“Let’s go to the bookshop and then get a waffle and hot chocolate at the cafe with the fireplace where we parked,” she suggests.
“A woman who knows what she wants. It’s unheard of,” I tease.
“Pfft,” she scoffs, laughing at me and shaking her head.
I pull the book shop door open and stand aside. A bell over it rings softly.
Maria pauses before she walks through the door and pulls a long-stemmed rose from her bouquet.
She hands it to me and stands on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.
She smiles beautifully, then walks into the book shop, leaving me standing outside staring at the flower, blushing, my heart overwhelmed with emotions.
“You coming?” she calls out.
“Yes, yeah, yes…I’m right behind you,” I stammer, walking inside, unable to stop smiling.
My heart is overjoyed and doing strange flips as though a thousand butterflies are trapped inside my chest.
I walk quietly behind Maria, staring at the single rose in my hand.
She has the sweetest, kindest heart. She makes me smile. She makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt. She makes me think there’s so much more to life than what I’ve been experiencing all this time.
She’s got me falling head over heels for her.
It’s like a lightning bolt going off in my head when I realize what’s happening. I am falling for her.
I’m falling pretty hard, actually.
In front of me, Maria sways, and I jump to action, slipping my arm around her back.
“What is it?” I ask, worried. Her face has gone pale.
“I don’t feel so well suddenly,” she explains.
“How? What’s wrong?” I blurt out.
She laughs softly and reaches up to touch my face, “Stop worrying so much, it’s just a little bit of a stomach flu or something,” she tells me.
“I’ll get you home. Come on, baby bird.”
I scoop her up into my arms, and she giggles, sounding weak and tired. “Bear, I can still walk.”
I ignore her protests and carry her to the car, tucking her safely inside with her flowers on the back seat.
Back at the villa, I carry her up to her room, where I tuck her in beneath the blankets. Kazimir follows behind me, worried about what’s happening.
“You’re both overreacting,” she tries to say, but pain shoots through her, and she groans as she curls up, holding her stomach.
“I don’t think we are,” Kazimir says, horrified. “I’ll see if they have any medicine here.”
“No, I don’t like taking meds. Maybe they have ginger or peppermint tea?” she asks.
“Come hell or high water, I shall get you what you want,” he says, brushing his fingers over her cheek, then resting his hand on her forehead.
***
All afternoon, Kaz and I take care of Maria.
