Page 68 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis
“You made most of it, so give yourself a standing ovation.”
She laughed. “Yeah, sure, but with your hands guiding mine.”
“What can I say, we’re good together.”
Our gazes remained connected, and I reached across the table, covering her hand with mine. “I’m glad you came with me.”
“Me too.”
We finished eating slowly, neither of us eager to start packing. But eventually, the sun climbed higher, and reality began to intrude.
“We should get ready,”she said ultimately.
“We should.” Yet neither of us moved. We sat there so long just being that we would end up arriving later than we intended.
She squeezed my hand and stood up. “Come on. We need to pack.”
Each item we folded and put away was a piece of the weekend disappearing. Naomi moved through the bedroom methodically, but I saw her pausing sometimes, touching surfaces, looking out the windows as if trying to memorize everything.
“You can come back,”I said, watching her fold the shirt she’d worn yesterday.
She laughed. “I can?”
“This is my house. You’re always welcome here.”
She looked at me, smirked, and nodded. “Thanks for the open invitation. I might just take you up on that.”
“I hope that you do.”
The car arrived at two-thirty with Luca behind the wheel. He helped load our bags while we took a final look around the villa.
“You will come back soon?” he asked in his careful English.
“I hope so,”I said.
“Both of you?”
I glanced at Naomi, who was studying the vineyard one last time. “I hope so.”
The drive to the private terminal was quiet but relaxed. Naomi sat beside me in the backseat, her hand in mine, both of us lost in our own thoughts. The Tuscan countryside rolled past, olive groves, cypress trees, and stone farmhouses.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“It is.”
“I understand why you fell in love with this place.”
“Tell me.”
She turned to look at me. “It’s peaceful. Quiet. You can just be yourself without all the noise.”
“Is that what you want? Peace and quiet?”
“Sometimes. Don’t you?”
“Sometimes I want peace and quiet. Sometimes I want noise and chaos and someone to share it all with.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
