"I'm so glad I have you all to myself for the next six weeks," I say. "All of you have been working so hard. You deserve a break."
"I can't wait until everyone leaves," he says, glancing at the crowd.
"That's so mean." I shake my head at his bluntness, but I'm smiling. "But I feel the same way."
I take a bite of the cake and hand it to him. He sets it aside and wraps his arm around me.
"It feels so strange not to worry anymore," I say. "Having this deep sense of calm feels so different from what I'm used to."
"I know exactly what you mean," he says, glancing at his sister. "Things started falling into place only after you walked into my life."
He seems to think that I'm his lucky charm. I think it's the other way around.
He's the one who turned my whole life around.
It's because of him that I found the courage to stand up to my mother. He's the reason that I'm excited to wake up in the morning. He's the reason all of my dreams are coming true.
The ocean water reaches my outstretched toes, making me smile.
"I feel like I'm in a movie, Dante," I say. "All these blessings keep falling into my lap, and it's the most beautiful feeling."
He presses a kiss on my temple. "You're happy?"
"So happy," I say.
We're going to spend the next six weeks collecting stamps on our passports. Dante gave me a limitless budget and asked me to plan a six-week trip. I was hesitant at first, but then he told me that he hasn't been on a single vacation in two decades. But I know that he's secretly doing this for me. I told him once that one of my biggest dreams was to see the world.
And now I get to do it with the man I love.
After Zanzibar, we're going on a safari in Masai Mara, Kenya. After that, we'll spend a week in Jordan before heading to Sri Lanka and Japan.
I truly can't believe that this is my life now.
When we get back from vacation, I plan to enroll in some online classes. I want to have a diploma. Dante and I aren't planning on starting a family yet, so I've been on birth control since we started having sex. We'll focus on each other for a few years despite all his talk about putting a baby in me.
His phone rings.
"It's Enzo," he says, picking up.
Enzo's face fills the screen. His smile turns into a frown when he sees that it's just Dante and me.
"Happy birthday, mate," Enzo says, his eyes scanning the faces of the people standing behind us.
I bite the inside of my lip to keep from smiling. He's making it so obvious that he's looking for Ida.
"Hi, Enzo." I wave my fingers at him.
"Hey, Grace," he says. "Oh wow, look at your tan. I'm so jealous."
"It would've been fun if you could have come," I say.
"Next time," he promises.
He's pacing in a hotel room. There are skyscrapers behind him. I don't know where he is. I don't know what he does for aliving either, but I know he's not in the mafia. Dante doesn't like talking about what Enzo does, but I'm starting to suspect Enzo might be the opposite of a mafia man. I think he might have a secret government job.
All I know for sure about him is that he's obsessed with Ida.
"So, um, where are you guys?" Enzo asks.
