Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
My husband.
He’s taken something that brought pain and heartache and made it into something altogether lovely.
“I’ve always wanted to cruise the Mediterranean,” I say with a girlish sigh.
“I know.” Ricco’s chocolate brown eyes dance as if he’s keeping a secret he can hardly keep any longer.
“And then,” he continues.
“Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean and then? There’s more?” I chug a small bottle of water, parched and exhausted after the day’s events.
“Of course there’s more.”
Of course.
“We’ll return to Rome where our cruise originates and from there, we fly to Zürich.” He pauses. “Familiar yet?”
I snort. “Uh, hello. You think I’ve actually been to Switzerland?”
“God, I love you,” he says on a laugh, leaning over to cup my jaw with his large, strong, rough hand. When he kisses me, my eyelids flutter closed and I sigh into him.
“And I love you,” I whisper. “Even though I’m curious as hell and a little confused.”
With one quick tug, I land on his lap, straddling him, a task thankfully made much easier thanks to the ridiculously roomy layout of this thing.
“In Zürich, we’re staying at a resort. It’s incredible. I haven’t been there in a while, but you won’t forget it. From the resort, where you’ll be taking ski lessons…”
Suddenly, I remember. I remember the whole conversation. My throat gets tight, and my nose goes all tingly. “Ricco,” I say in a choked voice.
I want to take a cruise on the Mediterranean, ski the Swiss Alps, ride a boat in Venice, eat sushi in Tokyo and climb the Andes in Peru. I want to travel everywhere.
“Yeah, baby?” he says, his eyes boring into mine. He knows that I know. “You remember now?”
I nod, my vision blurred. “We aren’t coming home after skiing, are we?”
Shaking his head, he laces his fingers at the small of my back. “Not yet. I’ve truncated the itinerary from what I originally wanted to do, because, kids. But we are hitting the major points. After Zürich, we’ll be back in Italy so we can take a gondola ride, and visit St. Mark's Basilica. My son’s namesake, after all.”
“Of course,” I say, hiding the need to grin. I can’t wait.
“And after we indulge in some local restaurant fare, we’ll be heading to Tokyo and getting you some of that sushi.” He makes a face. “Me, I’ll find an American burger somewhere. We’ll spend a few days in Tokyo, then head home because by then, Sarah and Jason will have aged ten years and the kids might forget us.”
“Amazing,” I whisper. “That sounds amazing.”
“And if you think I’ve forgotten Peru, think again. That’s our winter destination. I just couldn’t quite squeeze all of it in right now with such short notice.”
“December?” I squeal. “Are you serious?”
“So serious,” he says with a grin that tells me he’s a big, fat liar. “So we’ll come…home,” he says, his voice suddenly getting a little softer. “Where we’ll start building… a family.”
I lay my head on his shoulder and lock my fingers with his. “Sounds perfect.” My heart warms and my throat tightens.
“I love you, Ricco Montavio,” I say, leaning up for another kiss.
“And I love you, Daniella Montavio,” he says, which sounds strange and perfect all at once, which is maybe the exact way every couple in love should be.