I spin in a circle, arms outstretched, taking it all in. “My parents book me suites, Patrick books me suites, Momma Joe books me suites, and there is always a welcome basket, often flowers, and never has it felt this amazing.”
“Yeah, well, they’ve also kissed you, but I’m sure that’s a bit different, too,” Ranger grumbles as he drops our bags. “Which room is mine?”
“Whichever one doesn’t have rose petals on the bed, I assume.”
“Seventeen,” he calls out as he walks into one of the rooms.
“Legal,” I call back to him.
“What the fuck?” he hisses and walks out of the room that he disappeared into.
“What?” I hurry toward it. Then I stop and look around the room, seeing an easel set up by the window.
“Let’s go, or you’ll be late,” Ranger calls to me.
“But I wanna see what—”
“I’m sure it’ll be there when you get back. You can see it then.”
“Oh my God, fine.” I laugh and turn around.
He narrows his eyes at me. I give it back to him as I ask, “What?”
“You’re happy.”
“Love will do that to you.” I shrug as I walk toward the door and stop next to him. “Not for nothing, but my sister has a big-ass crush—”
“Don’t give a fuck,” he snarls. “Let’s go.”
“And I’m the one who’s messed up,” I mumble as I hurry to keep up with him.
Walking across the plaza toward the Trevi fountain, I see Matteo standing next to a small, wooden folding chair and looking down at it then up at the sky and down and up again. And then he turns and smiles when he sees me.
“See what you’re missing, Ranger? Wouldn’t you give anything to have someone smile at you like that every time they see you?”
“I fed a stray dog back in my neighborhood; he did the same shit. Now go. I’ll be over here.”
Matteo meets me halfway, arms outstretched, and I do that thing that girls like Brisa dream of doing. I run and let him catch me, and he does what men in the movies do—he spins me in a circle, sets me down on my feet, holds my hips to steady me because I’m a bit dizzy, and then he kisses me and does it without waiting for me to ask the question.
When he pulls back, I grab his shirt and pull him against me. “Less than twenty-four hours, and I missed you like crazy. How will I survive two weeks back home?”
“I have an answer and a solution, but first …” He kisses me again then steps back, takes both of my hands, and leads me to the chair. “Sit for me. Let me paint you.”
I look around at the multitudes of people watching as he steps back and Carlos brings out an easel.
“It’s you and I, Tris, just you and I,” he says as another man hands him a brush.
“How long is this going to take?” I ask, knowing that the little yellow bastard is going to claw his way out from wherever he and the rest of my monsters have been hiding.
“Not long.” He points up at the sun. “Look there.”
Warmth coats my heart like a big, weighted blanket when I realize the depths of how he sees me. The sun is my spotlight that blinds me from noticing the crowd.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but he eventually walks over and hands me a coin.
“It’s said that, if you toss one coin into the fountain, your return to the Eternal City is guaranteed. Will you promise to return here with me whenever I ask you to?”
“Of course.”
“Toss the coin, Tris,” he says as he backs away.
I toss the coin and, smiling, he returns to his canvas.
Several more minutes pass before he sets down the brush, walks over and pulls another coin from his pocket. “It’s said that if you toss a second coin into the fountain, you’ll find love. Will you accept all the love I have to offer you from now until time ends?”
“Only if you accept the same.” I swallow back tears, and not the kind caused by pain, but the kind only pure, undiluted happiness can summon.
“With every beat.” He kisses me quickly. Then, backing away, he says, “Toss the coin, Tris.”
And I do.
The sun is now beating down on me, and I love that he’s painting me, and how insanely romantic this is, and also pretty bewildered to the fact that I’m not even a little nauseous about the gooey feelings inside of me. Feelings I once mocked and bemused by the fact the onlookers have doubled and I’m not jumping in the fountain to get away.
I look over and smile at him, the cause of all of it, my source of … healing.
He sets the brush down and steps back to inspect his work. He looks between me and it several times before walking over, shoving his hand in his pocket and pulling out another coin.
“For this”—he holds it up — “you’ll need to stand.”
“Gladly. My ass is beginning to hurt,” I joke as I stand.
He rolls his eyes, and I can’t help but laugh, knowing it’s the use of the “vulgar” language that he’s obviously still trying to get used to.
“Turn and close your eyes.”
I take the coin from him, and then he turns me, and I close my eyes.
“A third coin tossed into Trevi is said to guarantee marriage.” He kisses my neck, causing my spine to tingle. He releases my hips and steps away. “If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?”
“Without a second thought.”
“Toss the coin, Tris.”
I toss the coin and turn, expecting him to be heading back to his easel.
Except, he’s not.
He’s on one knee, and he’s holding a ring that I can’t truly see because the sun is reflecting off of it.
“¿Quieres casarte conmigo?”
“Yes. A million times yes. Oh my God.” I laugh, and my eyes do that thing where they spill tears, brought on by happiness.
It doesn’t take long for me to spot a certain couple in the crowd. The woman with the phone camera up and the man holding her hand steady, because she’s a blubbering mess, albeit a beautiful mess.
Matteo chuckles when he sees that I noticed them.
“You knew?”
“Your mother is very intuitive. When she took you from the suite and left me there with your father, that’s when I asked your father for your hand and explained the reasoning that I requested the meeting be held in Rome, so that they could be part of it.”
“How long before you start taking their side in everything?” I scowl at him.
“I now see some truth in what men say about how the ring truly changes the dynamic.”
We both laugh, and then he takes my face and kisses me.
We have lunch with them nearby and, as Mom swoons over my ring, that has a got to be the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever seen, I can only describe it as the band having a Renaissance look about it. The thick, textured platinum band houses, guards, and surrounds the large, very large, pillow-cut diamond. Inside, Matteo had engraved, Mi amigo. Mi corazón. Mi ángel. Mi bendición. Mi para siempre.
My Friend. My heart. My angel. My blessing. My forever.
“One minute after legally an adult, we start our forever.”