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“Do you have everything you want?” he asked when I reached him. We stood facing each other but not touching.
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
Everyone was quiet, only the crackle of the fire making any noise. “What are you doing here, Silas?”
“I need to talk to you.” Silas looked exhausted, like he’d been up all night.
“I want to talk to you too,” I said softly, fighting with my desire to jump into his arms before I knew what he was here to say.
“Then why aren’t you answering your phone?”
“Honestly, I don’t even know where my phone is. But I needed time, and then I was working on my book. It was just flowing for me, and it allowed me to put off what I needed to do with you.” I gestured at the women behind us. “But now, Ireland’s engaged, and I have all these wonderful friends. Everything is working out for me. Or at least, it seems that way on the outside.” I chewed my lip, knowing this was my chasm to fix. “But when I told you to leave last night, you took a piece of me with you.”
His gaze was trained on me, and it was like everyone else faded away. “What piece was that?”
My heart thudded in my ears. I couldn’t believe I was about to declare my feelings in front of everyone, including him, but I needed to do this. I kept my
gaze steady on his. “Il mio cuore.My heart.”
Silas took a step closer to me. “What are you saying?”
I threw my hands in the air, deciding to let go and tell him everything that had been on my mind the last twenty-four hours. “Mi fai impazzire ma ti voglio bene.You drive me crazy, but I’m in love with you. You challenge me, you encourage me, and you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You made me see that I could be and do things differently. That I could work less and make more. That with relaxation and time off work comes the best inspiration of my life. You’ve shown me what it’s like to love someone.Ti amo.I love you, Silas Sharpe, and I’m so sorry I resisted you all these years. I’ve wasted so much time.”
Twenty-Two
SILAS
Gia was saying everything I needed to hear. I thought I was going to have to convince her, to make her see the feelings she fought so hard to hide. But instead, she was sharing her feelings with me in front of everyone.
Her eyes shiny, Gia asked, “Are you going to say something?”
I stepped closer to her, needing to be near her, wanting to touch her. I slid my fingers through her hair, then cupped the back of her head. “I love you, Gia. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. You’re it for me.”
“Wow,” someone said behind us, but I blocked it out.
“And if that’s too much for you, you’re going to have to get used to it because I’m not changing how I feel or tempering it until you get used to it. I’m all in with you, Gia.”
A small smile spread over Gia’s face. “I’m all in too. I realized I’d been hiding from myself for years. I’ve been holding myself back from relationships, too scared to get close to anyone. I thought it was a weakness, but I was wrong. Love is my greatest strength.”
It was hard to believe she was saying all the things I wanted to hear and more. Gia Giovanni was in love with me. “And we didn’t waste any time, baby. This is the story of our journey, and we’re going to look back on it with love.”
“I love you,” Gia said softly, as if she couldn’t stop herself from saying it.
“I love you,” I said as I lowered my head and kissed her.
Cheers erupted around us and brought us back to the moment, where the entire staff of Happily Ever Afters was watching our exchange.
When I finally lifted my head, Gia’s expression was soft. Her eyes were full of love for me. “I can’t believe you came.”
“Harper said you were here, and I couldn’t wait any longer for you to come to me.”
Gia smiled sheepishly. “I would have. I just had to take care of a few things here first.”
“We had to burn the rules,” Harper said from her spot at the fire.
I lifted my head to look around the circle, noticing for the first time most of the women were a little glossy-eyed. “Have you been celebrating?”
Gia smiled. “I created a set of rules, and they no longer applied to us, so we burned them.”
