My Italian Heart

Chapter Twenty Two

When I finally woke up, I groaned. As always, I could tell before I had even opened my eyes that it was too bright outside. It was the signal that I was late for work again. I shot up in bed before collapsing back down. My head spinning as some of the previous night started to fill my mind. I should have been embarrassed about my display with David, but I wasn’t. That didn’t mean I wasn’t hopeful of getting out of his flat without having to see him.

I was actually grateful for him putting me to bed and taking the sofa himself. Not entirely sure how I would have felt if something had happened between us. At the very least, I was glad that I had the opportunity to get dressed with some dignity. I didn’t put my heels on, and I had no idea how I was getting home, but I edged slowly out of the bedroom, anyway. Doing my best to leave him sleeping.

I had known he was fast asleep before I had even opened the door. David was a heavy snorer, and it was probably his worst quality, which made him pretty perfect. The slight imperfection actually added to him rather than devalued him. I relaxed as I picked my way across the light laminate. The closer to the door I got, the more I revelled in the prospect of freedom from the awkward encounter of him waking up.

It was still cool outside as I opened the door, and the slight breeze wafted at me. Closing the door as gently as I could before sliding my feet into the heels. Having to wear heels that high so early in the morning should have been illegal, but I didn’t fancy walking down the street barefoot.

I waited until I had gotten a good distance down the tree-lined residential street before I pulled my phone out. Looking around me more as the phone rang and rang. It was quite a nice presented little village, or it could have been a town, I wasn’t really sure. I knew the name, but until David started staying there, I had never been to it.

“Um, hi.” I knew instantly that I had woken my big brother up, and he wouldn’t be very pleased with me. He never did well being woken up.

“Luca, can you come and pick me up, please?”

“Aurora?” He sounded so stupid in the mornings. He took dazed and confused to a whole new level. I felt bad, wondering if Rylie was already up. Had they been awake most of the night with Isabella? She was starting to teethe, and Mamma had said she would be a troublemaker with it. She said little Isabella was too strong-willed to be anything else.

“Sorry, Luca. I wouldn’t have rung you if I had any other options.” I started walking in the rough direction of home again. Not wanting to be standing around when David realised I had slipped out.

“Where are you?”

“I will share my location with you.” The further I managed to get away from David’s the better. I had no idea what I had been thinking, turning up on his doorstep, drunk. Without my car, too. It wasn’t like he could give me a lift back to the vineyard. If he had, I might as well have worn a neon sign saying we had been sleeping together.

“You had best have a great explanation for why I am dragging my backside out of bed before I get to you.” He tutted at me before putting the phone down on me. He was gruff, but he always was in the mornings. Well, less so since meeting Rylie, but as a teenager, he had been an absolute nightmare.

I waited until I had left the town and gotten back on the main road before I shared my location with Luca. It was a risk, but I would bet money on him going and grabbing coffee from the kitchen before he left, and that allowed me a little more time.

I felt more at home once I started to see rows of perfectly lined up vines. They weren’t ours. The vineyard didn’t come out so far, but it still made me feel at home and safe. The little wall around the edge of the field was little more than stacked rocks and had already collapsed in a few places. Making the whole thing look more like Roman ruins than a boundary wall. Rylie always said it reminded her more of England because walls like that one were found all over the English countryside. She couldn’t believe a symbol of the English countryside would be found so far from home.

I absently thought that I should have rung her instead of Luca. It still would have been Luca picking me up because Rylie still couldn’t drive after the accident, but she would have been nicer to me on the phone, at least. I didn’t know what had gotten into me recently, but everyone was noticing. I really needed to stop abandoning all my responsibilities. It wasn’t at all like me to leave someone else having to pick up the slack at the vineyard, probably Em, and then pulling Luca out of his pit as well.

I might have wanted some freedom from my responsibilities, but it felt like I had gone too far. I didn’t mind having more time for myself, but I didn’t want to be the person who then dumped all my things onto someone else. After all, that was how I had ended up the way I was. Taking on everyone else's duties and never saying no to them. Then I had done the exact same thing. Once in a while, it didn’t matter. They owed me, but I didn’t want to make a habit of it. Especially with Em. She seemed to be the one who was always picking up after me, and she had enough drama in her own life without me adding to it.

I wished I could have crossed through the field, heels in hand, but if I gave into the desire, Luca would have a hard time finding me. When I turned onto the main road, I was internally cursing Luca. He might have been doing me a favour, but he was taking his sweet ass time to do it.

As soon as the car pulled up alongside me, I dragged the door open without paying much attention. "God Luca, I thought it was going to be faster to walk all the way with how long it took you." Looking up as I finished bitching at him and spotting Rylie sat there in the passenger seat, practically laughing at me. I wanted to strangle him for being such a grass. I walked around the car and climbed in the back. Peering at Isabella babbling away in her car seat.

She seemed to be changing daily. Her little rosy cherub cheeks were filling out to look like little red apples. Her hair seemed to be growing by the day and was already passing the tops of her little ears. I couldn't decide who she looked like most, but she had certainly picked up the Italian skin tone quickly enough.

I still remembered the day at the olive grove when I had met my little niece for the first time. She was so pale compared to the rest of us. I blinked at the memory, trying to cut it off before it led to what happened afterwards. It didn't bear thinking about and I had to start trying to put it behind me for good. That was one thing David had taught me, at least.

Rylie was looking at me patiently. I wondered if she knew I was having a moment and wanted to wait for it to pass. I smiled back at her and regretted it almost instantly. "So?"

"So, what?"

"Where were you? Why did you need picking up? I thought you were at a business meeting? It's not a client, is it?" It was too early and the night before had been too late for such a torrent of questions. I held my index and middle finger of each hand on their respective temples and rubbed tiny little circles.

"You have one question. Choose wisely." Rylie pouted from the front seat before her expression changed. She was thinking carefully. I could almost see the cogs working as she did.

"Why did you need picking up?"

"He ended it a few days ago. I got way too drunk last night because Larson kept forcing drinks down my neck. I got a taxi but instead of going home, I went to his. Apparently, drunk me, thought it was a good idea. He put me to bed and slept on the sofa. I said some embarrassing crap and didn't want to face him this morning. I snuck out and called my big bro to come rescue me." I playfully thumped the back of Luca's shoulder while he drove. Earning me a slightly touched smile in the mirror.

"There's me thinking you were too old to need your big brother to come to the rescue."

"Luca, I will never be too old to need you." I could see Rylie wanted to ask more questions. Thankfully, she wasn't nearly as pushy as Emily or Mamma or I wouldn't have gotten off so easily. She shifted in her seat so she was facing forward again. I relaxed, knowing it meant she was done with me for the time being, at least. When I watched as she covered Luca's hand with hers on top of the gear stick, a slight pang reverberated from my heart through every artery in my body. It almost felt like it echoed David's name through every inch of me.