Chapter 78
MARK
A setup?! Shit.
My heart beat wildly in my chest, my palms immediately generating moisture that I quickly wiped on my shorts. June should have given me some sort of heads-up!
"Giulia," I said, quickly clearing my voice after realizing I sounded funny. She was looking at me with those brown eyes that let you see into her soul.
The late afternoon sun poured through the kitchen windows, casting a golden glow over the room. The scent of the stew on the stove lingered in the air, mingling with the faint aroma of lavender from a bouquet on the table. My mind was a tangled mess of guilt and longing. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, with loose curls framing her delicate face. Was she always this stunning? She looked stunning, a vision of strength and fragility, and the sight of her was almost too much to bear.
I wanted to just jump into her arms there and then, and let her warmth seep into me like morning dew on the soil until my innermost dark clouds were slowly lifted.
"Mark," she said softly, her usual smile lighting up her face. "Have you been avoiding me?" Her tone was gentle, but there was an undercurrent of mischief that got to me.
Oh, her eyes. She must have been the one who planned this kitchen attack. She looked satisfied with the outcome of her plans.
I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out. My throat felt tight, my chest constricted. I could only stare at her, my mind a whirl of conflicting emotions. She took a step closer, her eyes searching mine, and I felt a wave of panic.
"Giulia, I..." I stammered my voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean to... It's just..."
Before I could finish, she closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace. The world seemed to shift, the tension in my body melting away as I held her. The softness of her touch, the warmth of her body against mine-it was as if every fear and doubt I had been grappling with vanished in an instant.
I buried my face in her hair, inhaling the familiar scent of soothe and hope. My mind reeled, a mix of relief and guilt washing over me. How could I have stayed away from her, especially when she needed me the most? The memory of her in the hospital, broken and fragile, haunted me. Yet here she was, stronger than ever, holding me together when I felt like falling apart.
Everything was still except for the soft hum of the refrigerator, the boiling stew, the distant chirping of birds outside and the gentle clinking of the wind chimes by the window-all of it created a symphony of peace. The sunlight filtered through the lace curtains, casting delicate patterns on the tiled floor. It was a moment of pure, untainted tranquillity.
"I'm sorry," I whispered into her hair, my voice choked with emotion. "I'm so sorry, Lia."
She pulled back slightly, enough to look into my eyes. Her gaze was tender, filled with an understanding that broke my heart. "It's okay," she said softly. "I know you're hurting. I know you didn't want me to see that side of you. But we need each other. More than ever."
Her words struck a chord deep within me. I realized then that my attempts to shield her, to distance myself in shame to protect her, had only created more pain. We were in this together, and it was only together that we could find a way through the darkness.
"I missed you," she continued, her fingers gently tracing the lines of my face. "I missed you so much."
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly caught a grip on myself. Around her, I wasn't a mafia lord or a king in one of the crazy underground cartels in Spain. It was just me... Mark, her baby. "I missed you too, Lia. More than you can imagine." She never failed to bring out that sad little boy in me, the one who ran away from Seattle so many years ago. And we were standing in a spot where June and I had stood before as teenagers without a care in the world.
I could feel the nostalgia, that little throbbing in my heart that reminded me of how the universe always paired us with our person, the right one for us.
She smiled, that beautiful, heartwarming smile that I had fallen in love with. "Then let's not waste any more time," she said, her voice firm yet gentle. "We have each other, and that's all we need." There was something she wasn't saying, and I didn't know if I wanted to hear it.
Slowly, she inched closer, her face moving with a speed that made my heart resume the marathon. My fingers weaved around her waist as our lips met-and everything around us stopped.
She moved into me, our bodies seeking a mutual harmony, as her tongue delved past my lips, searching, our souls desperately reaching out to each other. I caught her breath in my throat, that warm and divine womanly essence seeping into my very core.
Peace... It flowed into me in rivers. I could feel the icy stream rushing through my chest, cooling off the lava pathway that was formerly there. I got lost in her touch, her scent, and-
What was that smell?
I tried to suck in a breath, but she was all over me, crowding my space. It was a smell of curry and-
"Oh, shit!" I pulled away from her, whirled around and turned off the stove, instantly running for a mitten and pulling the pot out of the heat.
A sizzling sound followed as the pot sat on some moisture on the kitchen island. Giulia looked at me, then turned to the pot, then back to me. Without warning, she started laughing. It was so contagious that I joined in moments later.
"Luckily, the stew is still in good shape," I said, still laughing. She suddenly turned to me with a look of shock.