I walk to the study where Giacomo is. It’s cracked, so I knock on the door as I push it open.
He’s sitting behind his desk, on his computer. When he glances up at me, a large smile takes over his face.
“Amore mio,”he says, then pushes his chair back from the desk and taps his thigh. I take a seat on his lap, wrapping my hand around his shoulder, and lean down to give him a kiss on his lips.
“Are you almost done?” I ask.
“Almost, why, what’s going on?”
“Liana wants to go to the fabric store so she can make me this dress for the gala in a couple of weeks,” I say, holding her sketch out to him.
He raises his brows, creasing the fine lines in his forehead that show the mature age of the love of my life. “She drew this?”
I nod. “She did.”
“It’s amazing. Just give me two more minutes and we can all go together.”
I run my fingers through his hair, and say, “She’ll love that,” then give him another kiss. “We have a very talented daughter, Giacomo. I have a good feeling about her future. I know if we keep supporting her dream of designing clothes, she’ll make it far.”
“And so she will,amore mio, because I know no matter what, she will always have the two of us to support her and her dreams.”
I grin widely at him. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
I suck in a sharp breath and bolt upright. It takes a minute for my eyes to focus in the dark and realize I’m in bed.
“It was a dream,” I pant out, lifting my hand to my racing heart.
But that dream. It felt so real. Like it wasn’t a dream at all, but a… memory.
I lift my hand up to my throbbing head. My temples feel like they’re about to explode. How could I possibly be dreaming about a daughter named Liana and a husband who is not my husband?
I glance over at Ignazio, who thankfully is still sound asleep, snoring as if there isn’t a care in the world.
I don’t recognize the little girl from my dream, but she did look like a much younger version of the Liana I met today. And the man?
Letting out a sigh, I rub my temples, trying to ease the pain.
I don’t know that man, but something is not right here, and I think I need to speak with Liana to figure it out.
49
LIANA
As we all sit at the island with breakfast in front of us, I can’t help but shuffle the fruit around on my plate while I think about whether my mom will meet with me today.
Massi places his hand on my bouncing leg and says, “She’ll show up.”
“How do you always do that?”
“Do what?”
“Know what I’m thinking without me saying anything.”
“You can’t give me that much credit,” he says with a small laugh. “It’s the biggest elephant in the room.”
“No, it’s more than just today,” I say, sliding my hand on top of his. “You always know what I’m thinking and what to say to help make me feel better.”
