Page 194 of Play of Love
Evie rushed over to her, throwing her arms around her for a rejoicing hug. Tears were in her eyes too. I watched them and saw the happiness that emitted from them, from the two women I loved most in my life.
Love.
I wasn't even thrown by the thought. Of course, I loved my grandmother, but Evie wow... love was only the beginning of the way I felt about her.
Her belief in my grandmother was enough to make her get on a plane and go to Italy with nothing more. There weren't many people who existed like that these days.
Grams came over to me and hugged me.
"I don't know what I would have done without you and Evie. This wouldn't have been possible." She smiled up at me.
"Anything for you Grams." I told her.
"Thank you, my sweet boy." She hadn't called me that in years. I smiled at her as she reached up and ruffled my hair. "It's been a crazy time hasn't it? I'm sure you can't wait to get back to your lives. To have normal again." She chuckled.
That should have sounded like the most wonderful thing ever. It had indeed been a crazy, stressful time. Normal should have sounded great, after nearly two weeks on this wild goose mission not knowing where it was going to lead. But her words gripped me and flagged themselves to me.
Normal,actually didn't sound good at all to me. In my normal Evie didn't even exist. I lived in my bachelor pad in L.A, trained five times a week for six hours a day and did my best to be the star quarterback I used to be before my accident.
The star quarterback with all those admiring, loyal fans, and teammates. It meant nothing to me now. Not if I would be leaving the one woman who'd managed to make me feel like this. As if I'd always have happiness and everything that was good in this world if I had her.
I looked over at Evie and saw the wide-eyed look on her face. She looked like how I felt.
* * *
Evie
* * *
I wasn't ready to be without him. I wasn't ready. I was ecstatic for Lucy, thoroughly overjoyed and happy that Angelo was alive, but I never thought about the part where finding him would signal the end of our journey. It would mean going back to the world where I lived in New York, and Gage lived in L.A.
In that world, I hadn't seen him for five full years and even when I saw him before that it was just in passing.
Normal for me was not seeing him. Normal was...
My heart ached at the thought of it.
My heart ached, and there was a hollow feeling inside, but I had to be realistic.
Gage played for a national team, and he was busy all the time. Lucy didn't even see him as often as she wanted, what room was left for me?
As Lucy said we could go back to our normal lives, I looked over at Gage and saw the uneasy expression that washed over his face. Then he looked at me, and it seemed that he was thinking the same thing I was. I could tell he was, from his eyes.
I had never been in love before, but I knew I was now. I was certain of it. Love stared me right in the eye and waved itself to me every time I looked at him. Gage held my mind, body, and soul. They were all his. Treasured keepsakes of me. No one had to tell me that I'd only ever feel this way about him and no other. I knew. But what control did I have over our lives?
I tried to keep my worries at bay while I listened to Lucy and Vanessa talk. The whole incidence of all that had happened was one of excitement and wonder. From Lucy receiving Angelo's letters, to where we all were right here and now.
Vanessa explained that her caretaker had gotten in touch with her yesterday and told her about Lucy.
On hearing that she came straight here and informed Lucy that Angelo was very much alive and living in Bacoli, a city on the coast of Naples. He lived there with his family, and he still painted.
Lucy switched between tears of joy and tears of sadness, particularly when Anna was mentioned. Anna had sadly, died a couple of years back.
Vanessa practically filled us in on what had happened over the last seventy years, and of course, the plan now was to take the near seven-hour journey to Bacoli tomorrow. It was understandable that Lucy didn't want to wait another minute before she saw Angelo. I would be the same too if it were Gage.
We all talked for a long time, Gage and I took the first chance we got to excuse ourselves so we could spend time together. I went back to his room deciding it was where I would stay for their last night here. We both knew that in a few days everything would change, going back to how it used to be.
When I woke up in the morning, he was already awake, lying on his back staring up at the ceiling, looking troubled. It was just after six.
