All I Want is You

by Patricia Mar

  “He says he wants to come to our wedding, and I promised to invite him. I hope you don’t mind. I thought that if you’re allowing him to stay at your place you can’t actually hate him that much really… Right?”

  “You did the right thing. I’m not exactly over the moon about the idea of having him at my wedding, but agreeing to invite him was the right thing to do.”

  “He’s happy for us anyway.”

  “You mean that Giovanni is happy we are getting married? That’s a shocker!”

  “Oh, come on. I think he was actually being honest. Oh crap, it’s late – I’ve got to go.”

  “Yes, babe, go.”

  “Anyway, don’t be jealous, you’re the only man on earth, as far as I’m concerned,” chuckled Sara, feeling gratified. “No other naked man could ever charm me.”

  “Off you go now!”

  “I like it when you’re jealous.”

  “Sara!”

  “I love you.”

  “So do I.”

  “And if I meet Giovanni again, I’ll tell him you said hi.”

  Daniel didn’t have time to respond, because Sara hung up immediately. Frowning, he threw his smartphone down on the bed, then he tore off his shirt and flung it into the corner of the room.

  What the hell did Giovanni want from Sara? He’d never trusted him, and he trusted him even less now. Was he planning to play his stupid games with his fiancée too? But this time he wouldn’t let him. And she wouldn’t either. If he thought he could mess around with her, he had clearly underrated Sara: she was loyal, and she was in love with him. Daniel was absolutely sure of it, and the idea of Giovanni’s plans coming to nothing made him smirk. At the same time, though, he couldn’t help feeling jealous. Sara was right about that.

  Giovanni was just an itchy pimple that had suddenly appeared on his nose, an insect in his shoe, or a noisy neighbour. But how did he dare harass Sara, and while she was at work? And what was that slimy move of inviting her out for lunch about? “To tell her some anecdotes about her fiancé” – yeah, right. He knew Giovanni’s tricks all too well.

  He ran his fingers through his hair while he walked over to the window, and leaned his forehead against the cold glass to try and calm himself down. He knew that he was over reacting, so why couldn’t he just laugh it off? Truth be told, Giovanni had never really bothered him that much. He had never seen him as a real rival, but just as a spoiled kid always trying to prove himself. Daniel knew Sara too well, and he had nothing to fear from her. She would never behave in a way that could justify his jealousy, but nevertheless the situation made him anxious. Giovanni had behaved very disrespectfully – he really shouldn’t have bothered her while she was at work. She was his fiancé, and even he had never dared distract her during one of her tours. And as if that wasn’t enough, Giovanni had even had lunch with Sara, while he’d had to spend the night trying to dodge a randy actress’s attempts at getting her claws into him.

  He punched an imaginary enemy in front of him and then dived into bed, where he lay staring at the ceiling. He had to find a way to calm down. What was he so worked up about anyway? He’d always had plenty of self-confidence. Why was he letting all this get to him all of a sudden? Had his brain stopped working? In a way, it had. Wasn’t jealousy just a form of madness? A condition that makes you lose control? Well, if it was true that the deeper you love someone the stronger your jealousy is, he was done for.

  He decided that he needed to make a phone call.

  “Yeah?” answered a sleepy and irritable voice.

  “Alessandro? Are you still asleep?”

  “Daniel? Is that you? Live from the Hollywood hall of fame?”

  “Shut up, idiot.”

  “What time is it in Disneyland?”

  “Ask yourself what time it is there – aren’t you supposed to be at the clinic now?”

  A deadly silence was all he could hear from the other end of the line until there was a sudden cry of “Shit!” and Daniel heard a thud, as though a man had just fallen out of a bed.

  “Are you still there?”

  “Yeah, pretty much…” replied Alessandro in a rough and distant voice. After some more banging about his voice was back to normal. “Great, I’m officially late, again. And I think I might have dislocated my shoulder, too. From the look of it, I very much doubt that I’m going to survive the day.”

  “Quit fooling around, I need you to do me a favour.”

  “Daniel, your concern for me is really moving, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you done?”

  “Yeah. You don’t seem to be in a particularly great mood, though,” he mumbled. Daniel heard the sound of water running.

  “Listen, could you go and see Sara tonight?”

  “Are you okay, Daniel? You call me early in the morning and ask me to go to your fiancée’s house in the evening… Why? Not that I don’t like her, you know that I adore her – platonically of course.”

  “I’m just a bit anxious. I just found out that Giovanni took her out for lunch.”

  “You mean your cousin? The same Giovanni who is currently occupying your house and is well known for being a poor excuse for a Latin lover?”

  “Yes, him.”

  “Is he the same one she caught naked in the shower?”

  “Alessandro, you’re just making it worse.”

  His friend burst out laughing. “You’re jealous as hell, right? Well, who would have thought it?”

  “It’s not funny.”

  “Let me see if I’ve got this straight: that poor woman has to share you with the rest of the female population of the world, but you’re the jealous one? Is that right? And are you so worked up just because your cousin had lunch with her? Isn’t she the very serious, self-controlled and deeply in love, Sara De Michele?”

  “Well done, now I feel like a total idiot.”

  “Well, you should, because you have absolutely no reason to be jealous.”

  “I know you’re right about her – he’s the one I don’t trust.”

  “And you let him stay at your place!”

  “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.”

  “Daniel, give me a real reason why I should risk being jumped on by Virginia.”

  “I just want you to go and check how she’s doing, what mood she’s in… Try and find out if Giovanni’s been to see her again.”

  “Great, I’ve just been promoted to spy in enemy territory. I’m so flattered that you trust me so much… I’m so honoured that I almost wish I was Giovanni instead of me…”

  “If you’re worried about Virginia, I can tell you that you shouldn’t be: she’s a sweet girl.”

  “Yeah, sweet like a time bomb. I’m not worried about her, I’m terrified of her.”

  “The thing I like most about you,” laughed Daniel, “is that you always manage to cheer me up. Just the idea that there’s someone so much worse off than me is reassuring.”

  “Hey, screw you!”

  “Thanks, but will you go and see Sara?”

  “Yes, though I’ll keep telling you to go screw yourself in my thoughts the whole time.”

  “Great, I can sleep more easily now.”

  “You should be able to sleep easily even if I didn’t go and see her: you’re about to marry an angel, don’t ruin everything by being stupid.”

  “Ok, Dad.”

  “Fine, enough of this dumb conversation.”

  “Ok, but before you go, just tell me how Spank’s doing!”

  “She’s doing great, don’t worry. You know how much she likes me, and she gets pampered, loved and fed every day.”

  “Kiss her for me, and tell her that her daddy will be back in three days.”

  “I will.”

  “Thanks. I’ll speak to you tomorrow, then. Call me, okay?”

  “Ok, boss,” he said, and they both hung up.

  A smile of satisfaction appeared on Daniel’s face. He couldn’t do anything himself at the moment, since he
was so far away, but he could trust Alessandro to keep an eye on the situation for him.

  He realised that he was being irrational and crazy and he knew it was just jealousy, but he was too much in love with Sara to let Giovanni play his stupid games with her.

  21

  The Spy Who Came in With a Pizza

  Sara had been home for a couple of hours already and, after a much needed shower, she was now engrossed in reading a book by Lisa Kleypas which allowed her to fantasise about far away, mysterious lands in the distant past. She really needed the distraction, because the idea that Daniel might move to Los Angeles without her was unbearable. Sara loved him desperately, but she wasn’t ready to give up her whole life to follow him anywhere he decided to go: she wasn’t sure that making a decision like that would be good for her.

  A life lived in his shadow didn’t exactly sound like a dream come true: she was a control freak, and moving abroad with Daniel would mean losing control over every single aspect of her life. She was worried that such a big change might end up driving her crazy. She imagined finding herself in a reality where she didn’t belong, living like a pet – the pretty wife who’s always by the side of her important husband. Maybe she was being too negative, but for her, the idea of losing herself and living only for her love for Daniel, without any personal goals or achievements, was just plain terrifying. She was also ashamed of her thoughts, which felt like they might be a symptom of more serious doubts she had about their relationship. Fears that implied Daniel could at some point turn into a different person from the one she knew – someone she wouldn’t like. But Daniel was the man she’d always dreamt of, her one great love, who made her feel unique and precious. She was worried that her attempts at holding on to her life would eventually end up driving a wedge between them. Was she willing to risk losing him just for the sake of feeling like she was in control? Or should she just sacrifice herself for him and then decide if she’d made the right choice afterwards?

  A decision like that was really hard to make, but she knew she had to, given that she had agreed to marry him. Becoming husband and wife meant living their relationship with a deeper commitment, and that was something she very much wanted. The problem was that when Daniel was far away, her fears seemed to explode and he was the only one who could make all her doubts disappear; his smile was enough to make her forget about all her negative thoughts and feel like a happy and satisfied woman again.

  “Well, you certainly seem perfectly normal!” said Virginia quite loudly. She was leaning towards her and her mouth was about an inch away from Sara’s face.

  “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  “Well, either that book is absolutely amazing or you’ve gone completely deaf. I was talking to you for about five minutes but apparently you didn’t hear a word of it!”

  “You’re always talking, Virginia! I’ve had to learn how to ignore your voice because I didn’t want to end up strangling you out of desperation.”

  Virginia snorted, then straightened up and put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to get a takeaway. The fridge is as empty as nun’s boudoir.”

  Sara laughed. “How do you think up these analogies?”

  Virginia smiled with amusement and picked up the phone. Right at that moment, the doorbell rang. “If it’s a door to door salesman, I might get violent,” said Virginia, going to see who it was, “I’m way too hungry to deal with them.”

  “Poor them,” said Sara, craning her neck to try and see who it was.

  Suddenly, she heard Virginia screech loudly in surprise and then say “I can’t believe it!”

  Who was she talking to? “Look who’s here!” said Virginia, finally reappearing. “It’s the pizza delivery guy!” She was smiling from ear to ear and seemed to be struggling not to actually start jumping for joy.

  Right behind her was Alessandro, holding three steaming hot pizzas. “Surprise!” he said.

  Sara put her book down on the sofa and stood up to help him. She took the pizzas from him and greeted him with a kiss on his cold cheek. “What a lovely surprise! How did you manage to get through the front door of the building?”

  “I met Signora Gina by the main door. She said she’s a friend of yours. A really nice lady… Anyway, I was just passing and I thought that seeing as it’s dinner time…” He didn’t know how to go on and blushed. Virginia approached him from behind and yanked his jacket off. “Give this to me!” she said, and took it to another room.

  Sara put the pizzas on the table while Alessandro stood looking around. “What a lovely apartment you have,” he said, “it’s really cosy.”

  “Thanks,” said Virginia, “it is, isn’t it?” Then she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the kitchen. “You must have read my mind. I was about to order some food for dinner, and these delicious looking pizzas are just what we needed!”

  “Well, I’m glad that I was in the right place at the right time,” said Alessandro, pulling at the collar of his shirt as though he were hot.

  Sara observed the pair of them in silence, trying her best not to laugh. Poor Alessandro, he was really uncomfortable around Virginia and she looked happier than ever.

  He was slightly shorter than her, and by the looks of it, it made him a little uncomfortable.

  “Do you wear high heels when you’re at home, too?” he asked, looking up at her.

  Virginia lifted a foot up to show him that all she was wearing on her feet were a pair of very comfortable anti-slip socks. “That must mean that you’re much taller than me, I suppose,” Alessandro sighed.

  Obviously not noticing his tone, Virginia took his arm happily and said, “I wouldn’t say much taller – just an inch or so. I’ve always been a giraffe, and when I was a kid I used to be really embarrassed about it, but nowadays I’ve stopped caring.” She looked very happy, and her good mood was probably due to the simple fact that Alessandro was there.

  Virginia had a huge crush on Alessandro, Sara realised. When he was around her eyes shone, and they did actually look quite cute together. She also knew Alessandro well enough to understand that he was trying to keep his distance, though. For whatever reason, he wasn’t interested in her, which was a shame, because he was a nice guy and her sister deserved to have someone like him in her life.

  Virginia let go of Alessandro’s arm and went over to the fridge. “What do you two want to drink, coke or beer?”

  “Coke!” replied Sara and Alessandro in unison, then they all sat down on the stools and tucked into their pizzas.

  The evening passed quite pleasantly. From outside they could hear the noise of a storm, and from time to time the windows would tremble with thunder while flashes of lightning lit up the whole apartment.

  The relaxed, familiar atmosphere made Sara miss Daniel even more than usual. Virginia, instead, was on fantastic form, and seemed to be giving off waves of positive energy. She was trying to get Alessandro’s attention by showing him the most upbeat side of her personality, telling jokes and not hiding her intelligence. She was such a great girl, how come that idiot had managed not to realise it?

  “So, Sara…”

  “Yes, Alessandro?”

  “I hear that you’ve met Giovanni, Daniel’s cousin?”

  “Yes I have – and it was a pretty memorable meeting…”

  “She met all of him,” intervened Virginia with a laugh. “She probably even saw his tonsils…”

  Alessandro laughed too. “Yes, Daniel told me about the shower…”

  “God, I was so embarrassed. I actually thought he was a thief at first… but then it occurred to me that thieves don’t usually have a shower in the houses that they’re robbing…”

  “Is he still staying at Daniel’s?”

  “Yes, as far as I know. He’s waiting for the work in his apartment to be finished, apparently.”

  “Right,” Alessandro said thoughtfully, while chewing some of his pizza’s edge. “What’s he like? Is he really as arrogant as Daniel makes out?�
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  Sara suddenly tapped her lips thoughtfully with her forefinger and then suddenly exclaimed, “I don’t believe it!”

  “Don’t believe what?” asked Virginia, taking a sip of her coke.

  “You weren’t just passing by…”

  Virginia’s eyes opened wide and she looked back and forth at the two of them.

  Alessandro lowered his head. “I was feeling a bit lonely and…”

  “Alessandro!” said Sara in an angry voice.

  “Ok, you’re right. I didn’t just happen to be passing here by chance.”

  “You wanted to see me, admit it,” said Virginia with satisfaction, leaning towards him.

  “No!” cried Alessandro, shaking his head. His face was bright red. “It’s nothing to do with you!”

  Virginia jerked away as though she’d been burned and forced herself to smile. “Relax, I was just kidding.”

  Sara could tell how disappointed her sister was, though. “He’s here to investigate, Virginia.”

  “I told him that I suck at being a private detective, but he wouldn’t listen. Please don’t tell him you busted me though, I need to protect my dignity – and my neck…”

  “Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?” asked an annoyed Virginia, a sudden peal of thunder making her request sound even more angry.

  “I told Daniel that Giovanni came to see me during one of tours and that he took me out for lunch. Daniel wasn’t happy about it so he asked Alessandro to come find out if anything else had happened… Am I right?”

  “Women are just smarter than men – that’s why I steer clear of them.”

  “A man’s life without a woman – without the right woman – is just boring, monotonous and pointless,” said Virginia bitterly.

  “You’re wrong: it’s actually calm, happy and serene.”

  Virginia gave a disapproving smirk and then fell silent.

  “But listen, Sara, don’t get mad with Daniel. The two cousins have always had a very adversarial relationship. He trusts you totally, he just doesn’t trust him at all.”