“I love you so much, Christina. I will never be able to find the words.” And he did look bemused.
“Let me teach you,” I suggested, loving the grin that lit up his face.
“Oh, please. Yes.”
And there I was, ready to rush mindlessly into a thrilling future, when something occurred to me. A deal-breaker for sure. “But I probably can’t have more children. I want all the cards on the table.”
His lips pursed as he thought. “All right. That is fine. We will play cards together too.” After another kiss that sealed the deal, he pulled back, all foolishness gone. “We already have Gregorio and Lexi. We don’t need more children, hmm? But we should probably try a lot. Just a scientific experiment. Don’t you think?”
When he wiggled a wicked brow, all rational thought fled. “Oh, yes. Yes.” I clutched the fabric of his shirt in my hands.
“Then it shall be so.” Marco fanned my hair over the prickly hay with his fingers. Delighted, the male kitten began playing with it. “And no more tight cornettos with your hair, please?”
I chuckled. “That’s going to be a lot of work in the morning.”
He twirled a curl around one finger. “Ah, I look forward to helping you, Queen Christina.”
I sat up so fast, I nearly smashed into Marco’s chin.
“What’s wrong?” He sat up on his elbows. The kitten backed off with a tiny meow.
“Nothing. I just hadn’t thought about that part. Crowns and all that. I wouldn’t have to wear one of those heavy crowns, would I?”
The weight of my wandering mind made me sink back into the straw.
“Don’t worry.” With a sigh, Marco stretched out next to me. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Okay then. That’s a yes.” I knew this man would make me laugh forever.
“And we must have the wedding soon.” His eyes sparkled.
“So, you’re a man in a hurry?” I played with the tab on his shirt.
“Yes. Strictly for the country.” For a second his straight face had me fooled.
“You stinker.”
Looking horrified, he sniffed the air.
“No, no. I am kidding. You are perfect.” And I kissed him just so he’d know this was true.
Epilogue
Reena
Holding Christina’s arms for balance, I crushed grapes under my feet. They felt squishy and weird, oozing through my toes. We kept hopping.
“My heels are starting to hurt,” I admitted. “We’ve been at this for fifteen minutes. You’re just tapping the grapes and I’m crushing them.”
“You’re right. This stomping stuff hurts. I don’t want to bruise my feet.” My friend laughed. Had I ever seen her this carefree?
A cool October breeze rustled the colorful fall leaves that stretched to the horizon like a crazy quilt. I could hardly believe that Christina lived here now. But how wonderful. I liked her new husband so much. Every once in a while, a welcome spray hit us from the fountain.
“We can stop.” Christina slowed her pace. “Marco thought this might be fun. You know, a memorable visit for you. Harvesting the grapes is a big deal here.”
“Yeah, I understand. Who knew a year ago that we would be crushing grapes for the harvest?”
Christina gave me a soft smile. “If we were back home, we’d be preparing for class or grading essays.” She gave the crushed grapes another thump or two.
