31
1 month later - Castellammare di Stabia, Italy
C aleb walked down the street, checking the numbers on the doors as he went. If he had to pick any place to retire, it would be here. Sun, sea, and Rose. What else could a man need? He couldn’t think of a damn thing right now.
Dodging around a woman carrying a basket nearly bigger than himself, he ducked his head to avoid the hanging flower basket, then took a giant step to one side to avoid stepping on another plant pot. The very things that made the old town street quaint would land him on his ass if he didn’t pay attention.
Forty-eight hours, crossing the globe. He’d bounced from one country to another and back again, including some he’d snuck in and out of, just to ensure he didn’t lead Nawrocki to Italy and Rose. Keeping her location a secret was top priority.
Weariness fell away when a small sign on the gate of a villa caught his eye. His breathing sped up, and his heart pounded, just as it did in the few moments before a firefight started. He locked his gaze onto that sign as if his life depended on it. In a way, it did. His future depended on what happened. Now, he’d finally found it. Number one hundred and forty-seven, Villa del Vesuvio.
Was she waiting for him?
Did she know he was here?
Did she even know he was coming?
Tex had promised she would. But still, he was more nervous today than he had been on his first day at boot camp. Because if she wasn’t expecting him and he turned up, would she freak out? What if she didn’t want him as much as he needed her?
Maybe I shouldn’t have come.
Is my coming here considered stalking, too?
Does that make me as bad as the jerk?
What if she doesn’t want to see me?
Being uncertain, off balance, and nervous wasn’t something he was used to feeling. He balled his hands into fists and stuffed them into his pockets. He had to trust in what was between them. Behind that door, in a villa soaked in the Mediterranean sun, was Rose. The woman he’d been stupid enough to send away from him.
I was a first-class fool.
Everything ceased to exist as he stared at the blue door, willing it to open. As if on command, it swung inward, and Rose appeared. She reached for the column next to the door with one hand as if to steady herself, and a smile which hit him right in the solar plexus brightened her face.
Relief slammed into Caleb. His whole world narrowed to one single focus point. Her. His lips curved upward as he returned her smile and opened his arms.
Please let her come to me.
He couldn’t stand being apart anymore. Not being able to talk to her, touch her, or rest beside her as they curled together to sleep was pain he never wanted to endure again. They’d figure out a way to make it work between them. But this needed to be her choice. He just prayed she’d choose him. He just knew his whole world was a little dimmer without her in it.
“Caleb.”
Lip-reading his name from her mouth almost brought him to his knees. Every nonna on the street paused to watch as his smile broadened when she crossed the street to stand in front of him. “Hi.” He cupped her face and drew her to him, resting his forehead against hers. “I missed you. Rosey-Posey,” he whispered.
For long, torturous moments, she stared at him, saying nothing, as if she couldn’t believe he was standing in front of her. “I missed you, too. I didn’t believe Tex when he said you would come.” She reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck, tugging him closer. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
His whole body shuddered from the joy in her gentle laughter as he dipped down and scooped her into his arms to carry her into the house. So much for keeping a low profile—no doubt the whole street would be talking about the crazy, romantic foreigner who swept Rose, or rather Rosa as she was known here, off her feet. He figured Italy was a passionate romantic nation; they would understand.
To the sound of whistles and cat calls from the nonnas, he crossed the threshold of the villa and closed out the whole world to where nothing existed for him but her. He lowered her to her feet and asked the question he feared the answer to most: “Can I stay?”
Her hands bunched into his shirt at his waist, and she leaned her cheek on his chest with a deep, heartfelt sigh. “I’m scared.”
He froze. “Of me?—?”
“No. Never.” She shook her head. “That you’ll resent me because you staying means you stop being who you are. You are giving up everything to run away with me.” She pulled out of his hold and wrapped her arms around herself.
Caleb followed her down the marble-floored hallway, under a terracotta-faced archway, and into a bright, warm, sun-filled kitchen.
Rose busied herself, opening cupboards and searching through boxes. “I don’t have coffee. I do have a mint chocolate tea that tastes like After-Eights…”
“I don’t care about coffee.” He’d drink a million cups of tea in any flavor, as long as she didn’t make him leave.
As she filled the kettle, she glanced over her shoulder at him in disbelief. “Liar. You survive on coffee. You need it to breathe.”
“I need you to breathe,” he corrected. “I can walk away from everything and anyone and know I’ll be okay. Everything and anyone but you.” He crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her back against his chest. “Forgive me,” he whispered against her ear. “Forgive me for not figuring it out sooner. I should never have let you leave without me. You shouldn’t have had to do it alone.”
“It’s not your fault.”
He turned her in his arms. “It was my fault. I knew it then, and I know it now.” Admitting it was painful. He’d fucked up, and she had to figure out how to run again after he’d promised her he had her six. “I knew it the second you disappeared down the ranch road. But at that point, we had to wait and ensure you were safely away and that nobody followed you.” He caressed her face. “I’m so fucking sorry, I didn’t pull my head out of my ass in time to come with you.” The tears in her eyes gutted him. He resolved to keep his head where it belonged from now on—on his shoulders, not up his butt, avoiding the emotional stuff. Never again would he be the reason she cried. “I love you, Rosey-Posey. I promise I won’t let you down again.”