Seven Years Ago

"I want you to come and live with me,"

Vanessa dropped her book. "Y-you what?" She asked in utter shock.

She and Mason had been dating for two years now and this was a random demand. She had made it clear that she wouldn't do anything with him before marriage, and now he was asking about her living with him.

"I love having you around and seeing you every morning before I go to work would make me happy," Mason explained and sat next to her. He took her hand and kissed it.

"Mase," She murmured unsurely. "I-i don't know." She didn't want to make him unhappy, but she had morals.

He released her hand and moved away from her. "Vanessa, I love you and I want you to be with me. I haven't done anything wrong, yet you said no. That hurts," His eyes darkened showing how sad he was. It broke her heart.

She held his hand and sighed. "That's not what I wanted," She pressed a kiss onto his lips. "I-i just wanted to be married before moving in," She tried reasoning with him. The last thing she wanted to do was make him upset. "I'm so sorry,"

Mason gripped her waist and pulled her onto his lap. "You always like to make it seem like I'm a bad person. I love you and I only want what's best for you. If you trusted me, you would've known my intentions for having you here. It's what's best," He said sharply.

Her heart dropped. "I-i know, and I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I was being selfish. I love you, Mase." She didn't want him to feel this way.

He cooed in her ear. "I forgive you. I am always doing what's best for you, remember that." He kissed her cheek.

His forgiveness calmed her heart. She didn't ever want to lose him, he was the best man she knew.

-

Present Time

"You have to tell me what happened! I mean, you're floating around the house like a butterfly! Sit still and tell me about your date!" Eva whined while following after Vanessa.

She was so happy. It had been a very long time since she had been treated with such care and given so much attention. Reid was truly a special man.

She walked to the kitchen and grabbed two packets of goldfish. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting," She handed one pack to Eva and walked to the living room. "I'm just very happy. Thank you for your help," She said sincerely. "He was so kind." She mused. "Not one time did he interrupt me when I spoke, or look at someone else. Actually, we had a private room. It was so wonderful,"

Eva clapped and wiped her eyes. "That's so freaking awesome! I love that for you!" She cheered. "He seemed like a gentleman when I met him at work, he even left me a big tip. Like $113!"

Vanessa smiled at that. It was great that Eva liked Reid as well, she wasn't a huge fan of Mason, so having her like Reid was a big thing. "That was very kind of him,"

"So, did he kiss you? Did he say something sweet with that romantic Italian accent? Tell me!" Eva begged.

Vanessa laughed lightly. Eva was a nosy girl, but that's what she loved about her. "He kissed my hand at the end of our date, and he did say something in Italian, of course, I have no clue what it was," She didn't even care. He was so mesmerizing and everything he said was admirable.

"That's so cute! When are you seeing him again?" Eva asked with wide eyes. She was very excited.

Vanessa shrugged. "I'm not sure," She murmured. "I-i still have his jacket, he may need it," She added. She didn't want to keep his clothes away from him. It may be his favorite jacket.

Eva jumped up and ran down the hall. "I'm getting your phone! What if he called you?" She yelled while running.

"I'm back! He sent you a text like three hours ago! Omg! You need to respond!" She ran back to the living room and handed the phone to Vanessa.

Oh no. He was going to be upset with her for not responding quickly enough. Mason always hated when she was busy and couldn't respond to him. Her heart dropped as she braced herself for the overload of messages.

'Good morning, Vanessa.

I hope that you slept well,

Reid'

There were no other messages. Why hadn't he overloaded her with angry messages? She was grateful that he didn't, but it puzzled her.

Instead of focusing on old patterns, she responded to his message. She didn't want to make him wait any longer.

'Good morning to you as well!

I slept wonderfully,'

She sent the message and placed her phone under her leg. She had anxiety when it came to texting. No matter what the message said, she was still afraid to see it. Maybe Reid would snap and say something rude.

Suddenly, the phone began to vibrate under her leg.

Her eyes widened and she handed it to Eva. She didn't want to see who was calling her. It may have been Mason. She didn't want him to ruin her day with his rude behavior.

"Uh, I don't think that Reid would like to talk to me. I mean, he's calling you, so maybe you should answer," Eva suggested and handed the phone back to her.

She looked at the phone and Eva was right. It was Reid calling.

She pressed answer and walked to the kitchen.

"Hi, cara. I hope you don't mind my calling, I'd just rather talk to you than send messages," Reid's low voice made butterflies erupt in her stomach.

She leaned against the fridge and smiled. "No, this is fine," She answered softly. She was so excited to talk to him, a little nervous, but still excited.

"Perfect," He laughed, his laugh was very nice. "I'd like to see you again, are you free today?" He asked.

She was free. She was definitely free. "Oh, yes. I'm free today," She wanted to see him.

"Wonderful, cara. Could we meet downtown for lunch? If it's too soon, I'm not opposed to dinner,"

"I can do lunch," She twiddled her thumbs. She was nervous. He was serious last night when he said that he was forward. No time wasted.

"Grazie, bellezza." (Thank you, my beauty.) She didn't understand him, but he sounded grateful. "So you don't have to wonder, I will send you a message with the location and time. I have to go now, cara. I will see you soon,"

"Yes, see you later," She ended the call and squealed.

Eva ran into the kitchen. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked cautiously.

Vanessa beamed and crossed her arms over her heart. "I'm excellent," She sighed. "I'm seeing Reid for lunch,"

Eva jumped up and down. "OMG! That's so, like wow! Well, let's go get you ready!" She said and pulled Vanessa to her bedroom.

She didn't mind being pulled like a rag doll. She loved seeing Eva excited, so she could put up with being dragged around.

It was worth it.

-

Reid put away his phone and tried not to smile like a maniac. He just sent the location and time to Vanessa and now all he wanted to do was see her now.

"Buon Dio. Deve aver detto di sì," (Good God. She must've said yes,) Marco commented from the other side of the room.

Reid walked to the window and nodded."Sì, l'ha fatto. Amico mio, è davvero meravigliosa." (Yes, she did. My friend, she's truly marvelous.) He meant every word. She was a darling.

Marco snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh, lo so. Stai sorridendo come una noce, il che significa che è perfetta o l'hai ufficialmente persa." (Oh, I can tell. You're smiling like a nut, which means she's either perfect, or you've officially lost it.)

Reid walked away from the window and looked at some papers on his desk. The possible agreement with Hayes. "Lo è. Nessuno è perfetto, ma è quasi arrivata. Completamente imperfetta nella sua bellezza," (She is. Well, no one is perfect, but she's almost there. Completely flawless in her beauty,) He grabbed the papers and placed them in his drawer. He didn't want to think about Hayes right now. "E la sua personalità è una cosa che non ho mai vissuto. Molto gentile e silenziosa, la sua voce è leggera e aria." (And her personality is something like I've never experienced. Very gentle and quiet, her voice is light and airy.)

"Silenzio? L'opposto di te, Alreid. Forse mi piaci più di quanto tu mi piaci," (Quiet? The complete opposite of you, Alreid. You know, I may like her more than I like you,) Marco joked.

Reid was elated and Marco's jokes weren't even bothering him. "Se la incontrerai, sarai cattivato. E ha una bambina," (If you ever meet her, you will be captivated. And she has a little girl,) He wondered if her little girl was anything like her.

Most likely.

"Una bambina? Quanti anni ha lei? La madre Cioè," (A little girl? How old is she? The mother I mean,)

Reid didn't know how old Vanessa was, but it didn't matter. She was amazing. "La figlia ha quasi tre anni e non so quanti anni abbia Vanessa. Ma non importa. Conosce la mia età e mi vuole ancora," (The daughter is almost three, and I'm not sure how old Vanessa is. It doesn't matter though. She knows my age and she still wants me,)

He was getting up in age and the fact that Vanessa wasn't completely turned off when he told her his age was wonderful.

"Vero. Ma forse dovresti scoprirlo, non è cruciale, ma sono ancora belle informazioni da avere." (True. But maybe you should find out, it's not crucial, but it's still nice information to have.) Marco said trying to reason with him.

"Non è educato chiedere all'età di una donna, Marco. Tua madre avrebbe dovuto insegnartelo," (It's not polite to ask a woman's age, Marco. Your mother should have taught you that,) Reid pointed out and Marco pursed his lips.

"È abbastanza vecchia per essere laureata e lavorare come consulente finanziario. Di nuovo, per me non importa. Non dico che non dovrei avere un'opinione, ma al 53 anni non viene da molte belle donne che non vogliono i tuoi soldi." (She's old enough to have graduated from college and work as a financial advisor. Again, it doesn't matter to me. I'm not saying that I shouldn't have an opinion, but at 53 you don't come by many beautiful women who aren't after your money.) He knew that Marco was worried about the age difference, something that he wasn't blind to. It didn't matter to him.

"È autentica, Marco. Non sapeva nemmeno che esistessero Portalo Resorts e Hotels. Non vedo l'ora di saperne di più." (She's genuine, Marco. She didn't even know that Portalo Resorts and Hotels existed. I sincerely can't wait to know more about her.) He explained further. Vanessa was a magnificent woman and he was thrilled to see her again.

It was time for him to go now. He wanted to arrange some things for Vanessa, which meant he had to leave early. "Devo preparare alcune cose. Dopo pranzo, abbiamo una riunione con Hayes." (I need to get a few things prepared. After lunch, we have a meeting with Hayes.)

He pulled the agreement papers out of his desk and placed them on Marco's.

Marco shook his head and pushed them away. "Davvero? Sì. Devo andare? Sì. Hayes sta diventando un rompiscatole," (Do we really? Do I have to go? Hayes is becoming a pain in the neck,)

They were both getting tired of Hayes, but business was business.

"Sì. Sono affari, ragazzo." (Yes. This is business, kid.) He told Marco and walked out of the office.

He hoped that Vanessa would be wowed with their lunch date. Seeing her smile was like the eighth wonder of the world.

-

"These are beautiful, thank you, Reid." Vanessa beamed as she sniffed the bouquet of lilacs. "I'm really happy," She murmured.

Reid loved her smile. It was hypnotizing. "You're welcome, cara. It's only been a day, but I missed you," He wished that he could see her every day. One day, after a lot of pursuit, he would. He prayed. "Il paradiso è nei tuoi occhi." (Heaven is in your eyes.)

Vanessa laughed bashfully and placed the flowers on the table. "I missed you too," Her voice was so soft. It was more beautiful than a song. "You say things that I don't understand," She noted.

"Heaven is in your eyes, Vanessa," He translated for her.

Vanessa's lashes fluttered gracefully and her cheeks rose as a smile grew on her face. "Oh, wow. That's very nice of you to say,"

"It's the truth. Stop me if it's too soon, but I know that I want to be with you, cara." He was serious. There was no time to waste when it came to Vanessa. She was amazing and he'd be cursed if some other man came and swiped her away from him.

Vanessa's eyes widened and she began to stammer. "I, uh, I don't know. I'm," She tried to explain.

"I understand. It's too soon for you," He answered for her, but she shook her head.

"No." She whispered. "That's, that's not it. I feel the same, but I don't know why," She looked conflicted. "I want to be with you," She admitted cautiously. "Isn't it too soon to know already?" She asked seriously curious.

Reid shook his head and held her hand. "Oh, cara. As you grow and live, you learn that there is no allotted time for any feeling to come. You know when you know," He explained. "And I know that I'm crazy about you, but sane all at once." He laughed at the paradox.

Vanessa touched the lilacs and smiled. "You're wise, Reid."

"And you are lovely,"

-

Authors Note

Well....that escalated quickly😏

Reid said he isn't playing any games, and neither is Vanessa, which is surprising!

We got to see a little flashback and now we hate Mason even more! Yay! He's legit trash and Vanessa is too precious for him to treat her badly.

Your assumptions about Mason are accurate and also worst than you think.

Anywho, who wants chapter Seven? Stay tuned for Friday's update😉