Tessa swallows hard and finally stops coughing. Her voice is hoarse as she apologizes. “I’m so sorry, Maria, the water just went down the wrong pipe.”
Mamma flushes beet red. “Oh. Okay. What a relief. If you nearly died twice in my house…” She swats at me. “You should’ve told me it was just the water. My heart!”
“I feel terrible for scaring you,” Tessa replies.
Tessa seems fine now, but I haven’t stopped rubbing her back. It’s like my hand is programmed to comfort her. Leaning back a little, she relaxes some of her weight onto my palm.
Mamma straightens and takes a deep breath, giving Tessa a couple pats on her head. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Though, I don’t think I should have any sugar right now. I need to lay down after all the excitement. We’ll have gelato tomorrow.” She grabs Papa’s hand and starts walking toward their room.
Tessa stands up, and I follow suit. We’re both standing and staring in silence, the air between us feeling electrically charged. In a move that would be barely perceptible if I wasn’t paying close attention, I notice her hand lift ever-so-slightly. Not even letting one millisecond pass, I intertwine our fingers.
We walk down the hallway together, neither of us willing to break the hold—or the silence—even though no one’s around. I’m not sure of the reason behind the private affection, but I don’t want to ask. As long as she’s letting me hold her hand, I’m agnostic to thewhybehind it.
As I twist the doorknob to my bedroom, she pauses.
“Hey, Giovanni?”
“Yeah?”
“I know we said we’d talk later, but… Can it be tomorrow?”
My stomach sinks in disappointment. I rub the spot in between my eyebrows and nod. “Anything you want, Tessa.”
“Thank you.” She releases my hand and follows me into the bedroom.
As we wordlessly take turns changing and washing up, the silence grows louder. So loud, that I wonder when it’ll become impossible to ignore.
Chapter 26
Tessa
Iyawn and stretch, flexing my feet and wiggling my toes. Still bone-deep in a hazy morning fog, I snuggle deeper into Giovanni’s chest. I breathe in the familiar smell of him… bergamot and leather, but now a different scent, too. Something sweet, like figs. His stubble tickles the side of my nose in the most pleasant way when I nuzzle my face into his neck. Warm air wraps around me as his breath fans my forehead.
“Buongiorno,Tèssa,” a drowsy voice murmurs in my hair.
“Good morning, Gio,” I whisper, tilting my chin up, eyes still closed.
Running my fingers through his thick curls, I release a happy sigh. I feel his hand on my hip as it snakes up my pajama top and rests on my ribcage underneath my breast. My fingers move on their own accord from his hair to his neck, tugging him forward.
He kisses me, and his full lips feel soft against mine. Humming lazily, I gently suck his bottom lip into my mouth. We take deep, slow breaths in between drowsy, languid kisses. I release his bottom lip, and his tongue teases the corner of mymouth, beckoning it open. Responding in kind, I open my mouth just enough for his tongue to slide in.
I love the feel of us, how we fit together. Lips still fused, I slowly blink open my eyes, squinting at the morning sunlight spilling into the room.
What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On. Here.
I rear back, causing Giovanni to open up his eyes. His shocked reaction matches mine, wrinkles all the way up his forehead, pupils blown out.
Did we just kissonreflex?Oh my God.
Was the best kiss of my life accidental?
I jolt up in the bed, scrambling to exit the room as soon as humanly possible. But I can’t, because I’m tangled up in the fucking bedding, flailing like an octopus caught in a fisherman’s net.
I roll around, but my foot keeps kicking the inside of the sheet. I don’t dare look back at Giovanni. I finally free my left leg and launch myself out of bed, directly onto the floor. On my ass. My shirt flips up, exposing my stomach, and I grasp at it to pull it down.
I shut my eyes and try to pretend that this isn’t real. That I am on a different Tessa timeline.This version of Tessa should be prosecuted for the crime she has committed this morning.
“Are you okay?”
