Crave (Splendor Book 2) (67 page)

Tessa had thought to herself that she honestly didn’t mind whatever Ian decided to do. Whether they were on the road or staying at home, so long as they were together it didn’t matter. But she knew Ian must be weary after spending so many years of his career traveling, and she decided to fully support any decision he made about cutting back.

She was wearing a plum and white patterned cotton maxi dress with spaghetti straps, something she’d picked up from a street vendor during their trip to Hawaii, and she thought it was one of the most comfortable things she’d ever owned. Her feet were bare, as were her shoulders, and this time she did shiver a bit as the sun set a little further behind the horizon.

“I thought you might need this. At this time of the year the temperatures can drop quickly once the sun goes down.”

Tessa turned her head slightly and smiled at the sight of her handsome lover walking towards her. Like her, he was barefoot and very casually dressed in a pair of lightweight beige trousers, and a cream colored shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He hadn’t shaved since they’d arrived, though he had joked earlier today about how his mother would be sure to nag him about it when she arrived tomorrow.

Tessa had pouted playfully, caressing the dark stubble that made him look so incredibly sexy. “Well, I don’t want your mother to scold you, or be annoyed with me for encouraging you, so I guess you’d better shave tomorrow morning.”

She saw now that he was carrying two wine glasses, an opened bottle of red wine, and had her new silk crochet shawl draped over his arm. He had bought it for her this morning during their shopping trip.

Tessa accepted the shawl gratefully, draping it over her shoulders as he poured them each a glass of wine. It was a rich ruby colored Chianti that he’d bought at the winery in the adjoining town where they’d lunched earlier today. And even though the wine cellar here at the villa was already bursting at the seams with its stellar collection, Ian had wanted to buy a bottle to commemorate Tessa’s first visit to Italy.

“
Salute,”
they told each other simultaneously as they clinked glasses and sipped their wine.

“Would you like some cheese and fruit?” he inquired. “Luciana left a plate for us.”

“Maybe in a bit,” agreed Tessa. “After all, I saw what she has prepared for our dinner and I don’t want to fill up on
formaggio
.”

He grinned. “
Molto bene’, cara.
You see, your Italian is coming along quite nicely. You were actually able to speak to the shopkeepers and the winery owner a bit today.”

She shrugged. “I’ve still got a long way to go until I’m as fluent as you are.”

She’d been enthralled to hear him converse so easily with the owner of the winery in the language she had barely begun to learn.

“I’ve had a lot more practice than you have, don’t forget. You’ll get there, darling. Plus, you have an awful lot on your schedule these days between school, work, your cooking classes, and of course,” he added with a lascivious look, “your most important duty of all - taking care of your very demanding lover.”

She reached out for his hand and drew it to her lips. “That’s not a duty, my love. I think of it as a privilege.”

Ian’s eyes darkened. “Tessa. God, I’m not sure it’s possible to love you more than I already do, but when you say things like that I begin to wonder.”

“I love you, too. And I love being here in Tuscany with you, at this beautiful villa. As wonderful as all of the company’s hotels are - well, this is actually a home, isn’t it?”

He nodded, and traced a finger over her lips. “Let me guess. This is now your new favorite place in the entire world.”

Tessa laughed. “You’re very perceptive, aren’t you? But actually, I’ve come to the realization lately about what my absolute favorite place in the entire world really is.”

“And where is that, darling?”

She turned her cheek into his palm, pressing a soft kiss there, before gazing at him adoringly. “It’s wherever you are. Whether that’s San Francisco or Italy or London or anywhere else in the world. Wherever you are at that particular moment is always going to be the best place in the entire world to me.”

Ian stared at her with so much heartfelt emotion stamped on his handsome features that it made her heart ache. “There you go again,” he murmured. “Saying such beautiful things to me that I can’t possibly tell you how much it means to me. So I suppose I’ll have to try a different approach.”

Tessa tilted her head towards him in bewilderment. “I don’t understand.”

He smiled mysteriously, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “Do you know what day it is today, love?”

“Hmm.” She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “September twenty-something. I’m afraid I’ve lost track of time very quickly over here.”

“Well, I know exactly what day it is. It’s the twenty-third of September. And, to be more specific, it was three years ago today that you walked into my office and into my heart.”

Tessa stared at him in surprise. “Really? I mean, I knew it was this week sometime but I didn’t remember the exact date. But of course you’d remember. I’ve never seen anyone as amazing with details as you are.”

Ian shook his head. “Not with something like employee dates of hire. For example, I couldn’t even tell you what
month
of the year it was when Andrew started working for me, much less the exact date. But with you – well, it was still fairly early in the morning, I think just after nine a.m. I even remember what you were wearing - a little red dress with a black belt. You were easily the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, and I fell head over heels the first time I heard your voice.”

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “And I never guessed, never ever imagined that you even noticed me from day to day. I felt like a teenage girl with this huge crush on her favorite movie star. I never thought we would someday be together like this.”

“Sometimes fate can be cruel to us, Tessa. You’ve certainly had more than your fair share of that, after all. But then at other times fate chooses to smile fondly on us, like it’s doing right now. And I hope it will continue to do so for many, many years to come.”

They each sipped at their wine and gazed out at the landscape, now bathed in the soft glow of twilight. Ian drew Tessa to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist as they stood against the balcony of the terrace.

“There’s another occasion to commemorate today,” he said quietly. “At least, I’m hoping there will be.”

“What’s that?” she inquired teasingly. “I already know it’s not the anniversary of our first kiss.
That
date I do remember very well.”

Ian smiled. “As do I, my love. No, this is something new to commemorate. Hopefully to celebrate.”

As she watched wide-eyed, he dropped down to one knee, keeping her hand clasped in his. Tears were pooling in her eyes before he could even open his mouth to speak.

“Tessa. My darling. Will you take pity on this very old man you see before you and grant him the greatest honor he could possibly imagine - that of becoming his wife?”

The tears fell freely as she nodded, too choked up with emotion to do more than whisper, “Oh, yes. Yes. Yes!” And then, as he slipped a beautiful ring with a fabulous blue stone onto her engagement finger, she burst out, “And you are
not
old!”

He laughed and stood up, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her feet off the ground. “I think you’re my very own personal fountain of youth, darling. And you have just made me the happiest man of any age in the entire world. Now, tell me, do you like your ring? I had it designed especially for you.”

Tessa gazed down at the round blue stone surrounded by dozens of smaller round diamonds. The slender platinum band was also encrusted with pave diamonds. “It’s gorgeous, Ian. I love it. And I’m glad you chose a sapphire since they’re my favorite.”

“Ah, but it’s not a sapphire, love - it’s a blue diamond,” he corrected. “Very rare and very precious. Just like yourself.” He gave her a sweet, soft kiss. “It reminded me of your eyes. And also of that dress you wore the night of the Christmas party. The night when I finally had real hope that a moment very much like this one might actually happen.”

She pulled his head down to hers for a much longer, much deeper kiss. “I love you,” she breathed. “And I am so honored, so proud, that you’re going to be my husband. You’re the most wonderful man in the whole world, and I will do everything in my power to make you happy every single day of our lives together.”

Ian hugged her tightly. “And I love you, my darling bride-to-be. Speaking of which, do you recall when I told you during Julia and Nathan’s wedding that I had a very special place picked out for our own special day?”

She nodded, smiling. “It’s here, isn’t it? That’s why you were so mysterious. You wanted me to see the villa first. And yes, I love it here. I would love having our wedding here in Tuscany.”

He chuckled. “We might have a bit of a problem hosting so many guests here, though. And as beautiful as this place is, how much I’ve always enjoyed coming here, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind. Though it is very similar. Remember when we first drove up through the gates two days ago and you told me this place reminded you of somewhere?”

Tessa nodded. “Of course.”

“Well, I gave a great many photographs of this villa to Nathan and told him this was the feeling I wanted to capture when he came up with the designs for our new hotel in Napa. And while there are a number of differences, the entire resort is being built to resemble a Tuscan villa. And that, my love, is where I hope to make you my bride.”

She gasped in delight. “Oh, what a wonderful idea! I love it, absolutely love it! I know exactly what you mean now, why this villa looked so familiar. I was remembering all the drawings I’d seen of the new hotel. So we would hold our wedding there on the grounds?”

“Yes, that’s what I was hoping. Right now we’re scheduled to hold the grand opening the second week of June. My plan,” he added with a wide smile, “was to marry about a week before that time, so that ours would be the first wedding ever held in the place. And so that we would also be the very first guests to stay there as well.”

“That’s what you meant by another first. And I couldn’t think of a more perfect time or place to get married. Yes, absolutely. As usual, you think of everything.”

Tenderly, he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “One more thing I just thought of. Do you realize what other day this is, darling?”

Tessa arched a brow. “No, I can’t honestly say that I do. What day is it today?”

Ian’s eyes twinkled merrily. “It’s a Wednesday.”

The End

Dear Readers:

I hope that you enjoyed this second chapter of Tessa and Ian’s beautiful love story.
Crave
, of course, is the slight re-telling of the original novel
Splendor
, but with additional and revised scenes.

Up next is the third and final book in the Splendor trilogy –
Claim
– which is due to be released in late October or very early November, 2016. But while the trilogy will come to end, there will still be more of Tessa and Ian’s story to tell, in particular in the fifth book of the Inevitable series –
Serenity
.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, and for being as much in love with these two amazing characters as I will always be.

Best regards,

Janet

Website/Blog -
http://www.janetnissenson.com

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ADDITIONAL TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR

The Inevitable Series:

Serendipity (Book #1 – Julia and Nathan’s story)

Splendor (Book #2 – Tessa and Ian’s original story)

All You Need is Love (Book #1.5 – the Serendipity sequel)

Shattered (Book #3 – Angela and Nick’s story)

Sensational (Book #4 – Lauren and Ben’s story)

Coming soon:

Serenity (Book #5 – Sasha and Matthew’s story)

Stronger (Book #6 – Cara and Dante’s story)

The Splendor Series:

Covet(Book #1)

Crave (Book #2)

Claim (Book #3) (releasing November 2016)