The Thrill Of Your Love

Chapter Thirty Nine

• Six Months Later •

The morning light filtered through the mesh curtains of Terzo and Alice's shared room, casting a bright glow over the bed where they lay tangled in each other's arms. It was finally the day of their wedding, a beautiful summers day they had both eagerly awaited and meticulously planned for months. One of the things they had decided was that they would defy the tradition of sleeping separately the night before; the thought of waking up alone on such a special morning felt wrong to both of them.

Alice stirred first, her eyes fluttering open to find Terzo still asleep beside her. His face was relaxed, his usual grin and boisterous, teasing self replaced by a soft, peaceful expression. She smiled, her heart swelling with love as she reached up and gently brushed a lock of dark hair from his forehead, pressing a tender kiss to his cheek.

"Terzo." She whispered excitedly. "Wake up my love. Today's the day."

He stirred slowly, a contented smile spreading across his face as he sleepily blinked his eyes open to meet hers. He let out a rattly a hoarse groan beneath his breath, stretching his arms above his head, stretching away the tiredness from his muscles.

"Buongiorno la mia moglie bella." He murmured lazily, his voice thick with sleep as a smirk tugged at his lips.

"Not just yet." She grinned, leaning in to kiss him softly, savouring the warmth of his lips against hers. "But soon." She teased, pulling back and whispering as she hovered closely above his lips.

He chuckled and pulled the back of her head close again, deepening the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her, forcing her to roll on top of his bare chest. For a moment, they simply held each other, lost in the blissful peace of the summer's morning bird songs and each other's lips.

"How do pancakes sound amore?" He murmured, looking down at her sleepy state. He absentmindedly ran his fingers along the length of her sides as she rested on top of him, clinging to him like a teddy bear whilst her cheek lay gently against his shoulder.

"Amazing." Her eyes lit up, a small smile tugging at her lips as he sat up, lifting her and carefully placing her back into the comfortable mess of sheets. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

"You go sit out on the balcony and soak up some morning sunshine bella." He spoke softly as he pulled a pair of pyjama pants on. "I'll bring them out for you."

"Thank you Terzo." She smiled, blushing as he winked and disappeared

She slipped on her robe and padded out to the balcony, the cool morning air refreshing against her skin. The view from their balcony was nothing short of breathtaking, the garden below blooming in vibrant colours in the sunshine, whilst the Italian countryside, made of luscious green fields, stretching out for miles.

Then a few minutes later, Terzo emerged, a triumphant grin on his face as he carried out a plate stacked high with heart-shaped pancakes. They were golden brown, perfectly fluffy, and drizzled with rich chocolate sauce and fresh strawberries he'd cut to perfection. The sight of them took Alice's breath away.

"Terzo, they're beautiful!" She gasped, her eyes wide with delight. She couldn't believe how perfect they looked as he set the plate down in front of her. "How the fuck did you make them into such perfect hearts?!"

"Ah, cara." He belly laughed, a bright grin filling out his features. "You have no idea the hardship I went through. I've been practicing them for two weeks. The first attempt looked...well, more like a crime scene." He shook his head and sat down beside her, leaned into her as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "But only the best for you, cara mia." He smirked and picked up a fork, cutting off a small piece of pancake and holding it up to her lips. "Open up." He teased making Alice giggle, opening her mouth as he fed her the first bite.