Day 1

To get Dominic to eat was like getting pigs to fly; it was nearly impossible and yet the most frustrating and most ridiculous task possible. He ate slow and took small bites. He needed to eat. He lost weight. I can see it. His body was barley toned and his muscles have lost their mass.

He wouldn't stopped staring at me. I know he was somewhat sober but his mind was still refusing the fact that I'm really here.

Once he finished his plate I took the tray and placed it by the night stand by the door.

"Who's been running things during your...absence." I asked.

"Dante."

"Well he can run it for the next two days. We need to talk. With honesty."

"What's there to discuss?"

"How do you feel with what I've said? You have really said much." I sat on the bed and watched Dominic shift uncomfortably in his chair. Dominic doesn't do honest or emotional talks well.

"I can't let you back in."

"Why not?"

"I can't feel this again. I can't risk you leaving again." His head dropped into his palms. He was stressed out and I completely understood.

"I can't promise I won't leave again. But I can promise that as of right now you have me. All of me, 100%. I don't want to feel how I felt when I lived here ever again but I'm willing to try. Don't you want to give this a try at all? To see if 16 year old us were right about this?"

Silence.

His hands made small circular motions on his temples, my guess is he's trying to sooth a hangover. I shouldn't be pushing this conversation right now in his state but if I don't say what's on my heart now I may never will. Tomorrow isn't promised. Our relationship is up in the air with no indication of where it might go. But today, today I want to pour my heart out to Dominic.

"The fuck is courting?" he asked softly.

"Well dating. Getting you know each other. Go on dates...you know being normal. I think we lacked that a lot."

"I don't have time to date. I need to get my business back to where it needs to be."

"You had time for a whole fiancée you can make time to date. Look, you don't need to agree to anything right now. Which is why I came to see you. I want to try us out for the next two days. We can go out to dinner or do something out the house and take it from there. Once I leave for New York we can make a decision then."

"Who knows you're here?"

"Damien. I didn't want my family influence in this. It's about me and you. What you want and what I want."

He brought his head up to look at me. He pushed himself away trom his desk and walked towards me. He placed hands on either side of the bed and bent down so we would be face to face. He was analyzing me closely. I didn't move or flinch. I stared straight back into his eyes showing the same confidence I had when I walked through the front doors. Dominic wanted to look for doubt or discrepancy in my eyes. When he couldn't find what he wanted. He backed away slowly. He stood tall in front of me. His left hand came up to caress my cheek. I closed my eyes as he petted my cheek with his index finger. His touch was warm.

"If we do this, and you so much much as screw with me I will show no mercy on your family. Remember my words."

"Wouldn't expect it to be anything different." I stood up and took a small step towards him. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Please give us a chance. Two days is all I'm asking."

He stared deep into my soul before walking by to his seat to finish his meal.

We didn't speak for the rest of the afternoon. I watched him finish his meal and left him alone to recollect himself and try to finish some paperwork he pushed to the side. I spent some time wandering the grounds outside. All this courageous acts has had my adrenaline running at max speed all day. I wanted to unwind and relax.

Once the sun set, I walked by to the house for dinner. Liliana would usually serve once the sun starts to set, there's something about the red light of the warm rays settling through the large French accent windows in the dining room that brings peace to the ending of your day.

As I entered the dining room, Dominic was sitting in his chair, changed into a long sleeve T-shirt and dark slacks. His hair was freshly wet and his Irish spring soap filled the room. A small smile crept onto my face as I took a seat beside his chair. He's taking care of himself.

"How much work did you get done?" I asked as I placed the napkin across my lap.

"Enough, where were you?"

"I wanted to give you space to get work done. I just went around the grounds outside."

Soon, Liliana walked through the push door that connects to the kitchen, pushing a sliver cart that carried two covered plates. She parked the cart beside us and served Dominic then myself. Once she removed the silver cover from our plates she placed the covers on the cart and walked back to the kitchen. Beef Wellington with spring vegetables and wild rice was on the menu for the night. After taking one bite I couldn't help but moan. One thing I definitely missed about Genoa was Liliana's cooking. Second best to my mama's.

Dinner was quiet. No words were spoken. Dominic finished his meal quickly but instead of leaving like he usually does, he waited for me to finish before we retired upstairs together. We went our separate ways once we entered the bedroom. I walked over to my side of the bed to retrieve my suitcases while Dominic went back to his desk to finish more work. I grabbed the essentials I needed for the bathroom and went to shower.

I was out the bathroom within half an hour. Dominic changed into long black pyjama bottoms with no shirt. He laid on the bed scrolling through his phone.

"Still working?" I wondered as i climbed into my side of the bed. It felt weird being in this bed again, but it was a good weird feeling. The tingles I felt in my stomach reassured me of my decision in coming here. I should listen to my gut more often.

"I wanted to send the recent updates to my father." Dominic tapped on his phone before shutting it off and placing it inside his nightstand.

He climbed inside the covers and turned to his side facing me. I followed his actions so we were face to face.

"Today was nice." I said confidently.

"It was." He agreed. A small smile was noticeable on his beautiful angelic face.

"I think this is possible. Us. There was a lot of hurt on both sides and misunderstandings but I think a third time is a charm right?"

"Maybe. Once reality hits, you might be singing a different tune."

"What do you mean by reality? We're here in the real world, aren't we?"

"That's not what I mean. All I thought about when you left is if shit would be different if certain factors weren't involved. When my father reads that email, when you're family finds out your here...you don;t think we will be doomed to repeat history?"

His question stumped me. I never considered outside factors being apart of our downfall. I mean my famiglia only tolerated Dominic minus my papa. His papa liked me but his mama absolutely hated me. The pressure of our legacies and honouring our late grandfathers... there was a lot of factors forcing us apart. But ultimately, it was our actions that drove the knife into the heart of our union.

"Yeah there were other things keeping us apart but at the end of the day, it is us that decides what happens. If we really want this to work who can really stop us?"

"If you want out, you need to fucking tell me."

"Same to you. It's a two way street."

I woke up in the same position i fell asleep in; On my side facing Dominic. It was comforting to open my eyes to see his beautiful face. He didn't move an inch either. We were barely touching but I never felt more connected to him until this moment. Soon his wide eyes sprang open. He squinted to adjust to the light but after a mere seconds his gaze soften on me.

Peaceful silent moments passed through us.

"I was expecting you to be gone before I woke up." Dominic whispered softly.

"I'm not walking away from this. Not easily at least." I leaned over to kiss his forehead before getting up from bed. I walked over to my purse to get my phone. I haven't looked at it since the airport in Milan.

There were 5 messages from my friends and 16 miss calls and 37 text messages from my mother alone. It's safe to say they realize I've disappeared.

"Oh I'm officially screwed." I whispered quietly. I was too focused on reading my mother's death threats to notice Dominic getting up from bed to come up behind me.

He replaced his arms loosely around my waist and read the texts from behind me. Line by line my mother grew more worried and frankly more disrespectful. By the last text she threaten to have the police search for me so she can personally throw my trouble-making senseless ass over a cliff.

What beautiful words from my loving mother.

"Here comes reality." Dominic whispered in my ears.

"I guess so. Should I call her now and ruin my day before it begins or should I wait until I've enjoyed my day to ruin it with this phone call?"

"Wait until after. I want to get out the house today. I have a New York Trip to pack for."

I turned around quickly to look at Dominic. He's coming to New York? He's giving us a chance! Excitement and relief washed over me. Even though hell awaits for me back in Milan, I'm happy to know I won't get my ass handed to me for nothing. I pushed onto my tippy toes to give Dominic a kiss on his soft cheek. I melted into his touch as his arms tightened around my body.

"I need to shower," I moaned into his lips.

"Go before you don't have the option to leave." He growled softly.

I showered, brushed my teeth and got dressed in the bathroom. Since the events of the day are unaware to me, I wanted to wear something comfortable. I settled in light blue high waist jeans and a black turtle neck shirt with black pumps.

Dominic was already showered and dress by the time I got out. I guess he went to another room to get ready. He wore a black crew neck shirt with a maroon blazer and matching slacks.

"You look nice." Dominic commented.

"Thank you, Wanted to be comfortable for whatever you have planned for today."

"I need to go to town, get some clothes. Prepare for this...trip."

"About New York, Thank you for agreeing to come. I know it's not easy for you to hope in us when we've failed so many times but, I want you to know that I really do appreciate you trying."

One thing i never did when things were good between us was tell Dominic how much I appreciated the little nice things he's done for me. I need to show my appreciation more and tell him how much his changed Behavior means to me. I don't want to make him feel like a monster anymore.

"I'll give it one final try, for you."

We went downstairs for breakfast. It was a quick meal before we headed outside to the car. Dominic decided to drive his personal black Porsche without any guards.

The air blew threw the open window of the car as Dominic sped through the roads. It was a nice quiet drive. Soft latin music peep through the speakers of the radio, Dominic's had a hand on the wheel and one on my knee; this is the simple times I care for.

We stopped at multiple stores in town shopping for Dominic. He bought a year's worth of clothing at the most expensive high end stores. He made sure to buy me a wardrobe and had it shipped to my place in Genoa. As Dominic gave them my address, it made me wonder...what are we going to do after the trip?

I asked Dominic to give us two days to figure things out because honestly I didn't think he would agree at all. Today's our first official day and it's going great so far, I didn't even factor in what would happen after New York. I don't know if i should bring it up now or wait until after the trip.

After shopping , Dominic took us to small exclusive restaurant just off the coast. We sat outside on their terrace, it had no one around and the weather was absolutely beautiful not to enjoy.

The teenage male waiter took down our orders of a seafood salad with a glass of Merlot.

"You're not going to ask?" Dominic spoke as we watched the waiter walk back inside the establishment.

"Ask about what?"

"What's going to happen when the trip is done? I saw you biting your lip when we were at the store. You have a real shit poker face."

"I wasn't trying to have a poker face on thank you very much. I didn't want to bring that up until the time comes. Planning our futures hasn't really worked out for us."

"And...."

"And... I don't want to pressure us into anything."

Dominic's glaze was down at his plate the entire time. It was hard to make eye contact. Neither of us knew what to say.

The waiter came back with our order and wine. It was a quick distraction from the intense air between us. It was when he left again when I looked at Dominic. He stared back at me.

"Wait til after New York to decide or decide right now?" I asked.

"Wait until after." He agreed.