She went downstairs to prepare breakfast in bed for Cristiano. Sabrina was already awake, sitting at the dining room table drinking coffee.

“There is some in the pot,” she said, standing. “Would you like me to make you some food?”

“Thank you,” Keira said. “That would be lovely.”

They headed into the kitchen together.

“We are going to miss having you here, Keira,” Sabrina said as she placed toast in the toaster and collected some mugs for the coffee. “It is so good for my son to have you. After Maria he was very sad. He almost did not take up the tour job. I am so pleased he did.”

“I am too,” Keira said, dreamily. How different things could have been had he not. “I’m going to miss you all too. You’ve been so welcoming. I wish I didn’t have to leave.”

“You can come back anytime,” Sabrina said with a smile.

The toast popped then, and she buttered it before placing it on the tray next to the coffee.

“Thank you, Sabrina,” Keira said, with deep feeling.

Sabrina patted her hand. “No, thank you, Keira, for making Cristiano smile again.”

Keira headed back upstairs and entered Cristiano’s room. He began to stir, so Keira put the tray down, then snuggled herself into the bed beside him. He murmured noises of happiness.

“Good morning, my Keira,” he said.

Keira propped herself up on her elbows and wiped the stray hair from his eyes. She kissed him deeply, tenderly, then smiled and replied dreamily, “Good morning.”

Cristiano’s hands stroked gently up and down the flesh of Keira’s shoulders and arms. “Are you looking forward to seeing Verona?” he asked her.

She shivered under the sensation. “I am. But sad to say goodbye to your family. I’ve grown very fond of them.”

“They’re wonderful people,” he agreed. Then he smiled softly. “How was your writing this morning?”

“Very good,” Keira said, feeling more confident than she had in ages about her work. “I think I will be able to finish in Verona. As long as there aren’t any rewrites to do.” She shrugged, thinking of Nina and her pedantically detailed line edits. “You never really know.”

Just then, Keira heard her phone ping, indicating an incoming email. She rolled out of Cristiano’s arms—in spite of his attempts to stop her—and snatched her phone up off the bedside table.

She saw that the email was from Elliot. She opened it eagerly. He’d been so supportive of her work recently she looked forward to seeing what he had to say about her latest offering.

Keira, I love this. This piece is even better than your Ireland one. I’m so relieved you decided to stay with us. Just one thing, I don’t know how Lance will feel about the direction you’ve taken the tone in this Florence part. Death isn’t the most romantic topic to talk about. He prefers things to be a bit more safe and fluffy. I’m not sure, but I suppose we’ll wait and see whether he thinks it’s too sinister.