Page 122 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

“Well, no, but I would have been tempted to.”

“Why are you here, Damian?”

“Because I love you and I do not want to live without you.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. She had never dreamed or hoped…

“I will live here if you cannot leave Carrera. I saw how warmly and lovingly your family welcomed you home and would understand if you wanted to remain in Italy. I even talked to my brother about opening a shipping office in Genoa in case you couldn’t leave. It is not so far that you couldn’t visit your family often. I have already been given permission from your father to marry you, if you will have me.”

He was speaking so quickly that she was afraid that she had not fully understood. Or maybe she was afraid to hope that he was here for her.

Oh, she wished that she wasn’t ill, tired, and weak because then she would be much more confident in what she heard.

“What of Trade Wynd and Southampton?” She knew that he could not be away. He was needed there, as much as she was needed here, and the reason they had parted as they had.

“I have come to realize that there are matters far more important that fulfilling my father’s priorities.”

She couldn’t believe that he was willing to give everything up for her.

She also would not allow it. Damian may believe that he could step away from their shipping offices in Southampton, and that an office in Genoa would satisfy his need to be a part of Trade Wynd, but it would never be enough. He might not realize it now, but after time had passed, he would crave a return to what he knew well and did best.

“Trade Wynd is you. It does not matter who placed you there. You must return. If you do not, I fear that you will regret every decision you make today and in the future.”

She stared into his blue eyes and without him saying a word, could tell that he agreed with her.

“I am willing to take that chance, if you will have me.”

He truly meant what he said, but it was not something Georgie could agree to. She would not allow him to set aside his future.

Georgie looked over at her father and in a moment of clarity, she knew what she wanted. “What of Accetta Panetteria? I promised to take over when you could not work any longer.” It was not just a promise she had made, but it was an obligation that she no longer wanted to carry.

She loved Damian and wanted to be by his side, no matter where he chose to live.

It also wasn’t a love that would go away or fade because it remained as strong as it had been when they arrived in Dublin.

“Accetta Panetteria is not your responsibility,” her father said.

“My great-grandfather began it. It was grandfather’s dream, then mother’s, which you joined her in.”

“Yes, my dream,” her grandfather said. “It was what made me happy, where I wanted to be.”

“What will happen to Accetta Panetteria if I am not here?”

Her grandfather shrugged. “It does not matter. It made me happy, but it will not be the same for you.”

In that he was correct. Georgie loved Accetta Panetteria but she was more content here than happy.

“Is he your heart, Georgie?” her grandfather asked gently.

“He is,” she answered as tears filled her eyes.

“Does that mean you will marry me?” Damian asked.

“Yes!” She did not fight the tears that streamed down her face. Her heart no longer ached but swelled with love and hope and filled her entire being.

“We will marry as soon as it is possible to do so in Italy,” he promised.

“I will see to the arrangements,” her father promised.