Dreaming of Love (27 page)

She gazed down at Luca and wondered how he’d set off her biological clock. She brushed his hair from his face, thinking about Serafina and Dante. She wondered what Dante looked like. Was he still alive, out there somewhere far away, injured or hiding from insurgents? Was he thinking of this adorable little boy and his lovely wife, or was he solely focused on his own survival?

“Thank you, Emily.” Serafina joined her on the patio and reached for Luca.

Emily kissed his forehead and inhaled his sweet baby scent one last time. Her arms felt empty without his weight. Her thoughts went to Dae, and she wondered if he wanted children. She’d always known she wanted a large family, but she’d never really contemplated
when
she’d have kids, much less with whom. A fictitious husband was always in the wings somewhere. Nameless. Faceless. Timeless.

Now she pictured Dae’s wispy hair and his whisker-peppered chin. It was his eyes gazing back at her from the no-longer-faceless-husband void.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take a walk with us?” Serafina asked, pulling Emily’s attention back to the present.

“Yes, thank you. I’m sure. I have some things I want to do.”

“Okay. Thanks again for watching Luca. Enjoy your evening.”

“Thanks, Serafina.” Emily gave Luca’s foot a little squeeze, then watched them disappear around the side of the house.

She retrieved the memo pads and crossed the yard to the patio where she and Dae had shared their first bottle of wine. It seemed like ages ago and just yesterday at the same time. She’d been so nervous that night, and now she couldn’t imagine a life without him.
Love
. Even when she was wishing and hoping to find love, she’d never imagined that it would have this big of an effect on her thoughts and her life. The feelings she had for Dae were bigger than even those she felt for her family. She adored her family, but she didn’t crave being with them. Her breathing didn’t become shallow and happy tingles didn’t fill her chest at the thought of going home and seeing them for dinner or a barbecue. But wow! Thoughts of Dae turned her body into a sizzling, swooning pile of mush.

The breeze had picked up since that afternoon, and the air felt damp, as though it might rain. She folded her arms over her chest, remembering the night they’d met and how she’d lost her ability to think. The feeling had been so unexpected that it had knocked her senseless. She stepped onto the patio, which looked different from the way it had that night. How had she missed the carvings in the wooden table where they’d sat? The deep grooves were crusted over and sloppily etched. She looked up and realized that the wisteria she’d been so taken with had a gaping hole between the vines toward the far corner of the latticework. The floor of the patio was littered with boot prints and leaves. She hadn’t noticed much of anything that night beyond the swell of desire when their legs brushed against one another, the smell of his masculinity, and how hard she had to try to remember to breathe.

She set her memo pad on the table and sat down with his. She ran her fingers over the top, thinking about what he might have written. What if he’d written
demolish
for everything they saw?

She flipped open the cover and the first page was blank. She turned the page and then the next and the next. They were all blank. What the hell? She went through every damn page and they were all blank, except the very last page, where Dae had written,
Sometimes the value of something can’t be seen with the naked eye. I could no sooner make a judgment call about demolishing these things than I could about tearing down the House of Wishes without proper research.

That was it.

What the hell?

She picked up her memo pad and scanned the things she’d written. She’d made those judgment calls without hesitation. What was there to research? The dilapidated barn? Why wouldn’t you tear down the barn and build a new one? She could see, even from a distance, that the barn was in such bad disrepair it would have been wiser to tear it down. And the sunflower field? How could anyone demolish something so beautiful? Was there even a question?

From the road, the House of Wishes looked like
just a house
, too.

Oh. Shit
.

DAE SAT IN his favorite leather chair in his home office, his elbows perched on his knees, palms pressed to his forehead. It had been a long, hot afternoon. He’d had a shitty meeting with Frank, and he didn’t have any idea what he was going to tell Emily. He knew what she wanted to hear, and he couldn’t make assurances that he wasn’t certain he could keep. He glanced at the clock. His gut knotted a little more with every minute that ticked by. Emily had to be up early for her flight tomorrow and it was already after eleven o’clock in Italy. There was no more putting it off. He clicked the Skype video call icon and waited with his heart in his throat as the progress meter circled endlessly. Finally, Emily’s deep brown eyes smiled back at him, pushing some of his unease away. He missed her so much. He swallowed against his rising emotions.

‘There’s my girl. I’m sorry for calling so late.”

“That’s okay. It’s so good to see you. I hate being apart.” She wore a peach negligee that hung loosely from her shoulders. Her hair was tousled, as if she’d been lying down before he called, and her eyes had a very seductive edge to them. Or maybe it was his own desires reflecting back in them. Either way, it was torture not being close enough to touch her.

“Me too, babe. Me too. How’s your ankle holding up?”

“Fine. I haven’t had any more problems. Gosh, Dae. I knew I missed you, but seeing you...I mean, I
really
miss you. I wish I could crawl through the computer and kiss you.”

“If only...I feel the same way. You have a way of steaming up a guy.”

Her eyes darkened. “I have a way of steaming you up. That’s all that matters.”

“Baby, you have no idea.” He had half a mind to have a little video sexcapade with Emily, but he was too conflicted about the property to think straight. And he could pleasure himself to thoughts and images of her all he wanted. Neither would ever come close to what he felt when he was buried deep inside her, feeling her heart beating against his, and kissing her luscious lips.

He exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his hair to try to ground his thoughts. “Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind picking me up? I can ask one of my brothers or Daisy to come get me if you’re busy.”

“I’ll be there, and I’m never too busy for you, Em. Ever.”

That earned him a smile that warmed him all over.

“I loved the gifts you left for me. And the vineyard was beautiful. I wish you could have been there with me.”

“I’m so glad you went, and I was psyched to see that you found the other gift I left in the field.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. I have a bone to pick with you, Mr. Bray.” She narrowed her eyes, but her smile remained.

“Pick away, baby.”

“You didn’t write your
preserve or demolish
list. You tricked me.”

“No, I didn’t. I wrote what I felt to be true. Did you read yours? I didn’t think we were that far apart in our beliefs.”

She rolled her eyes and pointed at him. He had to laugh. She was trying to be tough, but she was cute as hell.

“How were we not miles apart? I wrote down demolish the barn and preserve the field.”

“And I was undecided, so it could go either way. That’s not very far apart.”

“You are impossible.”

“Ha! Totally a sure thing, babe, and when you get back home, I’ll prove just how sure of a thing I am.” He let his words sink in, loving the instant heat that filled her eyes. “What if the sunflower field was full of venomous snakes? People could get bitten, and you never know who might run into it.”

“That’s a little far-fetched, but yeah, I see your point. A little research goes a long way, right? I get it. I understand why you wrote what you did. I just…this whole thing is hard for me.”

He leaned closer to the screen, wanting to be nearer to her. So much nearer that he, too, wished he could climb through the damn computer and kiss her.

“I know. It’s hard for me, too.”

Silence stretched between them with longing in their eyes.

“How did your meeting go? Did you make any decisions about the House of Wishes?”

For the first time in years, Dae wanted to tell a bold-faced lie.
Yeah, I’m going to back out of the job.
But when he looked into Emily’s trusting eyes, he felt her heart resting in his hands. He could no sooner lie to her than he could lie to himself.

“It didn’t go well, Em. He’s set on tearing it down, and this is my job, you know?”

“I know. I’m not asking you to give up the job. I realize that you’ll probably tear it down. I understand that now. I’m just…I don’t know. I’ve become so attached to the myth and what it means to the women here that I thought it might be easier to deal with the final decision while I’m here, you know?”

He knew damn well. Emily would give her heart to save others sadness. But he also knew that she had in fact become more than just attached to the myth. She’d become enamored with it. He’d seen it in her eyes that night they’d slept in the room with the tree. He heard it in her voice, and he’d felt the energy of something bigger than both of them. He’d tried to deny it all day, but his mind kept circling back to it. He could no sooner deny what he’d felt in that room than he could deny his love for Emily.

“I know. I’m still working things out in my own mind. I’ve never really had to consider so many people’s feelings with respect to my job before. This is all new to me. I mean, how many people become attached to skyscrapers or five-tiered parking garages?” He scrubbed his hand down his face to try to resolve his conflicting emotions. “I’m on the fence about the whole thing, Em, and not just because of you. I’m not a coldhearted person.”

“I never said you were. You’re just the opposite.”

“Yeah. More than you know.”

Her voice softened. “I know how thoughtful you are, Dae. It’s evident in everything you do. I don’t think you’re coldhearted at all. But a job is a job, and I realize that there has to be a line between personal feelings and your career. I’m sorry if I’ve put you in an awkward position. That was unfair of me.”

“It wasn’t unfair of you, Em. I love that you care so much about the women there and that you believe in something so…so…big?” He’d wanted to say powerful or magical, but both words seemed strange, and
big
seemed too small for the energy he’d felt in that room. “You’ve become everything to me, Em, and this struggle of right and wrong with regard to this property isn’t a bad thing. It’s not about what’s right or wrong with us. We’re separate. Our relationship will always be a separate entity from my work.”

“That’s what I’m trying to accept.” She held his gaze, and he understood exactly what she was trying to tell him. “I know that I need to accept this as if our difference of opinion were something that could happen with every single property, because there will always be something that we don’t feel the same about.”

“I’m not sure we don’t feel the same way about this, Em. I’m struggling with my next step. On the one hand...” He paused, wishing like hell they were in the same room so he could touch her, feel her energy, and know they were going to be okay no matter what. When they were together she wore her emotions as if they were etched in her skin. This video call wasn’t all that different, but they were one degree further removed. And he hated that. “And on the other hand, it’s my job, and I stand up to my commitments. Always.”

EARLY SATURDAY MORNING Emily was wrapped in Adelina’s thick, capable arms. By the time Adelina finally released her from her warm embrace, Emily had tears in her eyes.

“You came to Italy in search of something. Did you find it?” Adelina looked just as she had the first time Emily had seen her, wearing a solid gray skirt and top with a pair of leather flats, her gray hair bundled on the top of her head in a loose bun. But where Adelina had greeted her with the excitement of a new guest the first time they’d met, now she regarded her with a thoughtful, serious gaze, similar to the one she’d seen her give Serafina over the past few days.

“Adelina, you are a very wise woman. When I came to Italy, maybe inside I did hope I’d find love, but it wasn’t a conscious thought, and I definitely never imagined how much I might learn about myself in the process.”

Adelina and Marcello exchanged a warm glance that spoke of a quiet understanding between them. Something secret and real. Something Emily knew came from years of marriage, and it made her want that with Dae. Inside jokes and the ability to finish each other’s sentences without ever uttering a word.

Adelina held out her palm. In the center was a necklace with a silver charm in the shape of an olive tree.

“Marcello and I want you to have this.” She placed it in Emily’s hand and folded her fingers over the top. “No matter what happens to the Casa Dei Desideri, or the tree we love, you’ve born witness to the legacy. It will always be in your heart.”

“Adelina.” Emily’s words stuck in her throat. She blinked away fresh tears. “Thank you. I don’t know what will happen, but thank you for letting me join that part of your life and your community.”

Serafina stepped between Adelina and Emily with Luca on her hip. “Emily, you’re going to make me cry so much Luca will need a change of clothes.” She laughed as she wrapped her free arm around Emily and hugged her.

“I hope Dante comes home.” Emily leaned down and touched Luca’s cheek. He smiled and reached for her. Emily hugged him, hoping her doubts about Dante being found were wrong. “I’m going to miss all of you.” She handed Luca back to Serafina and embraced Marcello.

“We look forward to you and Dae returning,” Marcello said.

He was already giving her and Dae a future, too.

By the time she finally drove away, they were all in tears.

As the plane descended toward the Denver Airport, it seemed like only an hour ago that they were saying goodbye instead of more than twelve hours. She fingered the charm necklace Adelina had given her and thought about how it had felt like she was leaving part of her family behind. Even the villa she’d stayed in now felt like a home away from home. She could still hardly believe that she and Dae had met in the villa that she’d dreamed of visiting for so many years.