"She sounds amazing."
A long silence follows and when Lorenzo finally speaks, his voice is quieter. "She was."
The grief in that single word steals the breath from my lungs. I don't know what to say to that. I don’t know how to help, so I push myself up and move closer to him.
His arm comes around me immediately, pulling me against his chest. I rest my cheek over his heart and listen to the steady beat beneath my ear. He presses a kiss to the top of my head, his arms tighten around me, and I hold him right back.
There’s a knock on the bedroom door and before either of us can answer, the door starts to open. Thankfully Lorenzo is quicker than I am and reaches for the sheet to cover me.
"You're both still in bed," Valentina says with far too much satisfaction. "This is the greatest day of my life."
"Go away, Val," Lorenzo snarls at her.
"No." She points at me. "Erin's here, we're going for lunch."
I look at Lorenzo and see him watching me. He gives me that grin again and my heart flutters. "Go."
That's it, just one word. No questions, no discussion. I smile despite myself
Valentina gasps dramatically. "Oh my God, he's actually sharing."
"Val," he warns.
She ignores him. "You have ten minutes before we leave," she tells me as she closes the door.
Erin is standing in the entrance hall when I come downstairs. She's looking at her phone, one hip propped against the wall, completely unaware that I'm studying her. She's beautiful. Her blonde hair falls halfway down her back in loose waves, the color somewhere between honey and gold. Her eyes are a bright blue that stand out against sun-kissed skin, and she's tall, taller than me by a fair bit.
She looks up from her phone and smiles, and somehow she's even prettier when she does that.
"There she is," she says with a bright smile.
"Sorry, I lost track of time."
"Don't apologize." She falls into step beside me as Valentina appears with her coat, three sets of keys and the energy of someone embarking on a mission. "Valentina's been talking about you since the wedding."
"Good things?" I say.
"She said you have the best taste in books and you make proper tea." Erin grins. "High praise."
"The highest," Valentina confirms. “Now, lunch.”
We go to a restaurant in the city that Valentina says her father, Cesare, owns. It makes sense why everyone seems to know who she is. I let Val order for me and I sit back and let the women talk as I get to know Erin.
"How are you finding it?" she asks. “Living with the Mariano's? They can be a bit overwhelming if you’re not used to it.”
"Good," I say, honestly. "Actually good."
"Val said things were rough at the start."
I nod. "They were."
"She also said they're not anymore."
I look at my coffee. "Getting better. I didn't expect it to feel like a home. Any of it. I expected to be tolerated, mostly."
“I’m glad that you have found that. That you have a home.”
Something about the way she says it makes me look up, her eyes are filled with sincerity.
