‘I want that, too,’ she eventually said. ‘I hate that we can’t be together all the time.’
‘Would you want that? If I could find a way?’
She didn’t hesitate. ‘Of course, I would, Florian. There’s nothing I want more.’
They lay there long after he put out his cigarette, his thumb stroking her shoulder as she traced circles on his chest with her fingertips. It wasn’t unusual for them to lie in silence, content in each other’s company, but today she couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said, because she didn’t know how they would ever resolve that particular problem.
‘Would you like me to bring dinner up for us?’ he asked. ‘I had the outside table set, but…’
‘Dinner in bed sounds glorious,’ she said. ‘What did your cook prepare for us this time?’
‘My poor cook must be starting to think I have a very large appetite, with the portions I’ve been requesting,’ he said, kissing her on the mouth before sliding out of bed. ‘Tonight was coq au vin I think, although I have to confess I was so busy trying to finish work before you arrived, that I didn’t pay much attention to anything else.’
She watched his body as he bent to retrieve his underwear, laughing when he turned around and blew her a kiss. Delphine grinned and waited for him to disappear before wrapping herself in the sheet and standing. She walked around the room and looked at some of the photographs he had displayed, pausing at the familiar image of his son and wondering if they’d ever meet. It struck her that Florian must have been young when his son was born.
She heard him come back into the room, but kept walking, looking at another photograph that she presumed was of hisfamily, when he’d been a young man. Arms encircled her from behind then, and Florian’s lips brushed against her neck.
‘My parents died almost five years ago,’ he said. ‘Within a few months of each other. I always thought my father died of a broken heart.’
Delphine turned in his arms, leaning against him, her head tilted up so that he could kiss her. Which he did. Florian very rarely missed an opportunity to touch her or kiss her, to love her and make her feel more alive than she’d ever felt before.
‘It must be amazing to be married to a true love.’
He kissed her again, before she nestled tighter to his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
‘I wouldn’t know how it feels,’ he finally said, his mouth moving against her hair. ‘My parents set a great example, their love clear for everyone to see, and yet I married because it seemed like the right thing to do.’
‘You weren’t in love? Even then?’ She told herself not to be upset if he had been—they were talking about his wife, after all.
‘I thought I was,’ Florian said. ‘But in truth, we were companions, and as our son grew we realised we had very little in common and preferred our own company to that of each other. We were nothing like my parents, and in hindsight I realised I wanted what they had.’
She sighed. It was hard to think about Florian and his wife, as she imagined it would be difficult for him to think about her and Giovanni. But she knew what he meant—the more time she spent with Florian, the more she wished she had married a love match, too.
‘Speaking of our spouses, I had a letter from my husband today,’ she said.
Florian’s arms tightened around her, and she spoke quickly so as to reassure him.
‘He wanted me to know that he’ll be home for a handful of days at the end of summer. Even though he promised the children he’d be spending time with them, it seems he already has plans to travel with his mistress, if the staff gossip Martina has overheard is to be believed, that is.’ Delphine hoped she didn’t sound bitter, because she wasn’t, not anymore. It was a relief to know he was going to be absent—it would give her more time to be with Florian, after all. ‘I also heard that he returned to Switzerland recently, to attend business meetings.’
‘He didn’t come to see you or the children while he was here?’
She shook her head. ‘It seems not. But I won’t ever let the children know, it would break their hearts.’
Florian tucked his thumb beneath her chin then, and the way he looked into her eyes, the tender way he touched her, made her feel seen and loved by a man for the first time. Not even as a little girl had she felt so thoroughly cared for.
‘He’s a fool for not loving you the way you deserve to be loved,’ he whispered. ‘But his loss is my gain.’
Tears filled her eyes when Florian kissed her, not because she was sad for her husband not caring enough to even visit, but for the simple reason that Florian wasn’t her husband. What a different life she would have had with him at her side.
‘There are many advantages to us not being married,’ Florian said, taking her hand.
Delphine used her other hand to keep the sheet wrapped around herself as she shuffled back to the bed and propped herself up against the pillows.
‘I’m struggling to think of any,’ she replied.
‘Well, eating dinner in bed, for a start,’ he said. ‘I don’t think that’s something married couples do.’
She laughed. ‘Oh really?’
