The Middle-Aged Virgin_A Chick Lit, Romantic Comedy Novel_Newly Single And Seeking Spine-Tingles...

by Olivia Spring

  He wasn’t wrong about the shit he had gone through. And there I was adding to it by telling him about the pregnancy, not considering how it might affect him. Despite all of his issues, it still didn’t put me off.

  ‘But, Lorenzo, those experiences are in the past. They’re behind you now. I’m not perfect, but compared to the women you’ve been with before, I’m a bloody angel. You won’t experience that pain and turmoil with me. And I won’t allow anyone to take our baby away from you.’

  ‘You have reason, Sophia. I know you are a good woman. That’s why I came back. I love you,’ he said as he leant forward and kissed me softly on the lips. ‘The time we spent here in London, I have never been so happy. It is not just the sex, which was amazing. We have a connection. We laughed, I felt calm—like I was complete. Especially now with the baby. And I know this baby is mine, Sophia. I feel it. So I say, no: Fuck Charlie! I am going to show Sophia that I am a man and I am ready to be a good father.’

  He reached in his pocket for his phone and unlocked the screen.

  ‘What’s up?’ I asked, wondering if he had taken it out to call someone.

  ‘While I was away, I started working again with Taste, as it is the new season, and did many extra shifts at a restaurant in town, so I saved up money for us. But on my day off, I worked at my house.’ He showed me his phone and started scrolling through photos of a room. In the first pictures, it looked quite messy and disorganised, with a guitar in the corner, a bed in the centre, posters of some rock band I didn’t recognise on the flaky walls and bags of clothes everywhere.

  In the photos that followed, it showed the room had been cleared out, then the walls had been painted lemon, a new carpet laid and…

  Oh my goodness. There was a cot in place of the bed with a cute mobile attached and a little rocking horse and playpen in the corner. Adorable!

  ‘You see?’ he said, looking up from the phone and straight at me. ‘I cleared out my brother’s room and made it into a nursery. For our baby. And I decorated my bedroom too. Before, it looked like a man’s room. Now I made it nice for a woman too—for you.’

  OMG. All this time he’d been away, not only had he been thinking of me, of us, he had been working hard trying to build a life for us too.

  ‘Sophia, I know it is a big decision, but I want spend my life with you.’ He put his phone back in his pocket and then took my hands into his. ‘I know you have life in London and family and successful business too. But when we talked, I felt like you want a change, no? You are ready maybe for a different type of life. More time to enjoy and less time spent at work? And you said you love me too. So I wondered if you want to come and live with me? In Italy? We can be a family, together.’

  What? I couldn’t believe it. I tried to compose myself.

  ‘Wow, Lorenzo,’ I said, picking my jaw up from the floor. ‘I don’t… I don’t actually know what to say.’

  ‘I could only get one day off from work, which was already difficult because it was a Saturday, so my flight leaves Gatwick tomorrow morning seven forty-five a.m.,’ he said. ‘I booked a ticket for you to come with me. Not for you to live there straight away. I know that will take many months of planning. But just for you to try. For a few weeks. See if you like it. What you think?’

  ‘I…I…’ I replied, still trying to take everything in.

  ‘I know it is a lot to think about, so I will leave you now,’ he said, standing up as he still kept hold of my hands. ‘If you want to try, meet me at the airport at six a.m. I will wait for you until six fifteen. If you decide you do not want to come, I will understand, but I hope you do.’

  He leant over and kissed me on the head and then bent down to kiss my stomach.

  ‘I will go and say hello to your family and then will leave to let you discuss with them. Is better that way, no? Try and enjoy the rest of your party. I hope I see you tomorrow morning, beauty.’

  And with that, he was gone.

  It was crazy to think that I’d dreamt about this just days after meeting him. And I’d dismissed it because it was ludicrous to let my mind run away with such thoughts after knowing the man all of five minutes. But somehow this wasn’t some mad fantasy. It was actually real. This was beyond nuts.

  I loved Lorenzo with all my heart, but it was such a big decision. Was I really ready to give up my life in London, my family, friends, my home and the business I’d worked so hard to build, in fact almost everything, to be with him?

  Chapter Forty-Five

  I leant forward on the sofa, head in hands. What the fuck am I going to do? It’s all so sudden.

  I heard footsteps running down the hallway. Roxy and Bella burst in.

  ‘Soph, are you okay?’ said Bella, coming over to me, perching on the edge of the sofa and rubbing my shoulder. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Roxy chipped in. ‘First you have a slanging match with Charlie, he runs after you, then minutes later, we see him storm off out the front door with a swollen cheek and black eye, and now we’ve just seen Lorenzo go over to your folks, Harrison and your granddad, introduce himself and then say he’s sorry but he has to leave? What’s going on?’ she asked, frowning and crossing her arms.

  ‘Well, basically, all this time, Lorenzo hadn’t just upped and disappeared in the way that I thought. He’d left a long letter explaining everything, but when Charlie came to his flat, he spotted it on the table and decided to hide it from me.’

  ‘You’re joking,’ said Bella.

  ‘Nope,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘So I’ve spent all these weeks, in fact months, upset, thinking Lorenzo didn’t care, when all the while he’s been back in Italy, working his arse off trying to provide a life for me and the baby, renovating his house with a nursery and doing it all up so I can go and live there and we can be a family, together.’

  ‘Wait, what?’ said Roxy. ‘What do you mean go and live there? In fucking Italy? Is he nuts? Is that why he left, because you told him to piss off?’

  ‘Why would I tell him to piss off, Roxy?’ I said, frowning. She better not be starting her shit…

  ‘Well, firstly,’ she said, crossing her arms again, ‘because everyone knows holiday romances, which is essentially what this is, don’t last. And secondly, you have a life here, Sophia. A family, a successful business to run, a team who rely on you for their livelihoods, a home and us, your friends. You can’t just throw everything away and leave it all behind to go running after a man. Especially someone like Lorenzo,’ she scowled.

  ‘What is that supposed to mean, Roxy?’ I snapped. ‘And why wouldn’t I leave to build a life with him? What’s wrong with trying to make it work with the man I love and letting him be there for me and our baby?’

  ‘Are you fucking serious?’ she barked. ‘You don’t even know if it is his baby! Look at all the stress he’s put you through! Ever since you’ve met him, it’s been nothing but drama, and now you think it’ll will somehow be better in a strange country where you don’t speak the language, don’t have a support network like you have here, or a job for that matter? What will you do for work? It’s not like he’s Charlie, who can really provide for you. You can’t honestly be considering give up a multimillion-pound business, your beautiful home and your independence, to go and live with a fucking chef, for God’s sake! Where’s your feminist backbone gone? Stop being so weak.’

  ‘You know what, Roxy?’ I said, jumping up. ‘I’m sick and tired of you passing judgement on him when you don’t even know him. I’m in love with Lorenzo, and you know what? I am seriously considering getting on that plane with him tomorrow morning! That doesn’t make me weak. That makes me strong.’

  ‘How does giving up your career, your success and independence to run after a man like some lovesick schoolgirl with her head in the clouds, just because he’s good in bed, make you strong?’ she scoffed.

  ‘It makes me strong, Roxy, because for once, I’m choosing life and happiness instead of what other people define as success. Success isn�
��t about having the biggest agency or the biggest bank balance. It’s about having the courage to step away from convention and make the choices that make me happy and that are right for me. It shows that I believe in myself enough to know that even if I do go and live with Lorenzo, I will be okay. I’m not giving up my independence. I’m taking control of my life and what I want. And as for my business, I’ve got options. I can work remotely, get Robyn to run it, or I could just sell it and do something completely different…’

  ‘Now I know you’re crazy!’ shouted Roxy in disbelief. ‘Why on earth would you sell the company you’ve worked so hard to build when it’s doing so well? That business is your baby. That’s what you’ve always said. Why would you even contemplate just giving it all up?’

  ‘Because, Roxy, after seeing what happened to Albert and now having this baby growing inside of me, I realise that there’s much more to life than work. Successful people sell their businesses all the time. Look at Jo Malone and Liz Earle. I’ve had some huge multinational companies hounding me for months if not years to buy me out, and a couple of their offers are very attractive. But it’s not about the money. After fourteen years of working non-stop, I deserve to take time out. I’ve achieved more than I ever dreamt I would, so maybe it’s time for a new challenge. Fuck it!’ I said, getting excited at the prospect of a fresh start and realising that this argument had led me to make my decision. ‘To quote one of your acronyms, Roxy: YOLO! You only live once. I’m not going to hold out until I’m sixty-five. Look at Albert. He didn’t even reach retirement age. I’m not waiting a second longer. I’m going to live my life now!’

  Roxy’s mouth had dropped so far open that you could have fit the Titanic in it and still have room.

  ‘Wow, Soph!’ said a startled Bella. ‘Looks like you’ve reached a decision. I know you’ve said you don’t want to wait, but tomorrow morning? Isn’t that a little hasty? How would you realistically get everything organised by then?’

  ‘Lorenzo’s going back tomorrow and has a ticket for me. He’s not suggesting I go out and live in Italy permanently straight away. Obviously he understands that would take time. All he’s suggesting is that I come out there for a couple of weeks initially to see if I like it, and then we can take it from there.’

  Roxy sat down on the sofa. Then Bella came off the edge and sat beside her. They were both silent. They knew me. I was going. And they knew once my mind was made up, there was no point trying to change it.

  I glanced at the clock on the wall opposite the bed. It was now rapidly approaching 2.30 a.m. In order to meet him, I’d have to get home (which by the time I’d said my goodbyes and ordered a taxi could take a good half an hour), find my passport, pack and leave by 4.30 a.m. to get to Gatwick by 6 a.m. In fact, I wasn’t going to waste another minute discussing or justifying myself to them. I had to leave right now!

  ‘Ladies, I love you,’ I said, smiling, ‘but I’m going to fucking Italy!’ I bent down to hug Bella. ‘Bella, love you,’ I moved over to Roxy, who was still scowling. I didn’t care. ‘Roxy,’ I said, squeezing her tightly. ‘Sometimes you’re a giant pain in the arse, but I know your feistiness comes from a good place. I hate when we argue. I still love you. Thank you for caring. But I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to try. Life is short. I’ll regret it if I don’t.’ I squeezed her again and then let go.

  ‘Wow, Soph,’ said Bella, whilst Roxy’s mouth remained firmly on the floor. ‘Well, good luck!’

  ‘I’ll message you when I get there,’ I said as I rushed out the bedroom door. ‘Ciao!’

  After running around hugging the remaining guests, apologising for the ‘show’ earlier and now having to leave my own party early, then kissing a very confused Mum and Dad goodbye, I grabbed my coat and bags and headed out to the main road to hail a taxi.

  I burst into the dressing room, pulled out a medium-sized suitcase from the rack behind the door and began taking clothes off hangers and out of the drawers and frantically throwing them inside. Some casual, loose-fitting dresses (even they were getting tight), leggings, underwear, a couple of long-sleeve tops, a pair of Converse…I tossed a black t-shirt, oversized lightweight yellow jumper and a pair of indigo maternity jeans on the bed, ready to wear.

  Shit. It was already 3.15 a.m., the taxi would be here in just over an hour and I still had a million things to do, including packing my passport. Better find that now.

  3.45 a.m.: Got it and it’s still in date. I need to jump in the shower.

  4.20 a.m.: Taxi is coming in ten minutes and I can’t shut my suitcase. Maybe if I sit on it? There. Done. Must be this extra weight I’m carrying. Nearly busted the zip though. That wouldn’t have been funny. Wait. Did I put my toothbrush in there? Nope. Looks like I’m going to have to open it up again…

  4.35 a.m.: Where’s the fucking taxi? It’s late. This is stressful! Sorry, little bump. I know Mummy is supposed to be keeping calm, but I’m definitely not used to packing up and heading off to potentially start a new life with just a few hours notice. Breathe, Sophia. Breathe.

  4.45 a.m.: The driver finally turned up fifteen minutes late. Should still be enough time…

  5 a.m.: ‘What do you mean your sat nav isn’t working? You do know how to get to Gatwick, though, don’t you?’ Looks like I might need to direct him using the Google Maps on my phone.

  5.25 a.m.: We’re on the motorway, so I think it’s okay to relax now.

  I’m going to Italy—to be with Lorenzo and I couldn’t be more excited! So what if I sounded like a loved-up teenager. A teenager I might not be, but I felt like one, I certainly was loved up and I didn’t care. Being happy was nothing to be ashamed of.

  Oh, how my life had changed in this past year or so. And like I’d said earlier at my party, it was all down to Albert and the extra strength he had given me.

  I reached into my handbag and pulled out my notepad and flicked through to the MAP list I’d made just fifteen months ago.

  1) Stop being a workaholic/have a better work-life balance: Yep. I can check that one off. I hadn’t made a firm decision about whether to sell the company or keep it. I would study the offers more closely, weigh up the pros and cons and decide once I was in Italy. Lorenzo was right, though. I was ready for a new direction. Maybe I’d pursue photography. That’s always been another passion of mine. If I sold the business, the payoff I got might allow me to live for a while without working, provided we had a modest lifestyle. Or maybe I could rent out my house?

  2) End my relationship: It had been over a year now. I’d heard through the grapevine that Rich was engaged. I was genuinely happy for him. Great guy, but just not the guy for me.

  3) Experience passion: Yes, yes, yes! Multiple times per night with Lorenzo around.

  4) Go on an educational holiday: Check. Who knew one trip would change my life so dramatically? I hadn’t even imagined that I’d find love, so that was definitely an MAP bonus. Especially after all the ups and downs I’d experienced with Lorenzo, not to mention my ‘interesting’ dating experiences. Maybe the cliché about finding ‘the one’ when you’re not looking was true…

  5) Throw a party: As of last night, that was another official achievement ticked off the list.

  6) Look into adoption: Well, there was an actual living, baby, growing inside me right now, so that was an unexpected, but very welcomed check. Who knows? If all went well and we decided to extend our family (did you see how I dropped the ‘we’ and ‘family’ in there? Getting carried away again, but it’s good to think positively), maybe we could look at adoption then. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have believed when I wrote this last year that I’d be having a baby naturally. What a gift.

  7) Have fun/live life to the full: Hell to the yes! I had thrown caution to the wind and was on my way to Gatwick. I could honestly say that I had continuously tried my best to live by this motto.

  So there you have it. A full house. I was proud of myself.

  I thought back to Albert’s last words to m
e:

  ‘Remember, life is short. You only live once. You must enjoy. If you are not happy, you must do something to change it…rappelle-toi that it is happiness and amour that is the most important.’

  I felt wholeheartedly that not only had I taken his comments on board, but I’d followed through with action too. I hadn’t been happy and I’d made changes to address that. And now I was about to follow my heart and be with the man that I loved. The man that made me so very happy.

  I hoped that Albert was looking down and feeling proud of me too.

  05.58: We pulled up outside Gatwick with just minutes to spare.

  06.04: I looked around frantically for the right terminal. Shit. I had to take the shuttle to the North Terminal. I should have checked that on my phone on my way here…

  06.07: Just boarded the shuttle. Just realised I didn’t put any make-up on. And my hair? Did I even brush it? Doesn’t matter. Lorenzo loves me just the way I am.

  06.10: Which way is it now? Fuck. I have five minutes before he leaves…

  06.12: I went the wrong way!

  06.15: Where is he? I just made it on time and he’s gone already? Shit.

  I looked ahead to the large black-and-yellow ‘Departures’ sign—maybe he’s just gone through?

  I can’t see him.

  He wouldn’t have stood me up again. No way. I was over that neuroticism now. Lorenzo loved me and I trusted him. I’d find him. He was here. I knew it.

  Just I was about to go searching for him, I felt someone come up behind me and place their arms behind my waist, pull me backwards towards them and kiss my neck gently.