I nodded. “Here’s the plan for the evening that I never told you. We cook dinner, Maurice and Gigi are staying over to babysit, and I’m taking you to the ballet later, then to the presidential suite of the Machionette.”
“What? Luc, we’re leaving for Italy in days. We can’t have a break like that and the baby needs us.”
“The baby will be fine. Come here.” I pulled her closer, and she slipped her arms around me. “Mrs. Morientz, I’ve only told you once today that I love you.”
“Mr. Morientz, you’re forgiven, but you have to make up for your severe mistake.” She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed me.
“Dinner and dessert.”
We both laughed.
“How about dessert first?” She gave me a saucy look.
I loved the sound of that. I loved my life with her. I loved that she gave me a chance to be me.
Most of all, I loved that she loved me.
That was priceless.
* * *
Amelia
* * *
I walked out into the sea of gardenias covering the front garden of the vineyard. Against the moonlight, they were a stark bright white, like stars kissing the earth.
That was the first thought I’d had on my first visit here last year. I understood what he’d meant every time he used to mention the villa.
The breathtaking image of it was always so striking it gave me goose bumps, and here I was again. Here in the garden in Italy, and the effect was the same.
Maybe a little more because of my deep appreciation for it. I longed to be here when I wasn’t, and it was a welcomed break. Most of all, it sparked my creativity.
All I had to do was take a look at the beauty before me, and it channeled the dancer in me, and I’d start seeing dances moves, choreography.
It was amazing how different my life was now. It was so different, sometimes I had a hard time believing everything else that had happened.
It was like I’d always been married to Luc. Like we’d met in high school or something and planned to have the gorgeous wedding we had two years ago, promising our love to each other for all eternity.
It was like we’d always had Raphael. Our precious baby who was a continuous symbol of our love. It was like we’d always planned to name him after my father.
And it was like I’d never left dancing, never left Chicago to become Amelia Taylor, never became someone else.
A month after Raphael was born, I thought I’d take a walk to my old dance school. I’d just wanted to see the place for memory’s sake. I was so shocked to find Madame Bouglaise still ran the place and more shocked that she instantly remembered me. That one visit changed everything. Then sixty-five years old, she’d been looking to sell the school but still have some involvement with the dance examinations and contact with Julliard.
She was the woman who’d practically pruned me and molded me into the dancer I was, so she didn’t think twice when I offered to buy the place. Then she made the deal even sweeter with her recommendation to Julliard that I train under her to take on the role of exam liaison officer both at Julliard and the school.
I was accepted under her internship, but on the condition that I did three years training at the undergraduate level and a further year to get the teaching qualification. At Julliard.
Of course, I’d completely agreed to it. My time to dance and travel the world with all the amazing companies I’d hoped to work for might have passed, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still live my dream in some way. Teaching was what I’d always planned to do. So it was still me living the dream.
I taught at the school, owned it, and worked closely with one of the best dance academies in the world. It was onwards and upwards from here.
Luc had made it possible. He’d never allowed me to lose sight of my dream.
“You always look the same.”
I turned on hearing Luc’s voice. He’d been at his office in town working late on the accounts.
