Page 70
The deep, rumbling sound of a man clearing his throat interrupts my thoughts. I sigh, knowing it’s probably the café manager wanting to lock up for the night, but going back to my hotel room seems even more lonely than sitting here at this table.
Leaving my glass of wine behind, I stand from the wrought iron table. But the man standing there stops me in my tracks.
The music in the background and the sound of the water still, and all I can hear is the thumping of my heart.
“Isa,” David whispers, releasing his grasp on the handle of his suitcase.
I can’t even speak, I’m so shocked at the sight of him, here in Italy. The last person I was expecting to see, but the one person I’ve wanted here the most.
Tears roll down my face and I run to him. He opens his arms and I jump into them, throwing my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist.
His hands grab my thighs to hold me there, and I rest my lips against his neck, savoring the masculine scent that I’ve missed so much. We stay like that for a full minute before he releases his hold on me.
I drop back down, my feet meeting the floor. “David—“
He cuts me off with a kiss that’s hungry, hard, desperate. A kiss that tells me he’s been just as lost without me as I have him. A kiss that sears my skin, warming me from my lips to my toes, and all throughout my body.
When he pulls back, his eyes are filled with tears just like mine, and he kisses me once more.
I pull away just enough to catch my breath. Both of our chests are heaving. He rests his forehead against mine as if to calm himself after the intensity of seeing me again.
“I was an idiot,” he says, finally. “I’m in love with you.”
His eyes are full of passion and shining with tears, which makes my own tears come even quicker. “Oh David, I love you too.” I laugh in spite of the emotion in my voice. “So you’re willing to make this long distance thing work?”
He smirks. “No, absolutely not.”
My heart stops, and I try to pull back but his hands tighten around my waist.
“I can’t be away from you,” he says before dropping down on one knee.
My hands fly up to cup over my mouth as I gasp in shock. We’ve been on one official date, have never called each other boyfriend or girlfriend, and are supposed to be on a break… And yet here he is, down on one knee, looking at me like I’m his entire universe and pulling a box out of his pants pocket. The red, velvet box looks like an antique. And when he opens it, I recognize my Abuela’s ring.
“Isabella Romero, you have driven me to the brink of madness—“
I huff out a sigh of annoyance. “Really?”
The corner of his lips twitch in amusement. “Would you just let me finish?”
“Okay fine.”
“Anyway, as I was saying… You’ve driven me to the brink of madness, and turned my perfectly organized, scrupulously scheduled, orderly life… completely upside down.” He takes my left hand in his. “But oddly enough, everything looks better upside down… and my world is utterly boring without you in it. Will you marry me?”
Despite the short timeline of our romantic relationship, I don’t have a single doubt in my mind that I can happily spend forever with this man.
“Absolutely.” I bend at the waist and put both of my hands on his sculpted cheeks, then plant a kiss on his lips.
When I hear a meow, I pull back, and my jaw nearly drops all the way to the floor. “Mo?”
David grins. “Mo also wants to become a Windell.”
He stands and turns, and I notice his large backpack for the first time. The backpack is a hard dome made of clear plastic and Mo is inside.
My eyes fill with tears again, and my hands come up to cover my face. David’s arms wrap around me and he kisses the top of my head.
“Does the Monaco Hotel have pet-friendly rooms?”
I burst into laughter at his question, and his cat backpack, and the fact that this orderly man flew halfway across the world with a cat without even checking to see if the hotel had accommodations for pets.
