AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Donovan tightened his arms around my back.“Thank you,” he murmured, his lips brushing my cheek.“For being the best almost-neighbour I ever had.”
He kissed my lips again, and even though we still had a lot to figure out, I didn’t want to worry about it right then.
The only thing I wanted to do was be with him, wrapped around him, and living every single second as if we would never get another.
Epilogue
Nova
One Year Later
I sat on a wide,comfy sofa, tall latte mug in my hands, staring out at the spectacular view of the Chianti countryside.I’d parked myself in the same spot whenever I got the opportunity over the past week since I’d been in Florence.
As it had been impossible to do so the previous year—and since Donovan hadn’t spent Christmas with his parents since he was eighteen—they had invited us to be with them in Italy as soon as the school term ended.Needless to say, I’d jumped at the chance, especially because my parents and June had all been invited too.
Christmas in Tuscany had blown my mind.Louise and Sam had been so kind to us, taking us into central Florence from their renovated country farmhouse, where we’d visited the most epic Christmas market offering gifts and Italian delicacies I’d never tasted before.The city was stunning, as was Donovan’s family home.It was set on two floors, and every room was enormous.It had six bedrooms, a main living room, plus two additional rooms off each end, one of which I was sitting in, and the other had been made into a dining room.The grounds of the home seemed to go on forever, and they even had olive trees, and we’d enjoyed the olives many evenings with bread and cheese.And don’t even get me started on the local wine.
It was New Year’s Eve, early afternoon, and Donovan would be back in a few hours.He’d left us the day after Christmas to return to the Philippines, where he’d spent a large part of the end of the year.There had been some kind of problem with his next contract, which would see him spending eight weeks in Thailand from February, and rather than leave it hanging, he wanted to get it sorted out and paperwork signed so it wasn’t looming over him.With the awkward travel at this time of year, he had only spent one full day in Manila, where he was meeting with his bosses, before making his way back to Italy.
In the past twelve months, life had been… different.I’d never been in a relationship with someone who wasn’t always around, and it had taken a bit of getting used to.Donovan’s initial four-week trip in January after we got together led to more work, as I’d expected.Out of twelve months, he’d been in the UK for two of them, and not all at once.He flew back and forth as much as he could, and during the school summer holidays, I’d gone to stay with him in the Philippines for three weeks, which was absolute bliss.It wasn’t hard to see why he loved being away; especially at such a luxurious resort.We’d spent some lazy days on the beach, eaten exceptional food, and there may have been several days where we never left our apartment because, although we were in an amazing location, we hadn’t spent nearly enough time exploring each other, and that won out every time.
“Hey, sweetheart,” June said, as she entered the room with a cup of English tea.It was the only thing she would drink, and she’d brought her own supply with her.Louise followed, and they both sat down on one of the other sofas.I wasn’t sure where Sam was, but my parents had hired a car for our stay and gone out to explore the area.
Pulling my attention away from the view, I turned to them, smiling.“Hi.I see you always know where to find me.”
Louise laughed.“When we first moved here, I barely moved from that spot for the first year.Even now, the view never gets old.”
Louise and Sam had welcomed me with open arms, delighted when they found out Donovan and I were together.When they’d visited Dawlish at Easter, seeing them again had caused a cascade of happy tears, and when my parents had come to see them too, it felt like no time had passed since we’d all been together.Of course, Donovan and I were all grown up now, but our parents connected the way they always had.It felt less like two families joining and more like we had always been one, just separated for a while.
Donovan and I had both gained an extra set of parents, and I’d also gained a grandmother.
June said, “It is a magnificent view.”She stared out at the endless green and sighed.“I can’t believe we have to go home in a few days.It’s gone so fast.”
“I know,” I agreed.“Back to work for me soon.”
Usually, after the Christmas break, I was ready to go back to work, but as much as I missed the kids, I wasn’t ready to give up such beautiful surroundings.So much family time had only highlighted how hard the physical distance between us all could be.However, that was something we had had to deal with.Louise and Sam would never move back to the UK, unless such a time came when June needed them to be closer, and that didn’t bear thinking about.And my parents were as Devon-obsessed as me, so they weren’t going anywhere.I had become slightly more open-minded about living elsewhere, but Dawlish would forever be my first choice.
“You’ll soon get back into the swing of things,” June said, and she didn’t just mean work.Being consistently without Donovan was hard, and while it was our normal, it never really got easier.I always missed him, more rather than less as time passed, but I refused to clip his wings.We’d been in a relationship for just over a year, but we hadn’t spent much of it in the same place.In many ways, it still felt new, and my feelings on his job hadn’t changed.He was happy, and even though being apart was challenging, as long as he was mine and kept on coming back, I was good with the way things were.Longer-term, we would have to re-assess, and that was something we’d both agreed on, but for the time being, nothing needed to change.
I sighed.“Yeah, I will.Still, I’ll miss the epic coffee and pastries here.”I raised my mug to emphasise the point.
“Speaking of food and drink,” Louise said, “I was wondering if you want to give me a hand in the kitchen.I’m going to start getting some nibbles ready, and Mum tells me you’re pretty good at making cookies.”She winked at me, making me laugh as I looked at June.
“Your mum’s not so bad at it either,” I said, remembering the silliness of last year’s baking in June’s kitchen.
“We can do it together,” June said, smiling.
“Is there anything else you want me to make?”I asked.Although it was only a family gathering, we’d decided to make a big deal for New Year’s Eve by getting dressed up, having a later-than-normal dinner with four courses, and then music, dancing, and wine until the clock struck midnight.
“You can help with the soup if you want.I’m going to bake some fresh bread too.”
My stomach rumbled at the thought.I’d probably put on about seven pounds since I’d arrived, but everything was so delicious.Louise had made bread for Christmas also, and served hot and teamed with butter, it was divine.
“I can do that,” I said, smiling.
A couple of hours later,Louise, June, and I were elbow-deep in food prep when I heard the sound I’d been waiting for.The click of the side door into the kitchen, signalling Donovan’s arrival.It had to be him as everyone else was already back in the house, and as I turned to him, a red apron covering my clothes and flour all over me, he grinned his wide lopsided smile, and I dropped my cookie cutter and ran to him, leaping into his arms as he kissed me like we were alone.I wound my arms around his neck, breathing him in and finally feeling like the celebrations could begin.
As our lips parted, I laughed, noticing I’d got some flour in his beard, and it was probably also all over his jacket where I was wrapped around him.Giggling, I wiped the dusty white from his face then kissed him again.
