Turn Towards the Sun: Book Three- Forever in Bloom (The Sunflower Trilogy) (24 page)

“Ava, cara Ava, I know this hurts but Enzo, he loves you so much and he is dying without you. He said…” Her words stop short again.

“He said what, Checca?”

“He said without you he would rather stop breathing. He said it would be easier to die than live without you.” Checca begins to cry, breaking my heart just a little bit more. “He stopped all work on the hotel and he won’t leave the house. He spends every minute of the day trying to find Anna and trying to contact you. He hasn’t shaved in weeks and Cassie says he won’t eat.” She sniffs and continues.

“His heart is broken on so many levels. I know yours is too but it’s not either of your faults. Enzo did not cheat on you. He is not capable of wanting or loving anyone but you. Anna is a conniving, deceitful bitch. She must be stopped, but he isn’t strong enough to fight her without you. You have to come back, Ava. Without you Enzo will just give up. He has no fight left in him. It’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. Nothing is right with you two being apart. You are the most wonderful couple I’ve ever known. The most meant to be, the two people God made for each other. You must come back, Ava,” she sobs.

“Checca…” I start but my tears cause my voice to shake. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to face this. The baby- it’s just too much.”

“I don’t believe her. It’s a lie. I’m sure of it. You have to come back and help Enzo prove it. He needs you. We all do.”

We sit on the phone crying together for several minutes until Francesca speaks again.

“Do you still love him, Ava?”

“God yes.” I answer without hesitation.

“He loves you too, Ava.”

“I know.”

“He’s trying so hard to give you space. He bought a plane ticket to come and get you then he told me he was afraid you wouldn’t come back with him and he couldn’t bear to see your face again if he couldn’t have you. It’s so sad.”

Yes it is sad. This is the saddest I’ve ever been. I don’t know if I’m ready to face all of the shit waiting for me back in Phoenix, but I do know that I miss Enzo and I don’t want to spend another day not in his arms.

“Do you think he can forgive me, Checca?”

“Forgive you for what?”

“For leaving him,” I say, through my sobs.

“Oh, Ava, you don’t need forgiveness. You just need his love. He knows why you left and as much as it hurts him, he understands. The only thing he’s worried about now is that you’ll never come back. He’s afraid all of this is just too much and you won’t want to be his wife anymore.”

“Checca, the only thing I want in this life is to be that man’s wife. I love him so much I can’t even think straight.”

“Come back to us, Ava. Come back to Enzo.”

“I just need a little more time, Checca. Tell Enzo for me that…tell him I love him.”

“You need to tell him, Ava.”

She’s right. I need to look in his eyes and tell him how I feel. I need to be the one to ask for his love and his forgiveness. I’ve been so selfish, not seeing how much pain this is causing him too. I am going to go home and when I get there, I’m going to hunt down that bitch and get her out of our life once and for all.

“I’ll be home soon, Checca. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell Enzo. I want to handle this my way.”

“Of course. I love you, Ava.”

“I love you too, Checca. Thanks for calling.”

I walk back in my bedroom and open my laptop, booking the first ticket I can find out of Denver. I have to pay a ridiculous amount of money for it and I don’t care. The only thing that matters right now is getting back to my husband. I pray we can get past this mess.

I go outside and tell Danny that I’m going back to Phoenix and if my husband finds out before I want him to, I will have his ass. I use my best ‘don’t fuck with me’ voice that is surprisingly effective. I have his assurance that while he will be following me, he won’t report to Enzo.

“Good morning,” I say to my parents sitting at their dining room table. My mom looks up and smiles and my dad sets the paper down. “I’m going back today. It’s time.”

My mother bursts into tears and my dad stands, pulling me into an embrace. “What changed your mind?” he asks.

“An angel,” I whisper.

“Good. It’s the right thing to do. You need to stand by your husband,” my dad says. “I’ve known since the first day I spoke to him that he loves you and only you. I admit this situation is upsetting but if anyone can get through it intact, it’s the two of you.”

I lay my head against my dad’s strong chest and feel my mother’s arm wrap around me. It’s definitely time.

SITTING ON THE plane to Phoenix, I pull out Enzo’s letter to me. I’m finally ready to read it knowing I’m just a few hours away from seeing him. The sudden clarity I feel is welcome. I’ve always known that Enzo’s love for me is true and pure, but I’ve finally realized that we can’t possibly fight this battle alone. He needs me and I need him.

I peel the envelope open and unfold the paper slowly, taking a deep breath as I start to read.

Amore,

I wish I could say these words to you in person or at least on the phone, but you won’t talk to me. I understand why but you have to know it is killing me not hearing your beautiful voice. Since you left, my life has lost its meaning. Your absence is felt by everyone. Even Maximus walks around the house looking for you.

Sometimes at night I sit at your piano and run my fingers over the keys, wishing somehow you would walk through the door and play me a song. I long to hear your voice speak my name, your lips say that you love me, and your laughter filling my ears.

I am nothing without you. There is no happiness. No laughter. No joy. There is nothing to look forward to. No reason to get out of bed. You are the person I share my news with. You are the person I share my dreams with. You are the only person that matters to me and you’re gone.

I hope you haven’t forgotten me. I hope it’s not easy for you to go on with your life without me. I pray every day that God will return my angel to me. Ava, everything I do is for you and since you’re gone, I do nothing. If you come back, I will spend my days doing anything I can to make you smile. I will be worthy of you again. Please come back to me.

I love you, Ava.

Your Prince- Enzo

I wipe away my tears and tuck the letter into my handbag. I’m coming home, my prince, and I have something very important to tell you when I get there. Something I’ve thought long and hard about. The plane begins its descent into Phoenix and my heart practically leaps out of my chest knowing I’m less than an hour away from seeing my beloved. I wore a floral dress that I know he loves and took the extra step to put makeup on. I want to look as beautiful for him as possible. Another tear escapes my eye as I watch the plane touch down at Sky Harbor. The last time I took this flight, I was sitting next to the most magnificent man on the planet. My man.

The sun is setting and the sky is a mass of dark, stormy clouds. I rush to the rental car counter deciding I will get my own car to drive. If I let Danny drive me, Enzo will know. As I walk to my car, I stop at a kiosk with beautiful floral arrangements. I buy a bouquet of red roses, knowing that if the situation was reversed, that is exactly what Enzo would do. Danny approaches me and I tell him that while he can follow me, I want some distance when I get home. This has to be a surprise. Climbing into the Audi I rented, I turn on the headlights and taking a deep breath, start my drive home, just as the sky opens up unleashing a torrential downpour.

I drive carefully, the whole time my heart feels like it’s going to jump right out of my chest. I smile at the irony of the song on the radio. Bruno Mars croons
It Will Rain
, as I near my home. This feels right. This is where I belong. Finally, I pull up to the gate and enter the code. The gates open and I drive slowly up the drive, stopping in front of the garage doors. Glancing behind me, I see Danny pull up outside the gates. I pull out my phone and turn it back on to text Enzo.

Me:
I sent you something. Open the door.

I barely press send before the front door of our home swings open and Enzo steps out on the front step under the portico, looking around. I stay in my car in the driveway and see him squint in the rain at the unrecognizable vehicle. Grabbing my flowers, I step out of the car into the light of the headlights, as rain pours down over me. I’m so excited to see him I don’t care that I’m getting soaked. My heart skips a beat as I see recognition wash over Enzo’s face and his hand go to his mouth. He rushes towards me, pulling me into an embrace.

“Ava!” He holds me tight, so tight I can barely breathe. “You came back to me.”

“Enzo,” I say, pulling back enough so I can see his face. “I’m so sorry I left you. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, amore. I’m just so happy you’re back,” he kisses me and my body relaxes into his. How did I survive for so long without his touch? “You’re back for good?”

“Enzo,” I say in between kisses, “Enzo, I love you. I’ll never leave you again.”

“How did you get here?” he asks.

“Danny is there by the gates. He’s been with me the whole time.”

Enzo looks at me, his eyes a shade of blue I’m sure I’ve never seen. The warm rain falls down over us, as we stand in the driveway, illuminated only by the headlights of my car, staring into each other’s eyes.

“Ava, my love, you are my entire life. I can’t live without you. I’m ashamed of everything that has happened. I hate that I’ve hurt you and you have my word I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“You don’t have anything to make up for. What happened isn’t your fault. It’s the act of a very desperate and unbalanced person.”

“You forgive me?” he asks, his words tugging on my heart.

“I do. Do you forgive me?”

“For what?” he asks, brushing my soaked hair out of my eyes.

“For leaving. I said I never would and I did.”

“Ava, this was too much to bear. I would have left too if it was the other way around.”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t think you would have. I was weak and…”

He grabs my shoulders. “You are not weak. You are the strongest person I know. The shit you’ve been subjected to because of me is enough to push even you over the edge. All of this is entirely my fault.”

“No it isn’t, Enzo. Nothing with Anna has ever been your fault. The only thing that makes me angry is that I actually felt sorry for her and we took it so easy on her during the hearing. I assure you I won’t make that mistake again. I won’t rest until she’s behind bars or buried six feet under.”

Enzo’s eyes widen at my sudden outburst of hostility. He pulls me close again and I know that I have something else to say, something he really needs to hear. I thought about it the entire flight back and I know it’s the right thing to do.

“Enzo, you need to know something.”

He looks at me with pure fear in his eyes and nods.

“I will be here with you from now on, no matter what. If that child she’s carrying is yours, then you and I will make sure that we get custody. We’ll prove her unfit and we’ll raise that baby. If it’s not your baby, well then God show mercy on Anna’s soul when I’m done with her.”

“Ava, do you think I would ask you to raise a child that came from her? It is unacceptable. I think adoption would be best.”

“Enzo, please. Do
you
think you would ever rest easy knowing a child of yours is out in the world? It’s not the baby’s fault that the mother is a lunatic.” I stroke his cheek. “I’m with you now, forever, per sempre, amore. I love you and I know it more now than ever before. You have me and we will do what is right and we will do it together.”

“Oh, Ava,” he says, kissing me passionately. “Ava, I love you so much. You are such a blessing to me and I thought you were gone. I thought you might not come back to me. Nothing matters without you.”

I run my hands through his wet hair, reveling in the feeling of his slick strands tangled in my fingers. He looks so different with almost a complete beard on his face. The darkness of the hair covering his cheeks only makes his eyes pop even more. “Enzo, I was always going to come back. You and I share the same heart. I couldn’t survive without you. Without a doubt, this was the hardest month of my life.” I lift the bouquet of roses and show them to Enzo. “These are for you, tesoro.”

He smiles and his face lights up as the rain continues to fall on us. “You brought me roses?”

“I did. I wanted to do something I knew you would do for me.”

Enzo takes the flowers and pushes me back against the hood of my rental car. “Ava, I missed you. It felt like a part of me was gone. Every morning I wake up and pray that I will see your beautiful face next to me. There is nothing I need in this world but having my arms wrapped around you.” His hands slide up my bare legs as his lips press down on mine, his tongue slipping inside, swirling around deliciously.