Page 62 of Vows on the Virgin's Terms

‘I want to bring the baby to you,’ Olivia demurred, love in her eyes as they met Luca’s.

‘Thank you,’ he mouthed.

She moved to the plastic-sided crib and removed the swaddle, then lifted her daughter out. She placed her carefully in Pietra’s arms, aware that Luca was there, waiting, ready to intervene if Pietra’s strength failed her.

‘She is so lovely.’ A tear slid down Pietra’s cheek. ‘So much like you, Olivia.’

Olivia stroked their baby’s head. ‘I see a fair bit of Giovanardi in her as well.’

‘Do you?’ Pride touched Pietra’s face.

‘Oh, yes. She has your eyes.’

The baby grabbed Pietra’s finger, curling her tiny fingers around its frail length.

‘Does she have a name yet?’

‘Actually, that is something we wanted to discuss with you,’ Luca said, nodding, gently prompting Olivia to continue.

‘We were wondering how you would feel about us calling her Pietra.’

Pietra’s lips parted in surprise. ‘I would be touched, of course. Are you sure?’

‘It’s the only name we considered,’ Olivia promised. ‘To us, she’s already Pietra.’

‘Luca, look!’

‘What is it, cara?’On the eve of their tenth wedding anniversary, Luca emerged from the kitchen, apron tied around his waist, looking impossibly sexy. She loved him in myriad ways, but his determination to learn to cook for her and their children, and to be a present, hands-on father and husband, made her fall in love with him more and more each day.

‘Look what I found!’ She carried the item, wrapped carefully in bubble wrap, to Luca, triumph in her features.

‘A toy? I don’t know. What is it? The children’s teeth?’

Olivia laughed, lifting a finger to her lips. ‘You know the fatina dei denti takes those away.’ She held the bubble wrap out to him. ‘I was looking for my wedding dress, on a whim. Pietra was asking about it.’

‘I am not surprised it was our daughter, rather than the twins.’ He laughed with paternal indulgence.

‘Rafaello and Fiero are busy with their soccer match, of course.’ She rolled her eyes, because it seemed to be all their seven-year-old sons cared for at present. ‘Anyway, I was looking in the box of wedding things, and found this.’

He peeled the tab of the sticky tape, casting his wife a rueful glance as she hopped from foot to foot, until eventually he revealed what was within: the Murano fenice.He looked from the bird to Olivia, shaking his head. ‘I had quite forgotten about this.’

‘Yes, me too. It’s exquisite. Do you remember the day we chose him?’

‘I do.’

‘How did we ever forget?’

‘Life,’ he said with a warm smile. ‘We have been busy living.’

Happiness spread through Olivia. ‘Well, now I don’t feel quite so bad. Where shall we put it?’

‘Somewhere prominent,’ Luca said, and then, as an afterthought, ‘But far from the boys’ football kicks.’

She laughed, sashaying through the living room, placing the bird atop the grand piano little Pietra was obsessed with playing each night.

‘Perfect. And here it will stand to remind us that, from the ashes, good things really can rise,’ Luca murmured, wrapping his arms around his wife, pressing his chin to her shoulder. They stared at the bird, content, and grateful, all at once.

‘What time is Sienna arriving?’

Olivia glanced at her wristwatch. ‘Their flight should land any minute.’

‘Then I had better get back to the kitchen.’ He kissed her cheek, then spun her in the circle of his arms, seeking her lips, never able to pass up an opportunity to taste his beloved wife.

‘Are you sure you don’t have any spare time?’ she asked silkily, wrapping her arms behind his back, just as the twins burst into the room, speaking in rapid-fire Italian about alleged on-field grievances, so Olivia and Luca shared a glance of amusement and pulled slightly apart.

‘Come into the kitchen and tell me about it, terramotti,’ Luca said, then, leaning closer and whispering, purely for Olivia’s benefit, ‘Tonight, mi amore.Tonight.’

It was a promise he intended to keep—for that night, and every night for the rest of their lives.