Page 312 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

“What is?”

“Your heartbeat. The most wonderful sound in the world.”

“Schatzi...” he murmured, squeezing his arms around her.

“Can we stay here forever?”

His chest rumbled as he chuckled. “I would love to, but you have class this morning and, as much money as I donated to the company, I don’t think Vincent would appreciate me keeping his favorite dancer in bed all day.”

“You really donated a lot?”

He chuckled again. “I wanted to ensure that I could see you as much as possible. Vincent offered to rename the theater after me, but that’s not why I did it.”

“Does he know who you are? I mean, that you’re my husband?”

“He knows that I know you and Aaron, but not much more than that. I believe he will learn the truth this morning.” He tugged gently on her hair and she lifted her head to look at him. “Is that alright?”

Anna knew he was asking if she needed more time to decide if she wanted to be with him. But she didn’t. She was where she belonged. Her heart twinged with sadness when she thought about Hugo, but she couldn’t change the truth. She belonged with Alex.

She nodded. “You don’t need to hide who you are. I am your wife. You are my husband.” She gave him a tender smile. “I think I’d like to put my wedding rings back on.”

His eyes lit up and he grinned. “Oh, Schatzi. You have made me the happiest of men.” He kissed her full on the mouth and then rolled her to her side. “Does that mean you’re willing to live with me?”

“A wife should live with her husband, shouldn’t she?”

“Most definitely.”

When they finally got around to getting out of bed, Alex went in search of something Anna could wear back to her apartment. “I don’t have a housekeeper,” he said apologetically, handing her a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Tony’s the shortest one among us.”

Anna barely heard him, her eyes transfixed on his chest. He wore a snug-fitting pair of dark blue jeans without a shirt, and he looked so unbelievably sexy, she could hardly think of anything else. “Huh?”

He chuckled and walked over to her, bending down to kiss her on her mouth. “I like how you look at me.”

She shrugged sheepishly. “You’re very nice to look at.” She glanced up into his face. “What did you say?”

He laughed. “I said, I don’t have a housekeeper. At least, not a live-in one. Frau Gersten would have had your dress cleaned already.” He handed her the clothes again, and this time she took them. “I know they’re big, but I don’t have anything smaller. I didn’t expect you to stay the night so soon.”

Anna bit her lip. “Should I not have?”

Alex kneeled in front of her and cradled her cheek. “I am so very happy that you did. I am even happier that you’ve decided to stay with me.”

“Me too.”

Alex’s phone rang on the nightstand, and he reached for it. “Vati,” he said, looking at it. “Get dressed and I’ll take you to the apartment so you can get to class on time.” He answered the phone in German and stood to walk to the window.

After she pulled on the much-too-big clothes, Anna walked into the spacious bathroom. She searched through the drawers and finally located a comb to work through her hair and a hair band with golden blond hair tangled around it that matched Alex’s. He must have used it before he cut his hair. She washed her face as well as she could. Alex had good skincare items, but they were not designed to remove makeup.

Alex walked in a few minutes later and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Tomorrow you will have your own stuff here.” He kissed her cheek and turned her around. “Vati and Kurt arrived in the city a little while ago. They left Chicago as soon as the Funeral Gathering finished. They’re going to rest and then perhaps we can meet them for lunch?”

Anna bit her lip. The sting of hurt when she thought of Wilhelm and Kurt was still there. “If you’d like,” she said softly.

Alex cocked his head. “Anna, if you don’t want to, say so.”

She swallowed nervously and stared at his chest. “They... I know they didn’t do it on purpose, but they hurt me. The last time I saw your dad...” She sighed. “I know I should see them, but I don’t really want to.”

Alex tilted her head up and gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you for being honest with me.”

“You can go, though.”

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