The House by the Cypress Trees
Page 27
“It’s all right. I understand,” Julia said. “We can start over, if that’s all right with you.”
“Every woman understands,” Mandy said. “But all is well that ends well, right?”
“This is my sister, Alessandra,” Julia introduced.
“How wonderful. You must stay with us. We have a lovely dinner. Francesca and Louisa have been cooking all day since they heard you were coming back. And engaged. Gian opened new bottles of wine,” Mandy said, leading them to the dining table.
“Watch out. Once you stay here, this family never lets you leave,” Julia warned, rolling her eyes.
“Well, it’s not like I have a place to go. Remember, my wedding is finito.” Alessandra shrugged. “And you are not coming to see me in Milan, now.”
“Her wedding è finito?” Francesca asked. “Daniel, we sit her next to my Giovanni at dinner, no?”
“I warned you,” Julia whispered to Alessandra.
“You are so lucky. They’re good people. Now, Daniel, tell me about this Giovanni?” Alessandra took Daniel by the elbow.
Alessandra was right, Julia thought. She was lucky. Daniel’s family was incredibly kind to her. She couldn’t wait to tell Manuel she was staying in Italy.
Chapter 38
Someone was tugging at Julia’s blanket. She half-opened her eyes and closed them again when she confirmed it was still dark in the bedroom. The tugging gave way to shaking of her shoulders, then to stroking of her cheek, then to persistent kisses on her face.
“Quit it.”
“I have a surprise for you,” Daniel said. “Wake up.”
“Just five more minutes.”
Her blanket was suddenly lifted, and the soles of her feet were mercilessly tickled.
She laughed. “Stop! You’re getting me all excited. If you want me to see the surprise, you better not get anything started.”
“If that’s a threat, it’s a poor one, Mrs. Stafford.”
“I love it when you call me Mrs. Stafford.”
He moved his hand up her silk nightgown and stroked her thighs gently. “As tempting as you are this morning, I really want to show you something. Come on, get up.”
“Honeymoon over this quickly?” She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“I haven’t even started with you, so don’t dare me. But trust me, this is a good surprise.” He beckoned her to come out of bed.
“All right, all right.” Julia swung her legs over the side of the bed and took the jeans he handed her.
She stood up and looked at her wedding dress, discarded on the armchair during last night’s lovemaking. She peeked into the mirror. The mess on her head would have to do until she could get a shower. Good thing they were staying at the guest house and wouldn’t be seen by anyone this early in the morning. There were some major inconveniences in having a wedding at the family estate.
They had decided to leave on their honeymoon to Barcelona two days after the wedding, so they could spend enough time first with Manuel and Nico, who had both traveled here for the wedding. Many of Daniel’s friends also had come to the wedding from England, but they had spent a week in Greve, and the couple had had enough time with them. Only one of Julia’s girlfriends could make it from America, but Julia was still grateful. These next two days were for the family festivities only. And then, blissfully, only the two of them and Barcelona. She sighed as they slipped out the door.
Daniel opened the car door for her and handed her a travel mug of coffee. “Small trip.”
“Where are we going? I have to supervise the decorator taking down the arch and the flowers.”
“Francesca is doing that for you. I asked.”
“Everyone’s expecting us for breakfast this morning,” Julia muttered.
“Not this early.”
“You always think of everything,” she said and blew him a kiss.
“That’s my job, Mrs. Stafford.”
Lizzy jumped into the car as Daniel was about to drive out. “Can we take her, please?”
“Sure.”
Even though Lizzy was technically still Mia’s dog, everyone knew who Lizzy really belonged to.
They drove for ten minutes farther away from Greve until they saw a rusted tall gate covered in wild yellow flowers.
“What is this place?” Julia asked.
“Be patient.” Daniel stopped the car and opened the gate with an effort. He got back in the car and drove through the gate. The road curved, with rows of cypress trees, and opened to a peach-colored two-story house with a terracotta roof.
“Will you tell me now?” Julia asked as they finally stopped in front of the house.
“What do you think of this place?”
Julia got out of the car and looked around. “Is that La Casa delle Nuvole out there?”
“Yes.”
She looked around at the hills in the distance. This house was placed even higher than the other one. Petunias and lavender grew everywhere. Rose bushes bloomed in the front. She heard the distant hum of a fountain off to the side. Lizzy jumped out of the car and went off exploring happily.
“There’s a vineyard down there.” Daniel pointed.
“It’s a beautiful place. Whose is it?”
“Yours. Ours. If you want. You can have your own house by the cypress trees.”
Julia’s jaw dropped. “You bought this?”
“Of course not. I had to ask you first. It just came up for sale. I didn’t want to wait too long and lose the opportunity. We would be close to my family. We can make wine. Gian would help us get it started.”
“What about your job in Milan?”
“I can be an architect anywhere. It’s all on software now. I will need to take meetings sometimes, but that’s not a problem. You’ll need to run things here, but only if you’d like this kind of life.” His eyes lit up in excitement.
Julia walked around the yard. It was breathtakingly beautiful, everywhere she looked. The house, the vineyard, the garden, and the flowers. They would live in Tuscany, near his family, near her family. She would be in charge of all this. Her own house. With everything she ever wanted.
“You want me to run an estate?” she asked, not believing.
“It’s not as grand as it sounds. You’ve lived at my sister’s. You know it’s hard work.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “But I think we would be happy here. At least we could try it.”
She kissed him, and he kissed her back, his lips warm and loving, as always.
The warm Tuscan wind picked up and wrapped around them, bringing the smells of lavender, apricots, and grapes with it. Julia inhaled deeply and looked all around her again.
“I would love nothing more,” she said.
A word about the author…
Elena Mikalsen is a women’s fiction author who is somewhat obsessive about travel and telling stories about love and amazing travel locations. When she is at home, in San Antonio, she can be found browsing through bookstores or antique shops with her family.
She is hopelessly devoted to her two rescue dogs, Cookie and Vanilla, who were present by her feet during the entire process of the writing of this novel.
When not writing stories, she is a Pediatric Psychologist helping children with chronic medical illness. She blogs on issues of mental health for teens and adults.
Her debut novel, Wrapped in the Stars, won the 1st place Chatelaine award for the best Historical Romantic Fiction of 2018.
Please explore Elena Mikalsen’s other novels, Wrapped in the Stars (2018), available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all other online retailers, and the upcoming All the Silent Voices (2020).
You can visit her at:
www.elenamikalsen.com
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