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Once, I had asked her why she didn’t participate in the continual ribbing from my captains.
Gia, ever wise, had shrugged. “I’ll know when someone is right for you,” she had offered.
I never wanted anyone but Caterina. From the moment I met her, she was seared in my brain as the image of a wife. A mother.
A lover.
Mine.
Under the shade of the umbrella at my villa, with our child splashing merrily in the pool, I have her. The past few days, and even the week before, have felt painful, even as they were peaceful.
This is what I have always wanted.
Caterina. Our child. The ability to provide for them, to protect them.
To have them near me, as a family.
I would tell Caterina all this, but judging from the shock on her face, she’s not quite ready to understand how deep my infatuation with her goes.
And, if I’m being honest, I am afraid to discover its depth as well.
This life with Caterina feels surreal because it has always been a fantasy. The reality is that there are so many barriers between us, I am as foolish as a child to think that we could ever havethis.
And yet, here we are.
Sitting side by side.
Watching Luna play.
I sigh and lean back. I do not expect Caterina to respond, because she should have no response for this. I have broken open something that both of us let harden between us, and what we both found is still too raw to speak of.
Instead, I look at the pool. “She swims well, even with the floatation devices on her arms.”
Caterina takes a long time to respond, but I keep my eyes trained on our child. “She does,” I finally hear.
A small knot of tension inside me releases.
She is willing to pretend at normalcy.
Thank God.
“It is her wish to swim without them, no?” I ask.
“Yeah. It is. She probably could a little bit, but I’m not a great swimmer either, so I feel nervous teaching her.”
I glance over at the woman perched elegantly on the chair. Caterina’s loveliness overwhelms me. Her curved body begs me to touch, and the Italian sun is bronzing her skin to a burnished, golden tone.
I look back. “I could teach her some. Right now, while you watch.”
“You don’t have to work?”
I smirk. I have told Nico to direct all of my calls to Gia for the next few days. “I am available if they need me, but today I find myself with a distinct lack of things to do.”
Caterina coughs out a small, surprised noise. “I see.”
I do not press. Long moments pass, where I swear I can hear the thud of my own heart.
“Okay,” I finally hear.
