Dreaming of Love (21 page)

“I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.” She’d be about as fine as if she’d lost her left leg. Dae had already become not only a part of her life, but a part of her, and even the idea of spending a day without him made her sad, but she was a big girl. She had to be, so she forced a brave face.

“You are a competent, brilliant woman, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t worry night and day about you when we’re apart. And this place, this property that brought me here, and brought us together, I need to deal with it.”

Her stomach sank. “To tear it down?”

He gazed into her eyes with an unreadable expression. “I honestly don’t know.” He slung the backpack over his shoulder. “I want you to see something on the way out.”

Emily heard voices when she stepped out onto the porch. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll show you.” He locked the door, then they made their way around back.

There must have been twenty women gathered in the backyard, most speaking in Italian, some fast and heated, others softer, exasperated. She squeezed Dae’s hand. This was fantastic! Maybe the community coming together and showing how much they believed in the magic of the House of Wishes would change the owner’s mind. Maybe it would help sway Dae, too.

“Adelina must have told everyone she knew that the house might be torn down,” Emily said. “Gossip must travel as fast here as it does back home. This is amazing. What a show of faith!” The women were gathered in small groups, talking animatedly and using hand gestures, and there was no shortage of glances being turned in the direction of the tree.

“I bet they’re wishing, just like Adelina said she and Serafina would. Isn’t it wonderful to see them all coming together like this?”

“Yeah. Great.”

His sarcasm wasn’t lost on Emily, and that sarcasm served as an unwanted reminder of their fundamental differences.

DAE AND EMILY pedaled their bikes down the long driveway toward the resort and were surprised to find several cars in the parking lot. They stopped in front of the house and pulled off their bike helmets.

“Wow. I wonder what’s going on.” Emily watched Dae shake his hair free. He looked like one of those motorcycle guys in a cologne commercial, deeply tanned and glistening with just enough sweat to make her salivate. His unkempt hair partially hid his eyes and amped up his sexy factor by about a million degrees.

“No idea. Maybe there’s a reception or something. It is a resort.” He hung their helmets on the handlebars. “How’s your ankle holding up?”

“A little twingy, but it’s fine.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “We’ll stay off of it for the rest of the day. I’ll bring these down to the shed. Why don’t you go inside and get comfortable.”

“I can help you.” She reached for her bike.

“You’re lucky I let you bike home.” He snagged the handlebars from her grasp and headed for the barn. “Relax, babe. I’ve got this.”

Relax
. She felt like she’d been doing nothing but relaxing for days. It dawned on her that she’d been so consumed with their relationship that she’d actually let go of all thoughts of work.
Damn, it felt good
.

She’d much rather be with Dae than go inside alone and relax. Emily followed him around to the back of the house and watched him descend the hill.

“Emily.”

She turned at the sound of Serafina’s voice.

“Hi, Serafina.”

Serafina’s long cotton skirt swished over her legs as she joined Emily. Without Luca perched on her hip, she looked very young. Emily realized that she didn’t even know how old Serafina was, but she couldn’t have been much older than twenty-five. And she had likely already lost her husband. Emily cleared her throat to try to gain control of the sadness washing through her.

 “Hi. My mother was worried about the two of you. Did you have a romantic stay in Chianti after all?” She raised her brows with a hopeful look on her face. Her eyes slid over Emily’s face, and the hope quickly changed to worry. “What happened to your cheek?”

“I’m sorry we worried her. We got stuck in the storm, and I fell off the bike. It’s nothing, really. It looks worse than it is. We had to get out of the rain for the night.” She smiled at Dae as he headed back toward them. “We did enjoy a romantic night. Where’s Luca today?”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Serafina pointed to the house. “Luca’s inside being doted on by more women than I can contend with.”

“Hi, Serafina,” Dae said as he came to Emily’s side. “Hand or arm?” he asked Emily.

“Hand.” She reached for his hand. “My shoulder’s a little tender.”

“Any news on Dante?” he asked.

Serafina shook her head. “I don’t expect there to be.”

“Don’t give up hope,” Emily said, even though she was skeptical. “You’re praying and wishing at the House of Wishes—”

Serafina’s eyes dampened. “Emily, when he was fighting with the other men, every day I prayed for him, and every day felt like a year. I know other women who have lost their husbands and their boyfriends. It was awful, but at least they knew for sure. They watched their husbands’ bodies be placed in the ground and knew that when they turned away, they were destined to live without them.” Serafina shook her head. “You can’t imagine how long a minute feels when the man you love is missing.”

“Serafina, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound easy.” Emily felt horrible. Serafina hadn’t looked this sad since she’d arrived.

“You didn’t. Having hope
should
be easy when it comes to the man you love, but nothing feels easy. Nothing even feels real to me now. I feel like I’m stuck in quicksand. If I don’t believe he’ll return, I’ll drown in it. And if I hold out hope that he’ll be found alive, I can’t move forward. Isn’t that drowning a slower death? Either way I run the risk of taking Luca under with me.”

Serafina wiped her eyes and turned back toward the house. “Please don’t say anything to my mother about my doubts. She’s in there right now with a handful of women who are up in arms over the news of that house being torn down. I swear they’ve called every woman they know. My mother really believes in these things.” She turned her attention back to Emily, and the look of surrender in her eyes made Emily’s stomach take a nosedive.

“I swear they’re plotting a way to seize the villa.” Serafina’s voice and eyes filled with determination. “All I want is my husband back. I want Luca to know his father. But all the wishes in the world aren’t going to bring him back. It’s been too long. We’ve wished and prayed. I’ve offered my own life up for Dante’s safe return, but…but I know better.”

Emily didn’t think as she drew Serafina into her arms, her own eyes brimming with tears, and despite her doubts, the next words flowed with sincerity and her own burgeoning hope that Serafina would get lucky and her husband would return. “You have to have faith, Serafina. They haven’t found his body, so you can’t give up hope.” She felt Dae’s hand stroke her back.

Serafina pulled away, tears streaming down her cheeks. She inhaled an uneven breath. “It’s just too hard. Every morning and every night she drags me to that house. And every time…Every time without fail, I come away hopeful. So damn hopeful that I allow myself to believe that the next day will be different. That God will hear our prayers and bring my Dante home. And then hours pass, and the terrible days turn into heartbreaking nights, and—” Sobs burst from her chest. “And…then it starts all over again.”

Emily opened her arms again, and Serafina fell into them. She felt Dae’s arms surrounding them both, and for the first time since she heard about the myth, she saw the harmful effects the myth could have—and she had to wonder if it was a fair thing to hold out hope when Serafina clearly needed closure.

She’d never been more thankful for Dae’s strong arms than right at that moment. Serafina needed all of the strength she could muster to get through each day and to take care of little Luca. Dae allowed them both to suck up as much of his strength as they needed as he held them, silently offering his support. He always knew just what she needed, and once again she saw that his thoughtfulness extended beyond the woman he loved, to whomever needed it at the moment.

That realization made her love him even more.

THE AFTERNOON PASSED too fast. Dae wanted to remember every second with Emily. Every passionate kiss, every sweet glance, the way her hand felt in his, and the feel of her body tucked beneath his arm. He stepped from the shower into the steamy bathroom and tied a towel around his waist, thinking of how badly he’d wanted to shower with Emily. It had taken all of his willpower to leave her alone in her room, but after the night she’d had, he didn’t want to smother her, and then Daisy had called, and he’d given her privacy with the promise to return after his shower.

As he wiped the steam from the mirror, he wondered briefly why she hadn’t invited him to be her date for Daisy and Luke’s wedding. Then again, he hadn’t attended very many weddings and he had no idea about the proper etiquette for a maid of honor. Maybe she should be solely focused on Daisy and she shouldn’t bring a date. Another thought crept in and he didn’t like the streak of jealousy that accompanied it. Was she hesitant to introduce him to her family because she was still unsure about him despite what she’d said to him? Despite how she’d given herself to him so wholly last night and the days before? She had talked about staying out of the gossip in her hometown. Maybe that had something to do with it.

The whole thing made him a little uneasy.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. He answered the door, and his pulse roared at the sight of Emily wearing a skimpy blue halter dress so short it barely covered her panties. Her breasts pressed against the flimsy material, the points of her nipples clearly outlined. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, and her eyes were seductively heavy. She bit her lower lip as she stepped into his room before he could manage a word. She slid her fingers beneath the edge of the towel and closed the door behind her.

“I missed you.” She pressed her lips to his bare chest, and there was no hiding his arousal as her fingers played across his chest.

Her mouth found his nipple. She licked and sucked, driving him out of his mind and making him hard as steel.

“Emily,” he whispered.

She pressed her hips to his arousal. “I don’t want to think about you leaving, or about the House of Wishes, or the women who are downstairs figuring out how to save it.” Her words were breathy as she dropped his towel to the floor. “I want to spend every second drenched in us.”

He sealed his lips over hers and lifted her into his arms. Her legs circled his waist as her back met the door, and the tip of his arousal met her hot, wet center.

“Emily,” he breathed against her lips. His heart thundered in his chest.
Condom.
He needed one
.

“Just the thought of you standing outside my door without any panties on makes me want to come.”

He took her in a greedy kiss. Her mouth was like sweet heaven. His muscles strained with the need to be inside her. She was open, ready, willing, and trying her damnedest to slip from his grip and take him inside her.

“Condom,” he finally managed.

“I know. I just…” She pushed against his straining biceps and sank onto the tip of his arousal. “A little.”

He groaned loudly through his teeth. “You’re killing me.”

Their lips crashed together in a deep, hard kiss. He fought the urge to plunge into her, barely able to restrain himself from thrusting his hips forward. He held her by the hips against the door, more to restrain himself than her. Her hands traveled down his bare back, then back up, fisting in his hair as she tightened her thighs around his waist and nearly drew the come right out of him. She untied the top of her halter and freed her breasts, pressing them against him, swirling her hips until he was on the verge of release, moving slow and purposeful. Bringing his raging need to the precipice of exploding, until he couldn’t take it another second, could barely breathe, as he spun around and lowered her to the bed. He tore open the drawer of the bedside table and it fell from the track and clanked to the floor.

“Fuck.” He scrambled off the bed and grabbed a handful of condoms, tossed all but one to the bed.

Emily lay with her dress pushed up to her hips, bare from the waist down, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen and red from their passionate kisses. The scent of her shower was fresh on her warm skin. He was sure his heart would seep out his pores just to be closer to her. He tore open the packet and rolled on the condom.

“I need to feel you, Em. All of you.” He slid her dress from her amazing body and tossed it to the floor. “I can’t wait. I need to be inside you.”

Her thighs skimmed his hips as he lowered his chest to hers and their bodies joined together. Buried deep inside her, he stilled, overwhelmed by the love consuming him, pulling him under. His head bowed and he closed his eyes, soaking in the feel of her hips pressed to his, the perfect pillows of her breasts against him, and her heart beating in time to his own erratic heartbeat.

“God, I love you.” The truth of his words and the depth of his feelings nearly strangled him. Even buried deep inside her, his body strained to be closer.

She grazed her fingers through his hair.

“Open your eyes,” she whispered.

He did, half blind with emotions, muscles quivering with desire. The look in her eyes nearly did him in.

“You’re no longer possibly mine. You’re not even my sure thing,” she whispered. “You’re my everything.”

He lowered his lips to hers and their bodies moved with familiarity. Her words shook him to his core, and coupled with the love he felt for her, his carnal needs took over. They pawed and stroked, fondled and thrust, devouring each other as if this time was all they had. Their bodies glistened with sweat, and the heady scent of their lovemaking hung in the air as hums of pleasure coursed through them. He nearly died at the feel of her lips on his neck and the sharp tear of her teeth grazing his skin. He was lost in the softness of her fingers on his hips. The piercing of her nails as she urged him deeper. His hands slid down her curves, squeezing, wanting, finally clutching her hips, then her lean, supple thighs. He reveled in the shape and feel of her, how perfectly their bodies melded together.