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“I’d have to be a fool not to.”
Though I wanted to call him a fool for not feeling it before, I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t. He never wanted to let me go when I was with him. Ego always prevented him from chasing me, but I knew deep down that it was the reason he kept me glued to his side when we were in the same place at the same time. The phone calls, video calls, text messages, the shift onto his cellular plan, the device change, the way he studied me, and the concern. It couldn’t all be for nothing. The feelings that he had now couldn’t be new. They had to have blossomed from the beginning, or at least, I hoped.
The songs blended together. He stopped singing, but we never moved apart. He held me like he never wanted to let me go. I knew I didn’t want him to, so I stayed silent and allowed the moment to sweep us into its hold.
Eventually, we ate dinner, danced a bit more, and then Raphael escorted me home. He insisted I was tired, and I fought him on that all the way to…
“I knew you were tired.” The words stirred me from my sleep and I grunted in defeat. I was indeed. “Let’s get you to bed.”
Inside, Raphael undressed me and put me to bed. Still fully dressed, I believe he had every intention of leaving me. I pulled him down next to me and snuggled into his hold. Warm. My room was cool and so were the sheets. With him next to me, the chill didn’t exist. His arms wrapped around me in the best cocoon, and I drifted back to my happy place.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
RAPHAEL
The words were on the tip of my tongue. Was it too soon? Maybe it was the affection leftover from Ruthgina. Anise and I were still getting to know the us that existed now. There was no way that I had feelings that felt so strong for her so soon.
I held her closer and buried my nose into her hair, losing my thoughts. This place was where I wanted to stay. That I knew I loved her was scary but didn’t feel as foreign as it should. My mind wanted to control it, but my heart was leaping in joy and trying to scream it from the rooftops. We would get there.
* * *
The phone rang early in the morning and there was so much commotion that I couldn’t focus on anything that my mother was saying.
“Mom…”
“Yes?!”
“Can you start over with less enthusiasm?”
“Your father proposed to me!”
“Did you let him down easy?” I mumbled.
Anise cuddled closer, trying to bury her head into my chest.
“No! Are you crazy? I said yes!”
“Wait.”
“We’re getting married!”
“Wait.” My mind was struggling to keep up. What had just happened? They’d been in Venice for two weeks and this is what they got out of it?
“We are. You have about two weeks to get here before the big day. We want to do it before our holiday is over.”
“No, Mother…”
“Don’t tell me no! Listen here, Raphael Dubois. I am your mother and I was in labor with you for…”
I grunted. I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard this same thing from her.
“Get up and purchase your plane ticket so you can get here!” And with that, my mother hung up, leaving me with one problem. It started in my gut and worked its grasp up to my chest and began squeezing. I couldn’t breathe, but I still focused my mind on that one word.
How was I supposed to get on a plane to go to Venice, where I was going to convince my parents that this was the biggest mistake they’ve ever made? They needed time. I had to talk sense into their brains. They needed…
“Raph, breathe…” I heard Anise, but more than anything else, I felt her.
“I’m trying,” I tried to reassure her.
“Breathe or I’ll make you eat sweet potato fries and chocolate ice cream.”
I laughed at the god-awful concoction and the anxiety lessened. It didn’t dissipate, but the pressure eased. And my thoughts began processing more information.
Venice. Parents. Marriage. Plane.
And how the anxiety reversed when I thought “plane” told me that most of that two weeks would either be spent preparing for a flight that might just give me a heart attack or finding an alternate route. Either way… I, Anise, and our babies were going to Venice.
Sigh.
* * *
