CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

"Come in," I say to the person knocking by the door. I didn't bother asking who it was since I expected Kat. Tonight is the night of the gala. I am almost done getting ready. I am wearing a nude one asymmetrical shoulder embroidered tulle dress. I did mild makeup, and Serena helped me style my hair.

"Just give me a minute; I am almost done," I say, putting on my shoes. I didn't want to wear them until it was time to leave.

"Sicuro (Sure)," A male voice says from outside the walk-in closet. My brows pull together as I realize it's not Kat I let into my room. I walk out to find who it is.

My breath gets caught in my throat as I look at Thomas as he stands in the middle of my room. He is dressed in a dark blue tux. His tux is tailored perfectly and hugs his body well. His hair is styled back, giving him a more serious look, but he still looks as handsome as ever. I lock eyes with him and realize he has been staring at me. He seems transfixed about something. My cheeks heat up as he doesn't stop staring at me even though a good minute has passed since he walked in. I clear my throat to bring him back to earth as he seems to have gotten lost looking at me.

"Sei Bellissima (You look beautiful)," Thomas says, walking closer to me. I can't remember the last time Thomas looked at me like this. I thought I would never see such a look in his eyes again. My heart skips a beat as the alluring look in his eyes doesn't fade away. I loved how the words rolled out of his mouth with his Italian accent. He sounded sexy as he complimented me.

"Thank you" My heart rate suddenly increases as he stands before me. His face is only a breath away from mine. He takes a loose strand of my hair and tucks it behind my ear. My eyes close momentarily as his fingers lightly brush my face.

"I got you something" He hands me the box in his hand.

"Thank you" I collect the box from his hand. I am awed by what I see inside the box. Thomas got me a water drop black Rhinestone jewelry set.

"Let me help you put it on" He takes the necklace from the box. I face my back towards him, and he places it on my neck. His hot breath fans my neck, and heat begins to fill my body. The urge to back into him more so that the heat radiating off him can warm my body more is high.

"What do you think?" His hands rest on my shoulders as we stand before the mirror.

"It's beautiful," I say, touching the necklace.

"I am happy you like it" He kisses my cheek before taking a step back away from me. The instant he moves away, my body craves it back immediately. I miss the warmth I got from having him stand behind me.

"It's gorgeous."

"Not as beautiful as you; let's go" Thomas grabs my hand and walks us out of the room.

I fear my heart will rip out of my chest because of how hard it's beating against my ribcage. I can't believe Thomas's hand is wrapped around my waist as we walk into the Costanzo hotel where the charity gala is being held. I am scared someone who knows what happened between us might say something and cause Thomas to become angry with me. I genuinely hope no one speaks about it. I don't want anyone to ruin things between us.

I expect Thomas to find his mom and leave me with her while he says hi to his acquaintances, but he doesn't. Instead, we walk over to them together. I recognize a few of the people we converse with from when I dated Thomas.

The first half of the night is spent catching up with acquaintances I had come to gain when I dated Thomas. They are primarily wives or girlfriends of Thomas's business associates. I really thought he won't want anyone we knew to see us together tonight. I am shocked he didn't care.

I am walking to the bar to refill my drink when I meet Kat on the way.

"Hello dear," She says, smiling.

"Hello, Kat" I hand my empty glass of wine to the bartender.

"You look lovely" She admires my outfit from head to toe.

"As you too."

"Where is Thomas?"

"He is standing close to the stage talking to Stefano" I take a sip of my wine as the bartender is done refilling my cup.

"That's good; he won't be looking for you for a while." She grabs my arm. "Come with me, dear. They are some people eager to see you," She says, pulling me with her away from the bar.

"Who?" I ask as I walk beside her

"You will see," She says, smiling

Kat walks us to a little gathering of three women. Two of them have their backs facing me, and the one whose face I can see. I don't recognize her. She holds a beautiful baby girl in her arms.

"Ladies, see who I found by the bar," Kat says. With their backs facing me, the two turn around at the sound of Kat's voice.

"Melina," The two women say, recognizing me.

"Aurora, Melissa, oh my God, it's been ages since I last saw you both," I say, pulling them into a hug. They are Thomas's younger sisters. Aurora is older than Melissa.

"Likewise," Aurora says, hugging me back. She has blue eyes with brunette hair and a round face. She and Thomas look alike since they both take after their mother.

"I have missed you," Melissa says, hugging me tighter. She has green eyes, a pointed nose, and pitch black hair.

"Me too" Melissa and I grew to become good friends when I dated Thomas. We drifted apart after I ran away with her brother's money.

"How are you both doing?" I ask, pulling away from them

"Great, how about you?" "Mama told us what happened," Aurora says, giving me a pitiful look.

"I am doing fine; you don't have to worry about me,"

"That's good to hear," Melissa says, softly smiling at me. Melissa is about to say something when the baby with the unknown woman begins to cry.

"I can't believe I forgot to introduce you. Please forgive me, dear," Kat refers to the unknown lady.

"It's fine, Kat," The lady says, smiling as she tries to calm her baby girl down.

"Melina, meet Andrea, Stefano's wife; this is his beautiful daughter Elda."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," I say, putting my hand forward for a handshake, but her daughter is the one who puts her hand in mine. Her little baby hand grabs my finger.

"It's nice to meet you, too" She smiles and tries to take her baby's hand away from mine, but her baby refuses to let go. "Sorry about that" She tries again to take her hand away, but she holds onto mine tight.

"It's fine" "If you don't mind, I would love to hold her." I love babies. They are the world's cutest beings.

"I don't mind at all" She releases a breath of relief and hands Elda over to me, who comes into my arms with ease.

"Hello, cutie," I say to Elda, smiling at her as she smiles back at me

"Wow, I have never seen her accept someone she didn't know so quick. You must be good with babies."

"You could say that" I make funny faces so Elda can laugh.

Her baby laughter is heard loud around us and only dies down when the MC announces the auction is about to start. Andrea tries to take her back, but she refuses to go to her mom. I tell Andrea I don't mind holding her while the auction goes on.

As the auctions begin, we walk to our tables and take our seats. Thomas joins me at our table, and he doesn't say anything as he sees me with Elda. He only smiles at us and takes his seat beside me.

I realize Elda has fallen asleep in my arms halfway through the auction. I call Andrea's attention away from the stage to let her know. We are seated at the same table.

"I can't believe she slept in your arms." Andrea stretches her arms to take Elda from me

"I also can't believe it" I hand Elda back to her mom

"I can bet you will be an amazing mother when you have your own kid."

My heart squeezes in my chest from her statement. Her words could have been true if only I had carried to full term twice. I feel tears fill my eyes as I imagine how my first child would have played with their cousin tonight but was never given a chance.

I feel someone grab my hand under the table and tightly squeeze it. I know it's Thomas even without looking. I can never mistake his touch against my skin. I use my other hand to cover our joined hands and press hard to prevent the tears that threaten to fall. Nobody knows the pain of the loss of my children more than Thomas. He is their father, and I know he is hurt by it as much as I am.

"I believe so, too," Thomas says, kissing my forehead. I close my eyes and rest my head on his shoulder as he does this. I feel a drop of tear escape my eyes. I truly wish my babies didn't die. I miss them even though I have known them for a short while. They will always be a part of me.