Turn Towards the Sun (40 page)

“I’m not done yet. I have so much more planned for you bella.”

“I don’t know how you could do more than you’ve done.”

“Wait and see my love. Wait and see.” He
winks,
and I feel the familiar tingle shoot through my body.

“Starting tonight?
”
I bat my eyelashes.

“Starting tonight.”
He plants a sweet kiss on my cheek.

“Buon giorno principessa.”
Enzo’
s lovely accented voice stirs
me from my sleep. I stretch in bed
and remember
last night’s passion. I hope it’s always this way with us.

“Your last night is going to be spent with me. I have a surprise.”
His eyes twinkle.

I don’t know what he has
planned,
but
I’m excited to be alone with him.

“That’s great.
I plan to go out and spend the day with Gabby.
I gave Grayson the morning off
.
”

He raises his eyebrows. “Did you?”

“I did. Are you angry with me?”

“Not in the slightest. In fact, I’m impressed.
Besides, Grayson already told me.
” He smiles.

I blush. Of course he did.
“We’re not going far. Just over to the Ponte Vecchio and—”

“
Go have fun.
I’ll be wrapping things up here.”

I plant a kiss on his cheek and climb out of bed to call Gabby. I’m a little shocked that Enzo is letting me go unescorted. Maybe I’ve finally earned his trust.

“Hello?”

“Be ready in ten minutes okay?”

“How about twenty?” Gabby hesitates.

“You’re not alone are you?” I tease.

“No ma’am I’m not. And I’m not done yet.” She giggles.

“No problem, twenty minutes is fine.” She cracks me up.

“What’s so funny?” Enzo asks as I hang up the phone.

“Gabby and Calvin. It’s cute.”

“Yes, Calvin is quite taken with Gabriella. At
first,
I worried it would distract
him,
but now I believe the opposite is true. He has been very focused and his judgment on point. That’s what the love of a good woman can do for a man.”

He tackles me and throws me back on the bed, pinning my arms down. I squirm but to no avail. He kisses me and I melt, defenseless against his charms.

“Get off.” I giggle and
twist
underneath him.

“Nope.” He kisses and sucks my neck. “Kiss me Ava.”

My mouth presses against his
. I love the way his weight pushes down on my body. He’s so hot and so mine. I simply can’t get enough of this man.

“I love you so much Enzo.”

He looks into my eyes, piercing through my core. “Tell me in Italian. Tell me you love me in Italian.”

“Ti amo.”

He grins. “I fucking love it when you speak Italian.”

“I
fucking love when you fucking love something.” We both laugh.

“I have to go babe. Gabby’s waiting.”

“I believe she’s occupied but yes, I will let you go. Be safe today amore.”

“I will. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

He kisses me once more before releasing me.

I quickly throw myself together and head out the door. I blow a kiss to my handsome prince on the way out.

“Ready now?’ I smirk
at a
flustered Gabby while
she grabs her purse.

“Yes, ready.” Calvin is sitting on the couch reading a contract.
He waves goodbye and
Gabby blushes
.

“You guys are really cute together.”

Gabby beams. “Thanks. I really like him a lot Ava. This trip has been the best experience of my life. Not just
the
connection with Calvin but the whole thing.”

“I know. I feel the same way. Enzo and I have really bonded here.”

Gabby
grins
.
“
T
he way I see it, it’s like the two of you have been together for years. You’re both so comfortable with each other. It’s amazing really when you think about how long you’ve known each other.”

“I know. I guess that’s the part that freaks me out. It has only been a
couple of months
. But I know he’s the one. And I know I’m the one for him.”

“Yea
,
it’s obvious he’s completely in love with you. I’ve never seen a man look at a woman the way he looks at you. And he makes time for
you,
which must make you feel so good.”

“That’s one of the main things that got me. Every
day,
I feel like I am the most important thing in his world, and that my happiness is necessary for his. It’s an incredible feeling.”

She squeezes my hand. “We all deserve to have a love like that.”

“Yes, it was so unexpected though.”

“That’s the best kind.”

We walk into a small boutique to find an outfit for me to wear tonight. I want something special he hasn’t already seen. I look ar
ound the
room,
and then I see it,
a
gorgeous flowing
chiffon dress with a sunflower print.

“Yes Ava, you must get that. It’s
incredible
.”

I nod and smile
.
It’s the perfect choice.

We walk out onto the
street,
and I spy Jonathon across the other side. I
should have
known Enzo wouldn’t let me go completely alone. Instead of feeling angry though, it makes me feel…loved.

“I think we’re being followed Gabs.” I nod in Jonathon’s direction.

She looks over at him. “Oh yea. All day. You didn’t notice?” She laughs.

“
So, h
ow are you going to wear yo
ur hair?” Gabby skips beside me while we walk back to the hotel.

“I don’t know yet.
” I grab her hand.
“
I can’t believe this is our last night
here.”

“I know. It’s sort of sad but at the same
time,
I’m excited to get back home. I need to find a job sister.”

“I’m really happy you could be here with me
though
.”
I squeeze her hand.

“So am I. This was a trip of a lifetime.”

“Have you thought about what you might like to do for work?”

“Actually, I have. I was thinking of going to art school for photography.” Gabby’s face lights up when she speaks.

“Really? That’s awesome.”

“Yea, I’ve always liked
it,
and I figured why not now. Nothing holding me back.”

“Absolutely. I guess layoffs can be a good thing.”

“If you do it right. You definitely did it right.” She starts laughing.

“I guess I did.” I grin and push the elevator button for our floor.

“See you in the morning Gabs.”

“Yep, see ya.”

“I’m back.” I call out to Enzo as
I walk in
to
the living room
.
H
e’s on the phone, speaking in Italian,
and
pacing back and forth. He runs his fingers through his hair several times. I hope everything is going okay with the hotel redesigns.

I walk i
n the bedroom to hang my dress,
keeping the plastic covering over it. I want it to be a surprise.

“Ava, I have to go out for a few. Why don’t you t
ake a nice bath and
relax?”
He peers
into the bedroom.

“Sure. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, certo. I just have to take care of something. I’ll be back soon.” He walks towards me and kisses me quickly on the cheek.

His normally cool demeanor is missing. But I trust
him,
so I smile and send him on his way.

I draw a hot bath in the
claw-foot tub
and pour some perfumed oil in the water I bought at a local shop in Florence. Sinking in the hot
water,
I plan what I’m going to do with my hair for the evening. The dress is so flowing and romantic I think my hair should be too. I sink down in the water and close my eyes to relax.

“Ava?” I hear Enzo call out.

“In here.”
I’m toweling myself off when he comes in the bedroom. He looks more relaxed now, calmer.

“Hi.” He leans against the armoire watching me lotion my legs.

“Hi.
Everything is good?
”

“
Everything is great.
Y
ou’ll be ready to go in an hour?
”

“I’ll be ready.”

He leaves the
room,
and I finish preparing. I add drops of perfume to various spots on my body hoping he’ll find them all later. I strap on my tan sandals that look really good with this dress. I pile my hair up and pin it to the top of my head.
I add blush, mascara, lip gloss, and put on dangling gold earrings. Finally,
I slip into the dress. I hope he likes it.

I enter the
room,
and he looks up from the sofa.

“Ava, you look beautiful.” Enzo stands and kisses me on the cheek. He’s staring at me again.

“What?”

“I can’t believe
you’
re
mine.”

“I am yours.”
I smile.

He grins and goes to change his clothes. He returns a few minutes later wearing dark grey dress pants and a white shirt, his now familiar and still tantalizing uniform.

We head
out, and Fabio is waiting.
It’s a warm
evening,
and I watch as the final moments of
sunlight bounce off the water.
He drives us to a restaurant overlooking the Arno.
We’re escorted to a small private room where we receive two glasses of Prosecco.

“To us.” Enzo clinks my glass.

I catch his eye
for a
moment,
but he looks away. We go through dinner having polite conversation about our trip and discussing our flight home tomorrow. He seems distant and I can’t read him. I’m worried that something is bothering him.

“Is everything alright Enzo?”

“Yes. Fine.”

“Are things going okay with the hotel?”

“Yes. I believe so.”

“Babe, you seem really distracted.”

A sea of sterling blue washes over me as his eyes meet mine.

“Bella, I’m sorry. My mind is already thinking of tomorrow morning. I’m sad our time in Italy is ending.” He strokes my hand.

“Me too. It was a wonderful trip. Spending all this time with you was amazing.”

“Yes, amazing. We’ll be back here though. Soon.
Andiamo?”

“Yes we can leave.”

We walk slowly down the Ponte Vecchio
,
surrounded by tourists and locals selling their goods. Enzo holds my hand tightly in
his,
and even though we are
silent,
I feel like I’m in my own world with only Enzo in it. We walk back to Piazza Signoria. A symphony
plays
by candlelight at the foot of the Palazzo Vecchio, filling the piazza with breathtaking classical music.

Enzo
and I sit on some steps to take in the music. He kisses the back of my hand, oh so sweetly.

“Ava, my life has changed so much since I met you. It wasn’t that long
ago,
but I can’t remember my life before you.”

“
I feel the same way. A few months
ago,
I was lonely and brokenhearted in Denver. Now I’m in love sitting on some piazza steps in Italy.
My whole life has changed because of you.” I look out at the crowd of people and wonder if any of them are as happy as I am right now.

“I know I can never go back to the way it was and I don’t want to. I want to spend every day of my life from now on with you and only you
.
Marry me Ava.”

I look up in shock. What did he just say? My heart rac
es
.

He stands and for
some reason,
I start to stand too. He drops to one knee in front of me.