Chapter 78 Stay with Me
GIOVANNI’S POV
I stared at her, my eyes wide and lips parted in shock and to my genuine shock, she laughed.
"This is becoming a pattern with us," she said, wiping at the mess with a napkin. "We can't seem to keep food on the table."
Despite everything, I felt my mouth twitch toward a smile.
Arya cleared her throat and stood up, looking at her ruined sweater. "Excuse me."
She walked out of the dining room without another word and the silence she left behind was deafening.
Everyone was looking at me. Claire, wide-eyed. Enzo, blank and tight lipped. Maria, who had appeared in the doorway with a cleaning cloth, her expression was unreadable.
I sighed, stood up, and left the mess for Maria to deal with.
I found Arya's door closed when I reached her room.
Underneath it, I could see light and hear movement which meant she was probably changing out of her soup-soaked clothes.
I leaned against the wall beside her door and waited. It must have been more than five minutes when the door finally opened, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Jesus, Giovanni!" She pressed her hand to her chest, breathing hard.
She had changed into loose pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt, her damp hair hung around her shoulders.
We stared at each other awkwardly.
"I-" We both started at the same time and stopped.
"You first," I said.
"I was going to get water," she said. "You?"
I scratched the back of my head, shifting nervously on my feet. "I was going to apologize."
She blinked. "Oh."
"Can I come in?"
She studied me for a moment, then stepped aside. I entered her room and she closed the door, leaning against it.
"Apologize then," she said, crossing her arms.
I faced her, and for the first time in my adult life, I didn't know what to do with my hands.
"What I did on the plane," I started. "The choking. It was…”
I stopped. What word could possibly cover it? "There's no excuse. I was dreaming, and I confused you with…." I couldn't finish.
"With who?" she asked quietly. "With my father?"
The question hung between us. I nodded once, and she was quiet for a long time, I watched her face as she processed this.
Her lips parted at first then her brows furrowed together and finally she slowly bobbed her head.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Arya."
I moved toward her slowly, giving her time to step back and when she didn't,
I gently took her hand, led it up to her own throat, where the red marks from my fingers still showed against her skin.
I placed my hand over hers, looking at the evidence of what I had done.
"I'm sorry," I repeated, quieter this time.
Then I leaned down and pressed my lips to the bruised skin of her throat, kissing it gently.
She made a small sound, flinching slightly.
I straightened, meeting her eyes. "Good night, Arya." I turned toward the door, needing to leave before I said or did something else I couldn't take back.
"Giovanni?" She whispered and I stopped, my hand on the doorknob.
"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" I turned back slowly, unsure if I was hearing correctly.
"I mean." She shifted her weight, and I watched, fascinated, as color crept up her neck. "It doesn't have to be… I just thought. You looked tired and I have a big bed. And-"
She stopped herself, pressing her lips together. "If you don't want to, that's fine. Forget I asked. It was a stupid question.”
My eyes traveled over her slowly. The loose t-shirt. The pajama pants riding low on her hips. The way her hair fell damp and messy around her face.
The vulnerability in her eyes mixed with that defiant spark that was uniquely hers.
Heat stirred low in my belly, inappropriate given everything that had happened tonight.
But there it was.
"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice rougher than I intended.
She nodded, lifting her chin just slightly. "I'm sure."
I studied her face for a long moment, looking for doubt but I didn’t find any.
"Then yes," I said quietly. "I would like that."
I stood in her doorway for a moment half-expecting her to change her mind but she just smiled and said.
"I'll just... give you a minute. If you need to get anything from your room."
I slowly bobbed my head. “Right," I said, already backing toward the door. "I'll just… yes. A minute."
I practically fled and back in my own room, I stared at my closet like it held the secrets of the universe.
What did one wear to sleep in another person's bed?
I settled on simple sleep pants and a t-shirt, grabbed my toothbrush from the bathroom, and stood there for a moment staring at my reflection.
"You're an idiot," I told myself. "This is a terrible idea."
My reflection didn't disagree.
I made my way back to Arya's room, knocked softly, and entered when she called out.
She was brushing her hair at her vanity, and the simpleness of the scene made something in my chest tighten.
"Bathroom's through there," she said, gesturing with her brush. "If you need it."
I wanted to tell her that I knew where the bathroom was, after all I bought the house. However, I pressed my lips together.
I brushed my teeth quickly, avoiding my own eyes in her mirror, and emerged to find her already in bed, the covers pulled up to her chin.
"So," she said.
"So," I agreed.
A knock on the door interrupted the awkward moment.
"Miss Arya?" Maria's voice came through. "I brought fresh towels for… oh!"
The door had opened before either of us could respond, and Maria stood there with an armful of towels, her eyes going wide as she took in me, standing awkwardly in Arya's bedroom in my sleepwear, while Arya was already in bed.
"I… I can come back," Maria stammered, her face flushing.
"It's fine, Maria," I said quickly. "You can just leave them on the chair."
Maria hurried in, set down the towels and backed toward the door. "If you need anything else, just call.”
"We will," I said.
"Right. Yes. Of course." She was grinning now, clearly delighted by this development. "Good night, Mr. De Santis. Mrs. De Santis."
She closed the door, and I heard her footsteps retreating quickly down the hall. No doubt she was already on her way to tell the rest of the maids about this.
"That's going to be all over the house by morning," I observed.
"Probably," Arya agreed, then patted the bed beside her. "Are you going to stand there all night?"
I moved to the bed, climbed in from the side, and the bed was softer than mine.
The pillows smelled like her and lying here, in the dark, I felt something I hadn't felt in years.
Something that felt close to peace.