Or were they really gone?
She’d come to say goodbye.
But she couldn’t.
Because she suddenly realized the people she loved were still here, in her heart. In her memory. She could feel her parents’ love, all around her.
Love never died. Even her love for Alex, regardless of their divorce, would always be a part of her heart.
Rosalie looked up at the sky. “I will do everything I can,” she whispered to her parents. “For you. And Oliver will know how much you would have loved him.”
She couldn’t sell. She had to stay. It was what her parents would have wanted.
No. It was what she wanted.
Turning as she wiped her tears, she saw Alex standing quietly behind her.
Was he a dream? He had to be. Because Alex Falconeri couldn’t possibly have come across half the world on a ship in a single day...
“Rosalie,” he said huskily, coming forward. He stopped when he was just two feet away from her.
“What? How?”
“I took a plane.”
“A plane?” she gasped.
“I couldn’t let you go.” Taking her into his arms, he looked down at her, his dark eyes intent. “I’ve been waiting here for you. Because I knew you wouldn’t sell. Not without coming to say goodbye.”
“How did you know?”
“Because I know you.” Alex gave a crooked smile. “I know your heart. And you would want Oliver to see your home. You’d want to know you’d faced it.”
“You knew that?” Rosalie hadn’t been sure herself that she’d be brave enough.
“You’re the strongest person I know.” He cradled her cheek. “When you left Italy yesterday, it nearly destroyed me. All I want is to be the man you deserve. The man you fell in love with. So I got on a plane to tell you.” He paused, then said in a low voice, “Loving you gave me courage.”
“What?” she said through numb lips. “What did you say?”
Alex smiled down at her. “I love you, Rosalie.” He ran his hand through her dark hair. “It took losing you for me to realize how stupid I’ve been. And talking to my cousin...”
“You spoke with Cesare?” she said, astonished. At his nod, she added, “I thought he was your second cousin?”
“A cousin is a cousin.” He grinned, then sobered as he took her hand in his own. “And family is family. I thought I didn’t have the capacity to love because my parents hated each other. But the truth was, I was just afraid to care, after losing everyone I cared about. I was a coward.”
“Coward?” She looked up at him in shock. “You got on a plane.”
“I couldn’t lose you. That’s the only thing that made me brave enough. I’d face anything, do anything, to win you back. I want to be your family, Rosalie. Not a stranger.” Looking at her, he whispered, “I want to give you everything.”
Trembling, she looked up at him.
“But am I too late?” Alex’s soul was vulnerable in his dark eyes. “Have I destroyed any chance to win you back, to love you forever? Can you ever forgive what I’ve done to us?”
With a choked sob, she lifted up on her toes, autumn leaves crunching beneath her boots as she cupped his unshaven cheek.
“There’s nothing to forgive. You’re mine, as I am yours. My friend. Lover. Partner. Husband.” Glancing down at their baby in the stroller, she smiled through her tears. Looking up at Alex, she said, “I love you.”
“I’m so in love with you, Rosalie—” With an intake of breath, Alex pulled her to him tightly. And as he lowered his lips to hers, to ravage her in a kiss, Rosalie heard the birdsong and soft sigh of the wind through distant trees, and she knew that, beneath the ash and ruin o