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When I walked back into the kitchen, both women were quiet. When she saw me, Pia held her hand out to me. I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“Lucia said Nonna Carina spoke to Nonna Bella.”
“And?”
“Georgio told her horrible things about us,” said the countess.
“I’m sorry to say I’m not surprised.”
“With everything that’s happened, she decided it best that she doesn’t come back to work at Valentini,” said Pia.
“How do you feel about that?” I looked between her and her mother.
“Who would she cook for, anyway?” said the countess with a wave of her hand. “Me?”
“You need to eat, Mamma.”
“And you think I cannot cook?”
Pia laughed. “Have you ever?”
She folded her arms. “I’ll learn.”
I doubted there was anything the women in front of me couldn’t do if they set their mind to it.
“I’ll go and let you have time alone.”
“You’re welcome to join us for dinner, Mamma,” said Pia when they cheek-kissed.
“We’ll see,” she said, patting her cheek. “It fills my heart with joy to see you so happy. You know why you are, yes?”
“Why, Mamma?”
“Because you’re having a girl. That is why.”
“No, Mamma. It’s because I’m in love.”
Countess Maria smiled and winked at us. “Sì.”
After she left, Pia and I sat out on the terrazza. Me in a chair, her on my lap. I rested my hand on her belly.
“I love you, Pia.”
She turned her head and kissed me. “I love you, Mylos.”
I cupped her cheek with my palm. “This is probably the least romantic proposal in the history of humankind, but I want to marry you.”
She smiled and brought her lips to mine. “If you take that stone out of your pocket, I can guarantee that no woman has ever been proposed to with the Medici diamond.”
“Would that be a good thing?”
“The blood within the stone grows cold with hate. With love, it warms,” she murmured.
“And the man filled with hate, shall die of it. The man filled with love, shall live of it.”
Over the course of the next few weeks, Valentini seemed to come alive. Elio Cesare returned as head winemaker, and his wife, Nonna Carina came back as both cook and housekeeper, saying with just the countess living in the house, she could easily do both.
The countess offered to let us live in the villa, but knowing how I felt about the farmhouse, Pia graciously declined.
