Dreaming of Love (13 page)

Her phone vibrated with a text from Dae.
I knew you’d like it. Be sure to walk down the east side of the property. The view is incredible. Heading into another meeting. See you tonight. Miss you.

She shoved her phone into the pocket of her shorts, feeling as if she were walking on air. He missed her.
He misses me!
She felt good all over knowing that he was feeling the same connection as she was.

She walked toward the trunk. She loved the gnarled and twisted trunks of olive trees. She’d never seen them up close, but she’d studied photos of them and they’d always intrigued her. No two were the same, and she found even the most gnarled trunks lovely. Knowing that she’d found this place only because of Dae made her admire the trees even more.

It took a moment of staring at the lacy bark to realize what she was looking at. There were pieces of paper, fabric, and ribbons sticking out all over the trunk. She stepped closer, wondering what they were. In the distance, she heard a car door slam and then another. She stilled.

I’m trespassing
.
Crap
.

She had visions of being arrested. That would really give her brothers something to worry about.

 She hurried toward the front of the house and made a beeline for her car. The car she’d heard was parked across the street. Three women were holding hands and gazing at the house. Emily climbed into her car as fast as she could before the women could spot her and drove back toward Florence, loving the fact that Dae had thought of her when he’d seen that house.

LATER THAT EVENING Dae and Emily had dinner at a quaint restaurant on the Arno River. Dae couldn’t take his eyes off of Emily. She looked radiant in a short summery dress with her hair falling loosely over her breasts. They’d already finished eating a delicious meal of
zuppa de arselle
, soup with bread, tomato, and mussels, and
tagliatelle ai funghi
, tagliatelle pasta with mushrooms, and were sharing a bottle of wine as Emily told him about her afternoon.

“It was nice just to stroll through the city and people watch. But the highlight of my day was definitely seeing the villa you gave me directions to. Your map was perfect, by the way.”

He reached for her hand. “I wish I could have seen your face when you saw the tree.” He was trying to figure out how to tell her that he might have to demolish the house, but she looked too happy to ruin the moment.

“I didn’t get to look for too long. There were three women who showed up, and I was worried about trespassing, so I took off. Can you imagine if I called home to tell my brothers that I’d been arrested? They’d never let me out of their sight again.”

“I would have been there to bail you out.” He shifted his seat closer and draped an arm around her. “Did you see all the things that were on the tree? It looked almost as if it had been decorated.”

“I saw that, too, and it made me think of this place Adelina told me about. The House of Wishes. She called it something else today. Something about love.”

“Well, that tree would have to be called
albero di amore
, tree of love.”

“That’s it! That’s exactly what she called it.” Emily’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. “That’s got to be the place she was talking about. She said the women around here go there and make wishes for matters of the heart. Relationships, fertility, that sort of thing.”

She leaned forward and stroked his cheek. He loved when she did that. Hell, he loved when she touched him anywhere.

“Dae, I think you sent me to the House of Wishes. She said that’s how she met her husband, by wishing for him.
There
. At that house, I think. And Luca? She said Serafina wished for him, too. It’s got to be the same place. I wonder if it’s where they go every morning to pray for Dante’s safe return. If it is, it’s probably also the place she told me I should go.” Emily gazed out over the water and sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“I wonder why she thought you should go there.” Dae thought he knew the answer to that. Earlier that morning, when he’d had coffee with Adelina, she’d told him that he had the
look of love
in his eyes. She said that Tuscany had a way of bringing lovers together, but not all lovers. Only the ones who were destined to be together. Dae wasn’t sure how he felt about the notion of destiny, much less that a geographical location could have anything to do with two people finding each other. Although now, as he sat with Emily pressed against his side, looking at him like he was more special than the Florence Cathedral, setting all sorts of unfamiliar emotions free in his heart, he began to reconsider his belief.

“She said she saw something in your eyes.” She blinked up at him and nibbled on her lower lip. He knew she was holding back.

“Something?”

“Mm-hmm.” She fiddled with the ends of her hair in that adorable, nervous way she had.

Dae paid for dinner; then they walked beneath the star-spotted sky. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Dae said, “She was right.”

“Who?”

He stopped by the water and gazed into Emily’s eyes. He could drown in those sensual dark pools of emotion. He felt himself slipping down a slope toward her, and he didn’t know how to put on the brakes—or if he wanted to.

“Adelina,” he answered. “I do have feelings for you, Emily, and not just the kind driven by thoughts of the dirty things I want to do with you. I have real feelings for you. Big ones that are sort of knocking me for a loop.”

She dropped her eyes, and worry passed through them. When she met his gaze, the worry was gone, replaced with sincerity. “I feel that way, too.”

A simple, honest answer. No promises of more, no pleas for more details on his feelings. She wasn’t needy or clingy, and that made him like her even more and drove home how real and different Emily was.

They strolled along the water for a while longer, letting their admissions settle in and bind them together. Then they drove back to the villa, and Dae swore everything felt different. Where the air had felt electrified before, now, with their feelings out on the table, that electricity was sharper, heavier, more substantial and meaningful.

At the villa, they sat on the back patio overlooking the grounds. Emily cuddled up against him and curled her legs onto the bench they shared.

“How did you find that villa you sent me to?” Emily asked.

He’d been worrying about this moment, and now that it was here, he was ready to face it head-on. At least he hoped he was.

“That’s the house I came here to assess.” He watched as understanding dawned on her.

“To demolish or to purchase as an investment?”

He heard the worry in her voice and wished he had a different answer to give her, but all he had to offer was the truth. “I’m here to assess its demolition.”

Emily nodded. Her lips pressed into a serious line. “And if it’s the same house that Adelina told me about? What if it’s the House of Wishes?”

“I honestly don’t know, Em. I only just learned of this tonight. We don’t even know if it’s the same house she’s talking about. And besides, it’s a myth. A legend.”

“But that’s what dreams are made from. If it’s the same house, it’s where Serafina prayed she’d have Luca. Where Adelina left her hope of meeting Marcello. What if it is the same place? I know how this sounds, Dae. I know it’s silly and maybe childish, but what if it’s the same one? Adelina said women have been wishing there forever. Will you tear it down?” She crossed her arms, and his gut twisted.

How could a house and a tree form a barrier between them?

“I haven’t thought that far ahead.” He put his arm around her and felt her resist. “Baby, you can’t seriously be mad at me for this, can you?”

“I’m not mad,” she said quietly. “I don’t know if I even believe in this myth, but that’s not the point.” She leaned in to his side. “
They
believe in it. Isn’t that what matters? For generations women have believed in something. It makes me sad to think that if that is the House of Wishes and you tear it down, all those women who believed their love stemmed from what they did there will have part of their history obliterated. And what about poor Serafina? If that’s where she prays every morning for her husband’s safe return, won’t you feel like you’re letting her down?”

This conversation was a lot harder than he’d anticipated. “Aw, babe, there’s so much to process about this. So what you’re suggesting is that if it is the same place, then I should walk away from it.”
Can I even do that?
He never walked away from jobs unless they were too dangerous or there were legal complications that made it impossible for him to do the work. Then again, he’d never had a girlfriend who wasn’t totally captivated by what he did for a living. Or who cared so much about something she didn’t own.

He’d never dated Emily Braden.

“No. It’s your job.” She cocked her head and looked up at him. “I guess…I don’t know. Maybe?”

He leaned down and kissed her softly. “You know that if it’s not me who demolishes it, they’ll just hire someone else to do it.”

“
Ugh
. Well, there’s only one thing to do. We have to find out if it is the place she told me about. Maybe it’s not even an issue. We can ask Adelina tomorrow.”

“That sounds good.”

“How did your meetings go today? I forgot to even ask.”

The last thing he wanted to do was talk about work any more than they already had. “They were fine, but I’m more interested in how
we’re
doing. Work is just that for me, Em. It’s work. I love what I do. It pays the bills, and most of the time it’s interesting and fun, but when I’m with you, I feel like everything else is secondary. Promise me tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” She smiled.

“Good. I have something planned.”

“I guess since I gave up checking email for you, I can give up my itinerary, too.” She spoke sweetly and softly, without a hint of disappointment.

“First of all…” He touched the ends of her hair and kissed her. “I would never think about making you miss out on a thing. Second, we have three more days together, and I want to make the most of them.”

She banged her forehead against his chest. “Three days. I hate that.”

“I know. But even after we leave, we’ll make sure we see each other.” He pulled her onto his lap and gathered her hair over her shoulder. “You can’t cut me off cold turkey. I’ll have Emily withdrawal.”

“I have no interest in cutting you off. I want you to stay for the whole nine days I’m here; then I can put you in my suitcase and carry you home.”

He laughed at her serious tone. “That would be quite a feat, you carrying me in a suitcase.” He lifted her arm and shook it. “You’re in great shape, baby, but you’ve got to build some muscle to carry all this around.” He ran a hand down his chest, then took her in a passionate kiss.

“I love to kiss you,” he said against her lips.

“Then take me upstairs and show me how much.”

Done
.

EMILY LAY ON her back, one arm across her stomach, the other arced over her head, resting on the pillow. Her room was silent save for their heavy breathing. Even in the darkness she could see the red blooms of the poppies surrounding them on every surface.
He
did that for her.
For us
. Everything he did was romantic and thoughtful, from the little map he’d drawn to the way he was touching the outside of her thigh with his fingertips. Feathery flutters fanned her leg and made her excited all over again, even after they’d made love until they both fell to the mattress, sated and spent.

“Wow.” Dae reached for her hand.

“Wow? That’s what you say after you have sex?”

“No. That’s what I say after I have sex with you.” He leaned up on his elbow and grinned down at her. “It wasn’t
wow
for you?”

“Oh, it was
wow
, all right, but
so
much more than
wow
.” She scooted closer, pressing her side against him. She’d come so close to giving up on finding this type of connection. She didn’t know how to verbalize what she really felt. She didn’t even understand it herself. She was so happy, but in the back of her mind she worried about what he’d told her. He was a demolitionist. Okay, well, she could deal with that, but she was having trouble thinking about him demolishing that beautiful house with the tree. And what if that really was the House of Wishes?

She couldn’t process the conflicting emotions. She pushed them away and reached for him instead, dragging her finger down his cheek, and loved that he closed his eyes, looking peaceful and happy. “I love your face.” She ran her fingers through his hair and fisted her hand in it. “And your hair. It’s insanely sexy.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you love my face. It’s the only one I have, and I guess I’ll cancel my crew-cut appointment.” The tease in his eyes made her smile.

“I can’t even imagine you with short hair.”

“Oh, there was a time when I tried to conform. When I was in college, I was Mr. Clean Cut for the first semester, until I realized that fitting in with others was highly overrated.”

“I thought your parents were hippies.”

He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. “They were hippyish. My father’s in the military, but he’s not at all what you’d expect. He’s not regimented and it’s like he
expected
that we would stray from the rules. He was like the anti-military man, and my mom was definitely a free spirit, like my sisters. They just have different ideals, you know? They were all about life experiences, owning our feelings and our personalities, even if it made us different from everyone else. They never hounded us or grounded us, like most parents do. My mom always said life was about experiencing the moment, not controlling it. I’m sure that’s why I believe in working hard but enjoying life instead of working myself to the bone and missing out. And…it’s why I thought I should try to fit in and conform. I thought that when I went to college, fitting in was important, conforming to the norms.” He flicked his hair. “You know, trendy haircuts and clothing? It’s no different from girls wearing the right shoes or owning the right purse.”