Artie wished she could say the rest of the journey was easy. It was not. They had to stop so many times for her to get control of her panic. The nausea at one stage was so bad she thought she was going to vomit. She distracted herself with the sights and sounds along the way. Looking at views she never thought she would see again—the rolling, verdant fields, the lush forests and the mountains, the vineyards and orchards and olive groves of Umbria. Scenes from her childhood, places she had travelled past with her parents. The memories were happy and sad, poignant and painful, and yet also gave her a sense of closure. It was time to move on. Luca had given her the tools and the motivation to change her thinking, to shift her focus. And the further away from the castello they got, the easier it became, because she knew she was getting closer to Luca.
But then they came to the hospital.
Artie had forgotten about the hospital. Hospitals. Busyness. Crowds. People rushing about. Patients, staff, cleaners, security personnel. The dead, the dying and the injured. A vision of her mother’s lifeless, bruised and broken body flashed into her brain. A vision of her father in the Critical Care Spinal Unit, his shattered spine no longer able to keep him upright.
Her fault. Her fault. Her fault.
She had destroyed her family.
Artie gripped the edges of her seat, her heart threatening to pound its way out of her chest. ‘I can’t go in there. I can’t.’
Rosa parked the car in the visitor’s parking area and turned off the engine. ‘You’ve come this far.’
‘It was a mistake.’ Artie closed her eyes so she didn’t have to look at the front entrance. ‘I can’t do this. I’m not ready.’
I will never be ready.
‘What if I call Luca to come out and get you?’
Artie opened her eyes and took a deep breath and slowly released it. Luca was inside that building. She was only a few metres away from him. She had come this far, further than she had in ten years. All she had to do was get to Luca. ‘No. I’m not giving up now. I want to be with Luca more than anything. But I need to do this last bit on my own. You can go home and I’ll talk to you in a few days once we know what’s happening with Luca’s grandfather.’ She released her tight grip on the car seat and smoothed her damp palms down her thighs. ‘I’m ready. I’m going in. Wish me luck?’
Rosa smiled and brushed some tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘You’ve got this.’
* * *
Luca opened his eyes when he heard the door of his grandfather’s room open, but instead of seeing a nurse come in he saw Artie. For a moment he thought he was dreaming. He blinked and blinked again then sprang out of the chair, taking her by the arms to make sure she was actually real and not a figment of his imagination. ‘Cara? How did you get here? I can barely believe my eyes.’
She smiled, her eyes bright, her cheeks flushed pink. ‘Rosa brought me. I wanted to be with you. I forced myself to get here. I can’t say it was easy. It was awful, actually. But I kept doing the slow breathing thing and somehow I made it.’
Luca gathered her close to his chest, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair where it tickled his chin. He was overcome with emotion, thinking about the effort it must have cost her to stare down her fears.
For him?
Fears she had lived with for ten years and she had pushed through them to get to his side. To be with him while he faced the very real possibility of losing his grandfather. He wasn’t sure how it made him feel…awed, honoured, touched in a way he had rarely been touched. He was used to having entirely transactional relationships with people. He took what he wanted and they did too.
But Artie had given him something no one had ever done before—her complete trust.
‘You were very brave, mia piccola. It’s so good to have you here.’ He held her apart from him to smile down at her, a locked space inside his chest flaring open. ‘I still can’t believe it.’ He brushed his bent knuckles down her cheek. ‘Nonno will be so pleased to meet you.’
Her forehead creased in concern. ‘How is he? Did you get to speak to him before—?’
‘Yes, he’s in Theatre, or maybe in Recovery by now.’ Luca took both of her hands in his. ‘I’ve missed you.’
‘I’ve missed you too.’ Her voice whisper-soft, her gaze luminous.
He released her hands and gathered her close again, lowering his mouth to hers in a kiss that sent scorching streaks of heat shooting through his body. She pressed herself closer, her mouth opening to the probe of his tongue. Tingles went down the backs of his legs, blood thundered to his groin, rampant need pounding in his system. Her lips tasted of strawberries and milk with a touch of cinnamon, her little gasps of delight sweet music to his ears and fuel for his desire. A desire that burned and boiled and blistered with incendiary heat right throughout his body in pummelling waves. How could one kiss do so much damage? Light such a fire in his flesh?
Because it was her kiss.
Her mouth.
Her.
Luca lifted his mouth off hers to look down at her flushed features and shimmering eyes. ‘If we weren’t in my grandfather’s hospital room, I would show you just how much I’ve missed you right here and now.’
Her cheeks went a delightful shade of pink. ‘I’ve sent Rosa back home. It’s okay for me to stay with you, isn’t it?’
Luca smiled. ‘I can think of nothing I’d like more. My villa is only half an hour from here.’
She stroked his face with her fingers, sending darts
