I walk in with Matteo in my arms. He's taking in everything around him. Then a woman in her fifties comes into the living room from a hallway.
“Ah, my son, how wonderful to see you. Oh, santo Dio, he looks so much like you when you were a baby,” she says, looking at her son. “Forgive me, Emma, I got swept up with my grandson. How are you?”
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Germana.”
“Drop the 'Mrs.,' please. It makes me feel old.” We laugh.
“It's a pleasure to be here, meeting my son's family.”
“May I hold him?”
“Of course.”
She calls to Matteo, who immediately breaks into a big smile and stretches his little arms toward his grandmother, who's completely smitten. I also met his brothers, who are the complete opposite of Mattia—they're cheerful and outgoing.
“When's the wedding?” Leonardo asks.
“Well…”
“Don't tell me you haven't proposed yet,” Germana says.
“We want to take it slow, that's all. We haven't even discussed it yet. So much has happened that we haven't had time.”
Mattia gives me a grateful look, and I hold his hand across the table. I really would like to know where I stand in his life, but like I said, a lot has happened, so it's better to wait and take things slow.
Our days in Italy have been wonderful. We've done a lot of sightseeing, and I got to know the country a bit better, but it was time to go back—I needed to work. Carter sent me a message saying he had a client waiting for me, so I decided to talk to Mattia.
“Love, am I interrupting?” I say, walking into his office.
“Of course not, come in. Is our son sleeping?”
I set the baby monitor on the desk so he can see his son and sit on his lap.
“I need to go back. Carter sent me a message saying a client needs me, so I'm thinking of leaving this week.”
“I wish you'd stay a bit longer, but I also know you have your work there, so let's leave in two days, okay?”
“Perfect, but are you coming too?”
“Are you tired of me already?”
“I just thought you'd stay here, since we only came from New York a few days ago.”
“I told you I'm not letting you go, so if you need to go back, I'm coming with you.”
“I'll let Carter know to schedule the meeting. How about we go to bed?”
I beckon to him and he immediately gets up with me in his arms. We spent half the night making love. Being with him is so good, so intense. But I realized we each have our own lives, in different places, and we'll see where this goes.
We arrived back home, and now I couldn't waste time—I had to catch up on all the backlogged work. We had the meeting with the new client, and I started on his project, all while juggling work, Matteo, and Mattia, who still wasn't leaving.
At least I was where I loved being most, with the people I loved too. Mattia would have to leave because he had a problem at the restaurant that only he could resolve. My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket. I grabbed it and saw a message.
“I'll pick you up at eight, be ready!
Your M.”
I smiled and put my phone away, finished my day, and rushed home to get ready. Samantha would be staying with her godson today—she'd said she wanted to be part of his life too, and she had every right. Since he was bigger now and loved his godparents, I was fine with it.
At eight sharp, Mattia pulled up out front and texted that he was waiting. I grabbed my coat and headed out. We drove to his place, and when we arrived, I saw he'd prepared a beautiful dinner for me.
“This is beautiful, love.” A bouquet of red roses sat on the table at my place.
“I'm glad you like it. I hope you're starving, because I made you something delicious.”
“Mmm, I really am. Breastfeeding makes you so hungry.”
“Then let me serve you.”
He served us, and as always, we talked throughout dinner. We'd always been like this—our conversation flowed easily. After we finished eating, I helped him with the dishes, and we sat down on the couch.
“I have to go back to Italy tomorrow. I thought about staying a few more days, but unfortunately I can't.”
“Will you come back?”
“I told you—you're never getting rid of me. And there's my son too. I can't stay away from you two.”
He pulled me onto his lap, kissed my lips tenderly, then looked into my eyes and said:
“I want you to come to Italy with Matteo as soon as you finish your current project. At least for a week.”
I knew living like this would be difficult, especially with my work, but I promised him I'd go. I'd try to wrap everything up as quickly as possible. Our night was wonderful. I knew it wasn't a final goodbye, but somehow it felt different.