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“I’d love to go with you.”
Roger pulled her to sit upon his lap. His mind was racing. She’d love to go with him, but love him might be a different story. There was only one way to find out that answer.
“Gia, I didn’t come here to talk about the reunion. I came here to talk about . . . us.” She didn’t say anything, only listened. His hopes that she’d make it easy on him and wrap her arms around his neck telling him she loved him didn’t happen. She’s going to make me earn this.
“You’re right. I kept driving past your place trying to figure out what to say. Damn it. I had even stopped at the store and picked out about five cards that seemed to say what I wanted. They may have been perfect, but they weren’t mine. Hell, Gia, I know there are rules to how this is done, but I don’t know any of them.”
Gia put her hand on his cheek and asked, “Roger, some things don’t have a rule book. You just need to follow your heart.”
He covered her hand with his. “Heart? Gia, that’s what I’ve been doing since the moment I saw you. No matter what I told myself, my heart continued to lead me back to you. I’ve tried to rationalize or use some sort of logic to figure this out. I can’t explain it.”
“Some things can’t be explained, only felt,” Gia said softly.
He nodded. “My rules of engagement that I utilize with every other aspect of my life, doesn’t apply here. Being with you is like giving oxygen to someone who couldn’t breathe. Everything instantly became better, easier. What I feel for you Gia . . . is more than I thought I was capable of. They are the simplest words that many utter all the time, but I have never spoken them before, until now. I love you, Gia.” He saw her green eyes glisten, and she blinked back her tears. He fought kissing them away. Roger needed her to know what she meant to him. “Gia, I love you more than three words can express and more than I can show you in a lifetime. But all I know is I want to spend my life trying.”
“Oh, Roger, I love you too. And you make me feel loved. When you showed up at the hospital and encouraged me, you showed that love. And when you went with me to my parents, I felt your love.” A tear rolled down her cheek and he brushed it away. “And if you never told me, I’d have still known because you have stolen my heart. And I don’t want it back.”
He kissed her lightly. “I promise I’ll take good care of it.”
“You better, Roger”—she looked directly into his eyes—“because my heart is fragile and it’s overflowing with love for you.”
Roger’s worries and concerns from before disappeared. He told her, but even greater, she felt the same. He claimed her lips and muttered I love you as he did. The words were said, now he wanted, no needed, to show her.
Her cell phone rang, and he pulled back briefly. “Do you need to get that?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry.”
Gia slipped off his lap and instantly he wanted her back. When she returned he could see the desire that was there a moment ago was gone.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. It was my mother reminding me my father has his follow-up with the cardiologist today. I’m supposed to go with them.”
Roger got up, walked over, and pulled her into his arms. “I hope we have time for one more kiss before we go.”
“We?” Gia asked.
He nodded. “Told you, Gia. A lifetime of showing you.”
“What have I done to deserve you?” she asked.
Roger teased, “Maybe it was those wild youthful years of yours.”
Gia slapped his chest lightly. “I’ll show you wild.”
He winked. “Maybe tonight when we return. Now how about that kiss?” He claimed her lips again, but this time it was different. It was a promise of what was to come.
As they parted and walked out the door Gia teased, “You know what this means, don’t you?”
That I’m the luckiest man on the planet?“No, tell me.”
“Now I have to stop by the bakery.”
“Why?”
“Because every time my father asks about you, he also asks what you’re bringing next time.”
Roger laughed. “I think chocolate cream pie.”
