He gives me a stifled smile as he kisses my nose. “You do not need to worry about my work, sweetheart.”
I stare at him, so lost in his light, so, so in love with this beautiful man.
“If something happened to you.”
“It won’t.”
“Promise me that you won’t die.”
“If you promise to marry me.”
“I already did that.”
He gives me his best cheeky smile. “That’s right, you did.” He stands, holding me in his arms like a bride, and begins to walk to our bedroom. “It’s shower time.”
“I already showered.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re about to get dirty again.”
*
I listen to the grand organ play its hymns and I stare into space.
The priest is delivering his sermon, and we, his faithful disciples, listen in awe.
I wasn’t joking when I said I want Giuliano to convert to Catholic.
Religion means something to me, it means a lot. To have our marriage accepted in the eyes of the Lord is important.
I look around at my surroundings, my mother, Lorenzo and my brothers are sitting in the church pews beside me, I’m sitting on the end near the aisle. The church is grand and eccentric, hundreds of years old. A place where Ferraras have always worshiped.
“Is this seat taken?” I hear a familiar voice.
I glance up and my face falls. Giuliano is standing in the aisle, navy suit, white shirt and a confident twinkle in his eyes.
My eyebrows rise by themselves in question and he gives me a sexy wink as he sits down beside me. The tests must have come back, and he’s here in a church…for me.
My mother gasps from her place beside me and my eyes well with tears.
He’s a Ferrara.
23
Francesca
The procession of cars pulls into my mother’s place and this may very well be the last time I have to ride in a different car to my love.
I’m in Lorenzo and Mother’s car, my brothers behind us and Giuliano behind them, she wanted us all to come back to her house after the church service to discuss the paternity test results. I don’t know what’s going on, but if Giuliano was in church that means he is a Ferrara. I have no idea what that means for me. Who am I? The answer has created a million questions. I know that for our life to stay the same, it was best for Giuliano to be the Ferrara…but I can’t help feeling a little…I don’t even know what I’m feeling.
Jaded.
“Did you get an email?” my mother asks Giuliano as we walk through the front door.
“Yes. You got one too.”
She nods. “Go into the garden for refreshments, everyone, I’ll get my computer and be right out.”
She disappears into the office while the rest of us are ushered out the back to the lush gardens and we all sit around the large table.
The mood is heavy, and Lorenzo is somber as we wait for her return.
She reappears and sits down with her laptop and opens it up and we all watch on in silence. As she reads, her eyes well with tears.
“What is it?” Andrea asks.
“Giuliano is a Ferrara,” she whispers, her eyes rise to mine and she smiles through tears. “Lorenzo is your biological father, Francesca.”
Lorenzo gasps as my eyes widen.
He takes the computer from her as if not believing it, he reads the email and tears begin to roll down his cheeks. “Thank you, my God,” he whispers. “Thank you.”
He stands in a rush and takes me into his arms, he openly weeps.
“I prayed for this day, my darling daughter. I prayed for this. Thank you, God.” He sobs into my neck. “Thank you.”
The drive home from my mother’s house is strange, yet surreal.
Giuliano is driving and, with my hand on his thigh, we are both silent, lost deep in our own thoughts.
“Have you heard from Antonio?” he asks me.
“No, why?”
“We can’t reach him.”
“Why, where is he?” I frown.
“He took a few days off to go home and hasn’t returned.”
“That’s strange.”
He shrugs. “He’ll be around. Maybe they got his return date wrong.”
“Probably.” We fall deep back into thought once more.
This afternoon, my mother is announcing to the world that Lorenzo is my biological father.
In doing that, Giuliano and I are finally free.
“I have a surprise for you,” Giuliano says as his eyes flick over to me.
“Haven’t we had enough surprises lately?”
“This is a good one.”
I smile over at him.
“But we have to go away to get it.”
I frown, puzzled. “Well, that’s probably a good idea anyway. I don’t want to be around for the circus that’s about to erupt.”
He picks up my hand and kisses my fingertips. “I love you.”
My heart swells and I smile through tears, and there it is.
My reason.
“And I love you, my darling,” I whisper. “So much.”
“After all we’ve been through to be together.” He smiles softly. “Our new life starts today, baby.”
Hope runs through my veins, everything is finally falling into place. We won’t have to hide anymore. “I know.”
Six hours later we drive into the night, and Giuliano shuffles around in his pocket and pulls out an eye mask. “Put this on.”
I frown. “What?”
“Put this on, I told you it was a surprise.”
I giggle. “Now?” I look around at our surroundings. “We’re on the freeway, my surprise is on the freeway?”
“Don’t ask questions, just do it.” He smiles and raises his eyebrow, I can tell he’s excited to give me whatever this is.
“Okay. Okay.” I slip the mask on and am brought into darkness. “Now what?”
“Now you reach over and take my dick in your hand….”
I burst out laughing. “This is my surprise?”
He laughs too. “This is my surprise.”
“Because I can’t see your dick?”
“Precisely.”
We laugh and he brings my fingers to his lips and kisses them tenderly, this isn’t about his dick at all.
Oh…I love this man.
We drive in silence and I hear the car phone ring, Bruno from the car behind us answers. “Hey, boss.”
“Hi, when we get there you all stay out on the road, please.”
“Okay. Got you.” He hangs up.
I put my hands up and feel the mask over my eyes. “Do they know about us?”
“They have their suspicions.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the rumor mill has been circulating for weeks.”
I frown, shit. I didn’t even realize.
“Don’t worry, in about two hours they’re about to find out that we’re not brother and sister. That you are Lorenzo’s daughter.”
“How do you think that’s going to go down?”
“A lot better than if I wasn’t a Ferrara, that’s for sure.”
I smile goofily under my mask and feel the car turn off the road. “Where are we?” I ask as we seem to drive down a second road “Somewhere I hope that you like.”
“What happens if I don’t?” I tease.
“Then this was a really fucking expensive mistake.”
I giggle, excitement bubbles in my stomach and I bounce in my seat. “Hurry up.”
We keep driving and driving and then finally he stops the car. “Stay there.”
“Hurry,” I gasp. “The suspense is killing me.”
He comes around and opens my door and helps me out of the car, he turns me away from him and I hear him let out a deep breath as if nervous.