Turn Towards the Sun: Book Three- Forever in Bloom (The Sunflower Trilogy) (8 page)

I LIE IN bed staring at the ceiling absorbed in my thoughts. Six weeks have passed since my world came crashing down. While I can’t lie to myself and say it’s been an easy recovery, I can honestly say that I know I’ve gotten stronger. Life has fallen back into an easy rhythm and each day hope and happiness settle over me. My moods have mellowed and I would say I am almost back to normal. Six weeks ago my future seemed bleak, but today is a chance for a fresh start.

I stretch quietly and roll over to see Enzo sleeping beside me. Perfect. Just what I wanted. I get up quietly and tip toe to the bathroom to brush my teeth, trying not to make any noise. I want him to stay in bed.

Creeping back into the bedroom, I slip back into our bed. Pulling the covers down, I reveal my husband’s breathtaking nakedness. I climb between his legs, still being careful not to wake him. I lower my head and slowly suck him into my mouth, coaxing him to arousal. He stirs, but remains asleep. I let my hands fall between his legs, and gently roll his balls through my fingers, while I continue sucking him softly.

Suddenly, I feel his hands tangle in my hair. “Ava…what are you doing?” His voice is sleepy and soft.

I don’t respond and continue to suck, swirling my tongue around his now hard erection.

“Shit, Ava…damn.”

Just the reaction I seek. I peek up at him to see him moving his head back and forth against the pillow. Love it.

“Do you want to come for me, baby?” I ask.

“God, yes. You know I do.”

“How does this feel?” I suck his balls into my mouth, moving my hand up and down his shaft.

“So good. Perfetto… you’re so amazing…so good at this.”

“I love how you feel in my mouth, so big…so hard…so yummy. All for me.” I murmur.

His fingers twist through my hair as he throws his head back. Alternating between soft licks and firm sucking, I feel him harden in my mouth. Rising up on my knees, I suck him in completely, pulling him in deep. I prepare myself for his climax just as hot liquid shoots out of him and straight down my throat as he tugs gently on my hair. His eyes widen and then relax as a huge grin spreads across his face.

“Mmm, bella,” he pants as he speaks.

I lift my head and smile. “Happy birthday, my prince.”

“Grazie, my princess.”

Lying down beside him, I ask, “What do you want to do today?”

“I could handle lying in bed with you for a few more hours.”

I tickle his chest. “Sounds good to me. I have something for you.”

“I can’t imagine what it could be. I already have you.”

“There’s always more.” I roll over to my nightstand and pull a small box out of the drawer. There is no way he will see this coming. No way at all. Alex helped me pull off the most amazing gift ever. “Open it,” I say, handing Enzo the box.

“What is it?”

“A surprise.” I can barely contain my excitement. I hope I did the right thing. I know how badly he wanted this, but with everything going on he’s been far more focused on me and the hotels.

My eyes focus on Enzo’s face as he opens the box. He lifts the lid to look at the key, but it’s not just any key. He stares at the iconic logo for several minutes before looking up at me, an expression of pure surprise on his face.

“You didn’t?” he asks.

“Oh yes I did.”

“How?”

“You have very smart people working for you, remember? One of those smart people was willing to help me surprise you. I assume you are happy?”

“I don’t think that it’s actually sunk into my head yet. I feel like I’m dreaming.”

I reach over and pinch his arm gently. “Did you feel that?”

“Yes,” he says, smiling. “Where is it?”

“Outside of course. Want to go see it? Unless you’d rather stay in bed,” I tease.

“As tempting as that is, I have to see this for my own eyes.” Enzo practically jumps out of bed and throws on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. I laugh watching him as I put my clothes on. He is rarely at a loss for words and his excitement pours out of him like a child on Christmas morning. This is gonna be good.

Taking my hand, he drags me down the hallway. He starts to open the garage door, but I shake my head and point to the front door. I made sure it would be out in the sunlight for the best effect. Enzo opens the door and steps out onto the front porch then stops in his tracks, his hand covering his mouth. Turning to look at me, a grin spreads across his face before he walks out to see it up close. I follow closely behind him waiting anxiously for his reaction.

“Ava,” Enzo says, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“Are you happy? It’s what you wanted right?”

“What I wanted? No, more like what I’ve dreamed of since the first time I laid eyes on it. I can’t believe it’s mine and it’s here.”

“Well, it is both of those things. It’s the first thing that popped into my head and it took a little while to get. I started hunting for it and here it is.”

“How did you do this without my knowing?”

“Alex helped me. It was easy actually. I told him what I wanted and he did all the work. Grayson helped too. In fact it was him that drove it here. So, one more time. Are you happy?”

“Ava Milano,” he says, as wraps his arms around my waist, “I am extremely happy. This is the most amazing gift I’ve ever received in my life.” He swings me around, lifting my feet off the ground.

“Oh good. I was a little bit afraid of the cost of this thing, but I was told by Franco we could well afford it so here it is. Tell me why you love it so much. Explain it to me.”

Enzo sets me down and walks closer to the striking car sitting before him. Running his hands over the hood of it, he looks up and smiles at me. “This is the Maserati GranTurismo S Limited Edition. It was created to celebrate Italy’s 150
^th
birthday and there are only twelve of them in the world. You can only buy it in Italy.” He walks around it, dragging his hand over the smooth finish as he does. “It’s the perfect blend of sports car and elegance. It’s exactly what I wanted. Even the color.”

“I thought this one was really beautiful so I chose it,” I say, about the about the stunning matte blue finish. “I can’t wait for you to take me for a drive.”

“Get in. We’ll go now.”

“We’re not dressed.”

Looking down at his bare feet, he laughs. “Well I guess shoes would be helpful, no?”

“Yes. Why don’t we put some proper clothing on then take this baby out for a drive.”

“Perfetto.”

Walking back in the house, he wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my cheek. “You were worried about affording it?”

“It’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I sort of knew we could afford it, but I wanted reassurance before I did it. Plus I had to have it shipped from Italy.”

“What was the final bill?” he asks.

“I’m not telling you how much your gift cost. How tacky would that be?” I say, teasing.

“I will find out eventually. I see every penny spent.”

“I’m sure you’ll be less shocked by it than I was. The total was about two ten.”

“That must have been challenging for you to spend that much on a gift.” He laughs.

“Well, yes but nothing less than the best for my prince. I can just hear Cassie shrieking now if I told her I spent over two hundred thousand dollars for a car. She would die!”

“Are you going to tell her?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. She’s a smart girl. She’ll figure out that it’s expensive. Or she’ll look it up on the internet.”

Enzo laughs as we dress in better clothes, then head out for a morning drive. Once we get out on some open roads, Enzo hits the gas and tears off, making me feel like we are in a rocket. I hope there aren’t any cops out or we are for sure getting a ticket. Enzo’s expression is pure delight as he drives. It warms my heart to see him so happy. I reach over and stroke his hand just as he pulls into the parking lot of one of our favorite coffee shops.

“As soon as we get approval, I’m making love to you in this car,” Enzo says.

“Mmm, sounds sexy.”

“Sexy car, sexy wife.”

“Sexy ass life.”

Enzo raises his eyebrows at me then laughs, before kissing me softly on the lips. “Yes, we do have a sexy life, don’t we?”

“I think so.”

“Andiamo. We’ll have coffee then we’ll get you to your appointment later. How does that sound?”

“Wonderful.”

We chat happily over coffee and pastries and I’m suddenly very content. The last six weeks were awful and there were days I thought I would never recover. But now I sit here with my handsome husband, full of joy, almost as though nothing ever happened.

“We should get you home soon, no? Your appointment is at ten.”

“I know.”

Enzo leans across the small table and rubs my arm. “This is a happy day, bella.”

“Of course it is. It’s your birthday.”

“It’s also the day we start over. By this afternoon, I’ll be ravishing you again. I cannot wait to get my hands on you.”

“I look forward to that as well, my sweet prince.”

“I’M NERVOUS, ENZO. What if I didn’t heal right or something is wrong with me still?” I sit anxiously in my cloth gown in the exam room of Dr. Warner’s office.

“I understand your worry, bella, but I’m sure you are fine. This is just necessary, no?” Enzo rubs my back, calming my nerves a bit.

We hear a small knock on the door as Dr. Warner enters the room. “Good morning, you two. How are we doing today?”

“Fine, I suppose. I’m nervous,” I answer.

“Nothing to be nervous about. It’s just a standard pelvic exam to make sure everything healed nicely and to give you the green light to try again.” She smiles and it always causes mine in return.

I lean back on the table and hold my breath as the exam begins. Enzo stays with me this time and holds my hand, kissing my forehead periodically.

After a few moments, Dr. Warner stands and smiles at me again, patting my foot. “Everything looks nice and healthy, Ava. Your cervix is normal size and I didn’t see any significant scar tissue.” She looks down at her chart. “Your blood test results were normal and all indications are positive.”

“So, she can get pregnant again?” Enzo asks.

“I see no reason why she can’t,” the doctor responds.

“What can I do to make sure I don’t get sick again, doctor?” I ask.

“The normal things. Avoid other people that are sick, wash your hands frequently, eat healthy to keep your immune system strong.” She takes my hand in hers. “Sometimes, there is nothing you can do and you can’t blame yourself for that. How are you doing emotionally?”

“Pretty good. I mean, I get sad sometimes if I stop and think about it, but I just keep going, you know?”

“That’s best. Well you two, you are free to start trying again. I’ll look forward to hearing from you soon.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Enzo says.

She leaves and I get dressed again, excited that my health is back on track. The only thing I want to do right now is jump my husband. Right. Now.

“You need to get me home, Enzo. It’s been a long six weeks and I’m ready.”

Enzo laughs. “My thoughts exactly. Home then La Bellissima?”

“If I decide to let you out of our room today, possibly.”

Enzo taps his chin with his index finger. “Hmm, I like the sound of that. Andiamo?” 

“Yes, let’s go.”

As we drive I feel my excitement building. After all this time I get to make love to my husband again. My level of anticipation is almost as high as it was the first time.

“Enzo?”

“Yes, amore?” Enzo glances at me briefly, but keeps an eye on the road.

“Drive faster,” I say, laughing.

“Ah there you go with your bossy side. So impatient.”

“I’ve waited six weeks for you to be inside of me again. Damn right, I’m impatient!”

“Well, I hope I live up to your expectations.”

“You always do.”

Enzo smiles and floors the gas pedal causing the car to quickly accelerate. I fall back against the seat in a fit of giggles as he slows back down within reason and we finish our drive to the house. Pulling up to our gate, I tap my foot on the floorboard intentionally exaggerating my impatience. The smile on my face quickly fades when I see numerous cars in our driveway. Alex, Grayson, and Franco all stand on my doorstep, discussing what I have no idea. It seems that work has followed me home.

As soon as we park, Francesca’s car pulls up behind us and she and Eduardo step out. I narrow my eyes and look over at Enzo. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing at all, what do you mean?” He lifts his sunglasses off his face and smiles. Stepping out of the car, he walks around to my side and opens my door. Taking my hand, he leads me to the front door, grinning the entire time.

The men on my doorstep greet me and step aside as Enzo opens the door. Once inside, I hear music and laughter coming from the backyard. I walk through the house and out back by the pool are Chris, Cassie, Gabby, and Calvin. I’m completely confused by the scene. I turn around towards the front door and see Enzo and the others, now joined by Marisa, walking towards me.