My Italian Heart

Chapter Twenty Seven

The day in the mountains with Adam had been just what I needed, but it didn't last anywhere near long enough. Too soon, we had been on our way back to reality and I dreaded it.

We chatted all the way back to the vineyard, stupid stuff, ridiculous even. At one point, he asked me if I could be any inanimate object, what I would be. Obviously, my answer was the cork in a wine bottle, so I could still drink wine, for which I got a stern look and rolling loud laughter. It was the best I could come up with at such short notice. It wasn't like it was something that people considered in normal life. Then again, Adam was anything but normal. It was one of the things I really liked about him.

When we got back to the vineyard, he literally just dropped me off and offered me a wave from inside the van. He had made it clear he didn't like being touchy-feely in front of other people. No, he preferred to eat me out on a terrace where people could hear if not see us. Around the vineyard, he kept his hands to himself.

I was still idly waving as I watched the van disappear when Em tapped me on the shoulder. "How was your day with Adam?"

I eyed her suspiciously, but not sure why exactly. I could just tell from her tone that she was going somewhere with it. "It was fine."

"Just fine?"

"Better than fine. What's on your mind?"

"Things just seem to be progressing quite fast between the pair of you. Do you not think you should be more careful?"

"In what way?"

"I'm worried you are burying yourself in Adam just to get over the other bloke and that's not fair on Adam or you. I don't want you getting hurt again. It's just that suddenly you're all about Adam."

"You said this about my last bloke too, to be fair, Em."

"Maybe, but I worry about you. You act all big and tough, but you're a long way from either."

"I'm fine, I promise. It's just a bit of fun." I said it as casually as I could, but I wasn't too sure if I meant it or not. Adam had a lot of potential and after the day we had had, I wasn't sure of anything anymore. "How's business going?"

Hoping to be on safer ground for a while and half wondering if she would bring David up. Then I was annoyed with myself for even letting him enter my mind at all. "Everything is going swimmingly, you have nothing to worry about."

"Fantastic, then I am going to head up to my room, get a hot bath and sink into my bed early." I thought about telling her I had been half naked surrounded by snow but thought better of it. Just smiling away to myself, I practically skipped into the house. Whether I had feelings for Adam or not didn't seem to really matter. He had made it, so it didn't matter. All that counted was the fun we had together and that seemed neverending.

I ran the bath hotter than I normally would have, the day seemed to call for it. Sinking myself into the claw-footed ivory tub full of sweet-smelling bubbles before it was even completely filled. I couldn't wait to be surrounded by the nectarine and lilly bubble bath I had purchased only a few days before. If I had thought about it, I would have lit some candles. For the first time, I really felt relaxed enough to actually lie there with my own thoughts and drift off into another world.

Closing my eyes against the bright light above and dipping my head under the water. I hated to be in the bath with my hair dry, it just seemed to stick to my back constantly. It was much better to get it wet straight away. Just as I bobbed my head back up there was a knock on the door. "Occupied." I answered quickly, given the lack of a lock on the door at that moment. It had broken a few days previously and no one had gotten around to doing anything about it.

"It's me. We need to talk." I lay there thinking it through, wondering whether to go along with it or not. "Preferably before someone sees me on the landing talking to you through the door."

"Come in." I wasn't exactly happy about it, but he was right about someone seeing him. Although I was at the point where I was starting to think it would be better if everyone knew anyway. I looked at his face as he came through the door. He instantly averted his eyes. "What's the point in that? It isn't like you weren't aware, I'm in the bathroom for Christ's sake."

"I just need to get you alone, to talk."

"Go on then."

"I hate seeing you with Adam..."

"David, just leave. I'm not doing this with you. You broke it off, not me. You can't complain because I've moved on. Adam is a nice bloke and he is exactly the sort of bloke you wanted me to be with. The sort who wants marriage and children and a future." I had no idea if Adam wanted those things, but it seemed likely enough. I couldn't really understand why David had even bothered, everything had been said already, there was nothing left to go over.

He started shifting more awkwardly on his feet. "I know what I said but..."

"Nope, no buts. You said it, you've got exactly what you wanted and you need to now leave it all well enough alone." I dipped my head back under the water for effect mainly, but partly because I hoped the action would make him magically disappear. "When are you going back to England?"

"I don't know."

"Well there is nothing keeping you here anymore." I wondered if he would say I was wrong. That he had been wrong, but he didn't seem to know what he wanted to say. He just kept staring at the floor beside the tub. "David, why are you actually here in the bathroom?"

"I'm sorry about how things happened that night."

"It's fine. It's in the past, let's just leave it there."

"I best leave you to it, it was hardly a good idea to come in here." He headed out the bathroom door without another word, but he seemed more than a little shifty. I knew he had come to say something and not actually got as far as saying it, but I wasn't sure what I was meant to do about it. I had been a little too abrasive with him, but what did he expect after everything that had happened? I sunk back into the bubbles and tried to pretend he had never interrupted my time in the tub.

It wasn't until I was dripping and heading back into my room that I spotted the little box on my bed. It was a small rectangular box, wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper and had a gold ribbon wrapped around it, with its bow on top. There was no tag, but I knew who it was from. There was only one person it could be from. I controlled the urge to snatch it from the top of the bed and started getting changed. It didn't take me long to get into my PJs, but the whole time I didn't take my eyes off the little offending box.

Finally, dressed, I sat down beside it and plucked it from the bedspread. Slowly pulling at the ends of the ribbon until they gave way. I was so nervous as I placed the ribbon to one side. I couldn't understand why he hadn't said anything, or given it to me in person. Peeling back the paper and sliding out the little black gift box. Taking a deep breath as I lifted the lid of the box, to show a silver necklace with a heart-shaped padlock as its pendent.

I studied it carefully. The only way to take it on and off was with the padlock, but there was no key. I knew he had retained it. Once it was on, only he could remove it. I knew what it meant, it was him saying I was still his. After what he had said, how could I trust he meant any of it? That was what he had wanted to say in the bathroom, but hadn't because I had been so abrasive and combative. I didn't have any idea what I was supposed to think. Did it mean that he did want a future with me? That he didn't, but didn't want Adam having me either?

I couldn't even go to the cabin and speak to him because Emily was there with him. She had told us all how she was going to stay over at the cabin with him so that he didn't wake up alone on Christmas Day. Although if he had changed his mind, I would insist on telling Emily at the very least. I was done hiding something so huge from my best friend.