Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
He tensed up, not liking the way this conversation was going.
“You could do that the first chance you got, yes.”
“What if I don’t want to? What if I like being with you? Living here, in the middle of nowhere. Then I want to stay. I don’t want to leave. I like being with you.”
“I like having you around. However, you need to be on bed rest.” He stood up, picking her up in his arms and carrying her back to his bedroom.
Where she belonged.
****
A couple weeks later
Mavis walked downstairs feeling much like her old self. She’d been ill during Thanksgiving, but she and Luca had spent every waking moment with each other. He worked from his laptop in his room, and she watched television while he did. They shared mealtimes in his room, and at night, he’d pull her in his arms, and she felt the comfort as he held her close.
His arms were large and surrounded her.
She felt safe and loved.
It was a strange feeling for her to have, but no matter how hard she tried to pull away from him, to not trust the comfort of his arms, he kept on holding her, and she didn’t want to let go, not for a second.
At the bottom of the stairs, she heard soft music coming from the dining room. Feeling pretty much recovered, she was ready to leave her bedroom and to get back to helping around the yard or in the kitchen. Luca had also promised to show her some of the ideas he had for the surrounding land. There were times she was sure he was shocked by how much land he owned.
Entering the dining room, she came to a stop. The large table had been replaced by a small, circular one. Two candles glowed, lighting the room. The soft music filled the air, and Luca stood beside her chair.
“I’m so pleased you could join me.”
“Where’s Susan?”
“She’s gone. I’ve given her a couple of weeks off.” She’d been working overtime because of Mavis’s illness. For the past couple of weeks, Mavis felt she’d eaten enough soup to drown a farm. She wanted something with a bit of bite to it and that didn’t taste like waterlogged vegetables.
“It’s just you and me.” He held his hand out to her, and she stepped closer.
Luca pulled her in close, his lips brushing across hers.
“It’s nice to see some color in your cheeks,” he said.
She’d missed him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back with a passion. She felt starved for his kisses, desperate to feel his hands on her, and she didn’t want to let him go.
After a few seconds when she pressed her body against him, she moaned as he held her hands and pulled away.
“There’s a couple of things I need to talk to you about, and I can’t do that to you with your lips on mine.”
She licked her lips, thinking of nothing better to do or say than kiss him. “We could talk after?”
“No, I want to talk to you now, when I can say the words.”
She bit her lip, worried that he was going to turn her away.
Taking a seat, she released a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she tried to think of a number of things to do with her hands.
He took a seat opposite her. “I decided against wine. I think water would be best.”
“I’m kind of worried. Are you about to break me some bad news?”
“I’m about to break you some news. I don’t know if you’d consider it good or bad. I guess I’ll let you decide.”
She waited as he poured them each a glass of water. She hated being kept in suspense or feeling out of place.
When it came to Luca, he’d become her everything, and showed her a life that to many may be confusing, but to her, it made a lot of sense.
“So, I want to talk about the future, Mavis. I’ve seen all of your grades and what the teachers are saying. You’re smart. You can go on to have an amazing life, and I know you’d be able to pick up where you father left off in his company.”
She couldn’t care less about her father’s company.
“I want to help you with that.”
“What?”
“I realized something the other day.” He reached across the table. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life. I didn’t think I was even capable of feeling anything.”
“What are you saying?” she asked.
“I’m saying that against all fucking odds, Mavis Miller, you have done what no other person has been able to do.”
She stared at him, waiting. Her heart pounded harder with each second that passed, and she didn’t know what to do, what to think, how to feel. All of it was a crazy moment as the time seemed to stretch between them.