When realization dawned, I leaned against the desk and let out a chuckle.
Ah, so the kitten is playing, I thought with a smirk.
Chapter 42
Ayla
“How long am I supposed to keep this up?” I asked.
Maddie lay down beside me and stared at the ceiling. “You have to make him work for it.”
“I don’t think I can keep this fa?ade on any longer.”
“Just a little longer.”
After the Nina drama, Maddie lectured me for an hour, telling me how I should and shouldn’t act with Alessio. Every single day, I struggled to be nonchalant around him.
Every time he smiled and I didn’t, I felt guilty. I could see he was losing hope and growing frustrated each day. I hoped Maddie’s plan worked and all this drama wasn’t for nothing.
Sitting up, I brought my knees up and laid my chin on top of them. “Maddie, I don’t understand. How is this going to work? I…like…him…” I stuttered the last words. It was hard to admit, but it was the truth.
“What do you mean? If you want him and he feels the same way about you too, then what’s there to think about?”
I sighed and got up from the bed, standing in front of the window.
“How does a relationship work?” What I had with Alberto wasn’t a relationship. I didn’t know how to be in one.
The relationships I had read about or saw on TV, I could only dream about them. They were never my reality.
“You’ve never been in a relationship before?” Maddie asked.
I closed my eyes tightly against the wave of pain. Placing my hand over the glass, I steadied myself and tried to calm my racing heart.
“I have been in one,” I whispered.
Maddie’s forehead was creased in confusion and she stared at me patiently, waiting for me to elaborate.
“But it wasn’t the same as the one in there,” I said, pointing at the book in her hand. “I don’t think you could call it a relationship. He hurt me a lot.”
Tears blinded my vision. I never thought I would admit such a thing. When I was still living with Alberto, I thought that was how a relationship should be. Even though I knew it was wrong, I accepted it.
What I had with Alberto was dysfunctional.
He destroyed me. Heart, body, and soul.
But in the short time I had been living with Alessio, I began to think maybe I could be fixed. I could be happy.
Maybe I could be happy with Alessio.
“Ayla.” Maddie got up and walked over to me. I was about to swipe my tears away but she did it for me.
Leaning forward, she placed a kiss on my forehead and then wrapped her arms around me.
She pulled away from me and then gave me a wan smile, trying to lighten the mood. “A relationship…hmmm…” Her eyes twinkled. “I would say a relationship is when both partners support each other, comfort each other, bring happiness and laughter to each other. It’s a connection filled with love, acceptance, and understanding. You don’t have to love someone to be in a relationship. Sometimes love comes later. Alessio is a stubborn man, but he is crazy about you. I can see it in his eyes. It is so obvious. He has feelings but he just needs a little push. I don’t know how a relationship will be with Alessio, but he loves deeply. He loves with his heart. Something he’s scared of. But you can change that. You can be his strength.”
“He is mine,” I whispered. “He is my strength.”
“Alessio will realize it soon. And when he does, he won’t be able to stay away from you. Fuck, he can’t even stay away from you now. Do you see him? He always follows you like a little puppy. Oh my God, that was such a bad comparison. Alessio is nowhere close to a little puppy.”
I laughed.
“We wait for him to make a move,” Maddie said.
“He has been making a move for the past three days.” He had made several attempts to talk to me.
“Well, he needs to make a better move then. If you know what I mean.” She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
“Maddie!”
She shrugged. “No, seriously. Maybe he should bring you flowers again. Or maybe just another kiss. This man is driving me crazy.”
I didn’t know what I was going to do without Maddie. She always knew how to make me feel better.
“We wait then,” I said with a smile.
She winked and I laughed.
I would wait…because I needed him.
***
I walked inside the piano room to wait for Alessio. He was the never late. He was always there at exactly ten.
I could play the piano even if Alessio wasn’t here, but I didn’t.
I wanted to play for him. I wanted to bask in the warmth of him watching me as I played.
Sighing, I looked down at the phone for the time. Any minute now.
Something caught my eye. My gaze shifted to the sofa chair I usually sat on and I let out an audible gasp.
Bringing my hand up, I covered my mouth in shock. But I couldn’t stop the smile that played across my lips.
A single white peony was lying on the seat.
Slightly bending down, I took the peony in my hand and brought it close to my chest. Straightening up, I held it there.
Alessio.
He was so sweet.
I couldn’t believe he put the peony there for me. This wasn’t a big bouquet. It was just a single peony, but it held the same value and meaning. It still made my heart flip, and my cheeks were hurting from my wide smile.
“I can safely assume that you love the peony.”
My eyes widened and I quickly swiveled around to see Alessio leaning against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. His head was cocked to the side, a small smirk on his face.
I wanted to say that I hated that smirk…but truly, I didn’t.
I tried to hide my smile. “I…” I paused and then sighed. I couldn’t lie. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”
He slowly walked toward me, his eyes intense as he kept his gaze on me. As he got closer, my heart went wild and my stomach twisted with butterflies, a feeling that I always got when he was close.
Alessio stopped in front of me. I could feel his warmth on my bare skin. I looked up into his eyes. He was so tall.
His gaze, filled with need, shifted to my lips and I instinctively licked them. Alessio took a step closer until we were barely an inch apart. I sucked in a deep breath and my chest brushed against his.
He brought his hand up, trailing a finger down the length of my bare arm. I shivered and my fingers tightened around the flowers.
“Alessio…”
“Ayla,” he whispered, leaning his head down.
We stared at each other, and then he leaned closer until his lips were only an inch from mine. “I’m going to kiss you,” he said.
“Okay…”
I saw a little smirk on his face and then he lowered his lips to capture mine. My breath caught. His lips brushed gently against mine and I sighed.