AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The bedroom of the villa opened directly onto the beach and she could hear the sounds of the sea, feel the night air as it flowed into the room and cooled them.
Long hours passed. Hours during which they feasted and savoured, each reluctant to allow the other to sleep.
And finally, when her body was so languid and sated that she couldn’t imagine ever wanting to move again, he rolled onto his side and looked into her eyes.
‘I love you, Alice.’ His voice was quiet in the semi-darkness. ‘I want you to be with me always. For ever. I want you to marry me, tesoro.’
‘No, Gio.’ The word made her shiver and she would have backed away but he held her tightly.
‘Tonight you admitted that love exists.’
‘For some other people maybe.’ She whispered the words, almost as if she was afraid to speak them too loudly. ‘But not for me.’
‘Why not for you?’
‘Because I don’t—I can’t—’
‘Because when you were a child, your mother let you fall.’ He lifted a hand and stroked the hair away from her face. ‘She let you fall and now you don’t trust anyone to be there to catch you. Isn’t that right, Alice?’
‘It isn’t—’
‘But you have to learn to trust. For the first time in your life you have to learn.’ His mouth hovered a mere breath away from hers. ‘You can fall, Alice. You can fall, tesoro, and I’ll be standing here ready to catch you. Always. That’s what love is. It’s a promise.’
Tears filled her eyes. ‘You make it sound so perfect and simple.’
‘Because it is both perfect and simple.’
‘No.’ She shook her head and let the tears fall. ‘That is what my mother thought. Every time she was with a man she had these same feelings and she thought they were love. But they turned out to be something entirely different. Something brittle and destructive. My father was the same. And I have their genes. I believe that you can love, but I don’t believe the same of myself. I can’t do it. I’m not capable of it.’
‘You are still afraid.’ He brushed the tears away with his thumb. ‘You think that you are still that little girl on the climbing frame, but you’re not. Over the past few weeks I’ve watched you and I’ve seen you learning to touch and be touched. I’ve seen you becoming comfortable with other people’s emotions. All we need to do now is make you comfortable with your own.’
‘It won’t work, Gio. I’m sorry.’
Their bags were packed and Gio was up at the house having a final meeting with his brother about family business. She hovered in the courtyard, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the setting.
After four days of lying on the beach and swimming in the pool, she should have felt relaxed and refreshed. Instead, she felt tense and miserable. And the last thing she wanted was to go home.
From the courtyard of the main house she stared down through the citrus orchard to the sea and then glanced behind her, her eyes on the summit of Mount Etna, which dominated the skyline.
‘We will miss you when you’ve gone. You must come again soon, Alice.’ Gio’s mother walked up behind her and gave her a warm hug.
‘Thank you for making me feel so welcome.’ The stiffness inside her subsided and she hugged the older woman back, envying Gio his family.
‘Anyone who has taught my Gio to smile again will always be welcome here.’
Alice pulled away slightly. ‘He always smiles.’
‘Not since the accident. He was frustrated. Sad. Grieving for the abilities that he’d lost. His ability to help all those poor little children. You have shown him that a new life is possible. That change can be good. You have given him a great deal. But that is what love is all about. Giving.’
Alice swallowed. ‘I haven’t—I don’t—’
‘You will come and see us again soon. You must promise me that.’
‘Well, I…’ she licked her lips, ‘Gio will probably want to bring some other girl—’
His mother frowned. ‘I doubt it.’ Her voice was quiet. ‘You are the first girl he has ever brought home, Alice.’
The first girl?
