Cain shut the lights off and got himself comfortable on the chair while I curled onto the cot and closed my eyes.
Sly’s eyes were already closed, but I heard his soft laughter. “Whatever mia preferita wants, mia preferita gets.”
* * *
The room wasdark when I opened my eyes, roused from my sleep by the sound of a commotion in the hallway.
“Where is he?” a feminine voice shouted.
Though I was groggy and her voice was suppressed from the walls, I could hear the fear in her tone. A familiar sinking struck my heart…I knew how she was feeling.
Glancing over at Sly, I saw he was awake and had a dark, confused look on his face. I smiled at him, but he didn’t return it.
The nurse’s voice had my head turning back toward the door, which I then realized wasn’t closed fully.
“Miss, it’s past midnight. Visiting hours are between eleven and eight tomorrow if you’d like to come back then, but it's too—”
“I don’t care what time it is! I need to see him.”
“Vincenza?” I heard Sly mutter under his breath as he adjusted his bed to sit upright. He was staring at the door, his eyebrows creased together.
“Miss, please, if you just come back tomorr—”
“I’ve been on a plane for six hours.Please. Just for a few minutes, at the very least. Just to know he’s okay.”
There was a moment of silence in the hallway. I sat up a little straighter, hoping to hear what was going on.
“If you won’t tell me where he is, I’ll find him myself,” the woman seethed, and I heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway.
By this point, I was fully awake and sitting up on my cot as I looked toward the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman as she went by.
Only she didn’t walk by. Instead, when she snuck a glance through the small window, her piercing gray-blue eyes went round and she threw the door open.
“Sly!” she cried, rushing into the room.
“Vinnie?” he questioned as she crashed herself into him, her hands flying around him as best they could.
He pulled her closer, his hands immediately tangling into her long, dark hair.
She was absolutely stunning. Her dark chocolate hair was long, reaching her waistline, and hung down in loose curls. She wore a black peacoat that ended mid-thigh, with dark wash jeans and black ballet flats.
It was obvious to see that she was the one Sly held so deeply in his heart.
“Vinnie, what are you doing here, amore mio?” he asked, pulling back to look at her. His hands encircled her face, and he brushed the hair away.
“You honestly think I wouldn’t hear about you being in the hospital, Sly? As soon as I heard, I got on a plane.”
“Vincenza, your family. Do they know you’ve come?”
She sat on the edge of his bed and softly rested her left hand on his chest. Dim light from the hallway shimmered off the enormous diamond ring on her finger.
She shook her head softly. “If they haven’t figured it out already, it won’t take long now.”
“Do you know the risk you’ve taken to be here?” he asked, pulling her to him again.
Her head rested on her chest, and from my cot I could see her eyes close. “You’ve always been worth any risk, Sly.”
Tears sprung to my eyes, feeling guilty for witnessing such an intimate moment between these two star-crossed lovers, but also feeling so, so grateful that this woman had gone to such lengths to get here for him.
