Page 246 of My Italian Love Affair
Aboutus.
*
By the time the party starts thinning out around four in the morning, my legs ache from dancing and my eyelids weigh a thousand pounds.
Matteo's arm is slung around my shoulders as he leans heavily against me. His hair is a mess, his dress shirt half-untucked, and he’s wearing someone else’s sunglasses for reasons I can't even begin to explain.
"I’m so tired," I mumble as we step into the hotel elevator.
Matteo nuzzles my hair.
"Io anche,bella.”Me too, beautiful.“But worth it."
The elevator glides upward, and Matteo sways slightly beside me. I grip his waist to steady him.
"You'rethe one who scored three goals tonight," I say, yawning. "How am I more exhausted than you?"
"Emotional exhaustion," Matteo says sagely. "You were worried about me."
"I was," I admit.
He turns his head and kisses my temple.
"But I told you I’d win."
The elevator doors slide open, and we step into the hallway. Matteo fumbles with the keycard twice before getting it right.
The suite smells like cologne and clean linen when we stumble inside, and neither of us bothers to turn on the lights as we strip down to our underwear and collapse into bed without ceremony.
Matteo wraps himself around me immediately, pulling my back firmly against his chest and sighing with contentment. His body is warm and solid behind mine, his breath slow and even against my neck.
As my muscles relax into the mattress, my thoughts drift.
To the stadium. To the penalty.
To Matteo lifting the trophy.
To the look on Richard's face when I tell him I’m accepting the position.
Because I am.
I love this job, and I love it here.
And more than anything else, I love the man currently breathing softly into my hair.
My lips curve into a smile as sleep pulls me under.
I’m staying.
*
The faint hum of Matteo's phone vibrating on the bedside table wakes me.
I blink blearily at the unfamiliar ceiling, momentarily disoriented until the events of last night come rushing back.
The match. The penalty. The celebration.
Matteo’s lips on mine in front of half of Italy.
