Read Romance In The Tuscan Hills: A New Beginning Online
Authors: Jenniffer Cardelle
Romance In The Tuscan Hills: A New Beginning (6 page)
“There is always something else that matters,” Alberto said. “When you learn that, then your eyes will truly be open.”
He carried the wine, bread, and cheese basket to the garden table. Dani followed, nodding her thanks as Alberto cut thick slices of bread and cheese and poured a glass of wine for her. Alberto sat down across from her. He gestured at the mountains and vineyards surrounding them with a piece of bread in his hand.
“Many times I have thought of leaving home and seeking my fortune elsewhere but then I sit and look around me and realize this is home,” he said. “I cannot leave, even if I tried. This land, this life, this city is a part of me. If I left, it would be like cutting off my own arm. Can you say that about your New York City?”
“If I could, I wouldn't have come here in the first place,” Dani admitted. “I would have just let Nonna's lawyer handle everything and be done with it.”
“Do you feel the same about returning to New York as you do on leaving it?” Alberto asked. “Do you feel a burning desire to return? To call it home? Or is it just a place you live and do not truly love?”
“But I have a lot of responsibilities waiting for me there.” Dani pulled her hair back into a ponytail to have something to do with her hands.
“Responsibility is not the same as really, truly belonging somewhere,” Alberto pointed out. “I believe that is what you need to decide on before tomorrow is up, Dani. Where do you truly belong?”
Dani watched as he stood and returned to the tractor. He climbed on before turning in the seat and tipping his hat at her. He puttered up the hill. She was alone. Again.
“If I knew where I belonged, I wouldn't have been running my whole life.”
14. Chapter Twelve
Up until the point where she actually got in the car and drove away from the vineyard, Dani was convinced that Carlo would ride up and rescue her from making what may be the biggest mistake of her life – leaving Italy. She imagined all possible scenarios from a white horse to that noisy tractor. They'd go riding off into the sunset and just
be.
But real life wasn't a fairy tale or a movie. No Carlo made the decision easy for Dani. It may not have been the decision that set her heart fluttering and made her believe in happy endings, but it was the practical decision. There was something to be said for being practical. Practical people never starved or were late on their rent. Practical people lived very good, secure lives. That's what she planned to do from here on out...keep being practical.
Dani drove to the airport, picked up her ticket at the counter, and checked her suitcase. Getting through security was a breeze. The airport and all the foreign signs were less confusing than she remembered them being just two short weeks ago. Dani found her gate and sat down to wait. She should have brought a magazine or a book. It was a long flight to New York. All she packed in her carry on bag were the latest batch of reports Robert wanted her to analyze. Dani pulled the reports out and opened the one on top. Well, if she was going back to being a workaholic, she might as well get a head start on it.
“Dani?”
She looked up. “Carlo?”
He wasn't riding a white horse or carrying a bouquet of flowers the size of her head, or any of the other romantic gestures TV and books want you to believe are the only way to prove your undying love and affections, but he was here and that counted higher than all the flowers and horses and chocolate in the world. He was here.
“I couldn't let you go without saying good bye.”
“How did you get here?” she asked. “What about security?”
Carlo flashed a ticket. “I bought a cheap flight from Florence to Rome. It's enough to get me in and to see you one last time.”
Dani stood and stepped toe to toe with him. She felt the contours of his chest and arms as if to assure herself he was real. “It doesn't have to be the last time, Carlo. I could come back or you could come to New York. There are video chats and phone calls. There's a million ways to keep in touch now. There's a million ways to not loose each other.”
Carlo shook his head. “Haven't you figured it out yet, Dani? No amount of video chats and phone calls will make me miss you any less. It will only make me love you more.”
Dani sucked in her breath. “Love? We never talked about love.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. “I never told you because there was never quite the right moment to say you enchanted me as a child and have enchanted me all over again as an adult. When we were young, I thought you were the most happy, careful girl in creation. Somewhere along the line, adult Dani lost that happy, careful spirit. You can get it back....if you stay.”
“I have a lot of responsibilities waiting for me back in New York.”
“You did not say home.”
Dani pulled back to be able to look Carlo in the face. His eyes were bright and he was trying desperately not to laugh. “Why does that matter? New York is New York.”
“Yes, but it is not home. If it was, you would have said 'back home.'”
Dani bit down on her lower lip. He had a point. Could it be as simple as that? Could picking a place based on how she felt about it really be the solution to her problems?
“Now try Florence,” Carlo said. “Don't over-think – just speak from the heart.”
Dani closed her eyes. She remembered everything wonderful about her two weeks here – the beauty of the city and countryside, the hospitality of her neighbors like Alberto and Carlo. Beyond anything else, Carlo was her happiest memory of the last two weeks. Together, they had laughed and shared a comfortable camaraderie that she had never felt or, honestly, wanted to feel with anyone before. He was the missing puzzle piece in her life and – now that she found him – she never wanted to let him go.
“Home,” Dani said. “Florence is home.” She opened her eyes. “You are home.”
Carlo grinned. “That's what I thought.”
He leaned down to kiss her. Dani wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him. Mom and Nonna always said when you kissed 'The One' you knew. Without a doubt, you knew. In that instant, Dani knew. Everything in her life had been leading up to this point and this man. She was home. She was finally home.
THE END
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