She's talking about the cathedral, which is probably crowded with tourists, and in this heat, I'd better stay on the ground. But I know Val has never been inside the dome, so I should definitely agree.
"Sure." I smile, trying to seem enthusiastic.
As we walk inside this huge church, the most popular building in Florence, I realize that there aren’t so many people in here. The church, usually full, is almost empty.
"That's weird," I say, mostly to myself.
"Why aren’t we allowed to go to the top?" asks a woman who walks next to us, talking to her husband.
"They said the balcony of the dome is closed till three because of some construction work," the man explains. "But they gave free tickets to everyone today for the wait."
Construction work? I hadn't noticed when we entered. And free tickets? That's weird. They’ve never done that before.
"Hey, Val, they’re not allowing…" I start.
"I heard," Val interrupts. "Follow me."
She takes me by the hand and leads me to the priority entrance of the building. As we come closer, I see a guy in a uniform.
"Hi," Val speaks to him, "we need to get to the top."
"Sorry, signora, there's no entry till three…"
"I reserved special tickets," she interrupts him. "For Valentina and Angelica."
He looks at her, a little bit confused, and then she adds, "Sorreno."
The man's face changes in a second, and he says with a smile, "Please, come inside."
What?!
What does he mean “come inside”? Just like that? And what does it mean that we have special tickets?
But Val just rushes to the stairs, still holding my hand in hers, without any explanation.
As we go up, I realize that the last time I was here, I was just a kid. I was maybe ten or twelve years old when our parents brought Chiara and me here to show us the most fantastic view of Florence from the top. The stairs seemed fine to me then, but now I understand that the passage is very narrow and small, dark, and intimidating.
I can't believe I agreed to do this. The dome is undoubtedly amazing, but the stairs are more like a path to hell. And now we have to take who knows how many steps to get to the top inside of this dark building with no people around.
And I'm already exhausted.
"How did you do this?" I ask Val as we climb.
"Do what?" Val pretends she doesn't understand me.
"Get us these special tickets?"
She hesitates for a second before telling me, "I just called this morning and asked them about it. I mentioned your father and paid double price."
It’s the most ridiculous lie she could come up with. There's a lot of people who'd pay double or even triple price to get inside. And why would she mention my father? He's not that famous and influential.
There's only one person who has the power to get “special” tickets even if the building is closed for construction.
And that person is Ricardo.
Did he organize this tour for us?
My heart contracts at the thought.
"I can't believe there are only four hundred and sixty-eight steps," Valentina says before I can ask her about Ricardo.
Yeah, me neither. It seems like there are thousands of them.
"I think I need the restroom," she blurts out in the middle of our climb.
I look at her, rounding my eyes. "Now?"
"Yeah, I'll be right back." She turns around and starts going back.
"Val, no!" I whine. I can't believe we have to do this all over again. "Let's just take a look and go back!"
"Sorry, honey, I can't wait any longer." She keeps going.
The moment I start following her, she exclaims, "No, don't follow me, wait for me upstairs!"
Right before I can say anything, she’s already disappeared around the bend.
And now I'm left alone inside this dark, narrow corridor.
I know the view is going to be amazing, but now I feel like I’m in a horror movie. Someone is always left alone before the killer comes.
I start walking faster, trying to skip some steps, even though it's hard and the ceiling is too low for me to run. I could hurt my head if I'm not careful.
I’m out of breath after a few minutes, and I almost regret that I don't like sports.
But my heart skips a beat when I finally get to the last step.
I'm really not alone in here.
As I walk outside, I see the path of red rose petals, which leads to the edge of the balcony.
No, it can't be for real, he can't be here, he's afraid of heights.
The balcony is drowning in red balloons in the shape of a heart as if it’s Valentine's day or something.
My eyes follow the petals on the floor, and when I finally look up, my heart, which was popping out of my chest a second ago, stops immediately, refusing to believe this.
Right in the center of the balcony, overlooking the city, surrounded by red balloons and rose petals, I see the most handsome man in the world. He's just standing there in a black tuxedo and a white shirt and looking at me.
And this is my man.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ricardo
I stand here, motionless, waiting for Angie to walk outside, with my back turned to the city, trying not to think about where I am now, trying not to look at the ground.
People who are afraid of heights should never choose this spot for a date. This balcony is so narrow that one wrong move and my head starts spinning.
But that's not what happens with me now. I'm more afraid of Angie's reaction when she sees me than I am to look down from the top of this cathedral.
I have never in my life been more confident in my decision than now. And never in my life have I been so worried about it.
When I hear her footsteps, my heart stops.
I look at her surprised face when she notices the petals on the ground, and then, finally, she raises her head and looks at me.
She's beautiful.
Her hair falls on her face from the wind, and the rose petals fly around. She's wearing a plain white dress that emphasizes her thin waist. The dress is not too short, not too open—it doesn't even have a deep neckline—but I don’t think I've ever seen her more exposed to me.
"Hi," I say after a couple of seconds standing in silence.
"Hi," she responds, and I can barely hear her quiet voice.
"I missed you," I confess, because everything else I wanted to say slipped out of my head the moment I saw her.
I wait until she responds so I can continue my speech, which I’ve been repeating in my mind these past few days, but she just comes closer until her body reaches mine.
My hands grab her waist, and she wraps her arms around my neck, getting on her tiptoes and reaching for a kiss.
Our lips meet in a tender, long-awaited kiss.
Her body is trembling in my arms as I hold her. I'm drowning in this kiss, literally drowning, instantly forgetting about everything I wanted to tell her.
She deepens the kiss, and I oblige by slipping my tongue past her lips while my hands explore her body as if I haven't seen her in ages.
Only the moan she makes stops her for a second, and she whispers against my insistent lips, "I missed you so much."