"No, don't bother Mara about this, she has so many things going on," Chiara said. "I certainly don't mind if your mother doesn't mind?" She looked over at Ellie, who shook her head.

The three Penningtons and Chiara had been put in adjoining rooms, and each room only had one bed in it. The beds were massive, but it meant that Chiara would have to sleep with one of them. No one asked which Pennington she wanted to share with, it was just too touchy a subject; Drew had simply offered to ask Mara about it. Judging by her response, obviously Chiara wanted to share with Ellie.

"I don't mind, love," Ellie told her with a smile. "It will be like when I was a teenager and shared a room with my sister, we'll have a grand time, won't we?"

So the women took their luggage into the other room, which was joined to the boys' bedroom through a Jack and Jill bathroom. Chiara was fairly certain this wasn't part of the villa's original architecture. Someone must have spent a fortune remodeling the interior while keeping it up to the code of the historical site. It was stunning inside. There was a huge staircase in the front foyer that split in two and climbed both sides of the wall to feed two wings of the villa. There was a central courtyard that was surrounded on all four sides by the massive walls of the centuries old building. Chiara could easily and happily have spent weeks wandering the grounds and examining everything that was growing there and never have covered the same ground twice.

"Ellie, you know that LeeAnne was engaged to--to Drew for a few weeks?" Chiara's voice was hesitant. She knew this wasn't one of Ellie's favorite topics.

Ellie turned around from where she was putting some clothes away in a drawer.

"Yes?"

"What would you have done when you found out the sleeping arrangements? You know Drew refused to sleep in the same bed with her?"

Ellie sighed and shut the drawer. "I don't know. This would've been a classic case of him making his bed and having to lie in it, I suppose, because I certainly wouldn't have slept with her, and no way in hell I'd have let Noah sleep with her."

Ellie still didn't know about what LeeAnne had done to Noah, and everyone had agreed that maybe she didn't need to know.

There was a tap on the door and Drew stuck his head in. "Ready to go look around? There's supposed to be a lunch laid out in the courtyard, and I thought we could go for a walk? Noah's out cold in our bed, so he won't be joining us, I reckon."

Ellie covered a yawn. "I'll wander down in a bit, but I'd like a bit of a lie down myself. I know it's ridiculous to be tired, that it's only a one hour time difference and everything, but plane travel always exhausts me."

"I don't think it matters, I believe the lunch is a buffet thing that will be set out all day." He looked at Chiara. "So it's just you and me, then. You want to go?"

Chiara nodded. "Let me change, though, okay? I feel like I smell like airplane. I'll go to your room in five minutes."

Drew had to be careful not to stare when Chiara entered his room at the appointed time. She had changed into a cornflower blue sundress that brought out her eyes, with white saltwater sandals that showed off her pretty, tanned legs.

"You look very pretty," he risked saying as they went down the stairs together.

"Thank you," she responded with a smile, dimple popping. "You look nice, too."

Drew was wearing khaki shorts with a teal polo shirt and boat shoes, and had his dark curls pulled into a pony tail.

They found the center courtyard, where Mara and Luke were hosting the open buffet to about fifty people.

"You made it!" Mara cried, dashing over to hug them. "Where are your mum and Noah? Your rooms okay?"

"Resting, they'll be down in a bit," Drew told her.

"Our rooms are beautiful, and this place is stunning," Chiara added.

"Is it okay if we go for a walk after we eat?" Drew asked.

"All the land and the trails along the lakefront are public access, Luke informed them. "If you walk far enough, you'll come to George and Amal Clooney's property, or so the rumor has it."

So they loaded up their plates with pasta, olives, tomatoes, and too many kinds of fruit to count, and sat for over an hour, as Drew caught up with old friends and made some new ones. He introduced Chiara to everyone as a "friend" of his, Mara's and Luke's.

"Well," he said, after they'd filled and emptied their plates two or three times, "you ready to go and walk off all that amazing food we just consumed?" He held out his hand.

"I think I need a forklift to get up, though," Chiara laughed as she rose from the table. She took Drew's hand they walked away together, heading off toward the lake.

"Oh my god, Drew, have you ever seen such a beautiful place in your life?" Chiara asked rhetorically as they caught sight of the water and mountains. "I'm so glad I came!"

"I'm glad you came as well," Drew said with a laugh, swinging her hand where he held it.

They walked hand in hand in silence for a while, passing other people in either direction.

"Chiara?"

"Mm?"

"Do we have a chance?"

She looked at him, a question in her eyes.

"You know, a chance to get back to where we were before all the mess of the last few months happened to us." He squeezed her hand. "Can you ever forgive me for lying to you like I did?"

Chiara bit her lips together and looked straight ahead as they continued walking and taking in the spectacular scenery.

"I understand that it wasn't your fault," she finally said. "I know that you were in a tight spot, and that you had no choice." She looked over at him. "But that doesn't change the fact that you did lie to me, for months."

"I know," Drew replied, nodding as he looked out across the lake. "That's why I'm asking. Because I still love you. I never stopped. I still want to marry you, and spend the rest of my life with you."

Chiara took a deep breath at his words. She stopped walking and gestured toward a pretty, wrought iron bench that was flanked by round flowerpots filled to overflowing with gorgeous red geraniums.

"Before you say anymore beautiful things like that, Drew, I should tell you something as well, I think," Chiara said, her voice filled with trepidation.

"Oh?"

She nodded, pulling the hand she held over to her leg and covering it with her other hand.

Chiara looked him in the eye, then looked away, and Drew was shocked to see that she was nearly crying.

"There's no easy way to tell you this."

"Well, out with it, then, because you're starting to scare me," Drew said with a nervous laugh.

"I'm pregnant."

Drew went completely still, sure he'd misheard her.

"You're what?" Shock had made his voice barely more than a whisper.

"I'm pregnant," she said again, her voice steady.

Drew took a deep breath and wiped his face with his free hand.

"Oh god, Chiara, shit--" he looked at her carefully. "Is it--is it Ned's?"

Chiara blinked at the unexpected question and stared at Drew.

"What? No! I never slept with Ned!"

Drew let out a breath that seemed to come from all the way down near his feet somewhere.

"It's yours, you wanker!"

And in spite of the surreal turn the conversation had taken, Drew couldn't help but laugh, a good, deep belly laugh that echoed out across the lake and made people turn to see who was making such a noise.

He finally got himself under control and asked, "But how? You were on the pill?"

"I know, but I guess I wasn't very good at taking it or something. I must've missed a day, or waited too long or something, because it failed, or I failed at taking it. It had to have happened the last week we were together, because I'm right at six or seven weeks, barely there, according to the doctor."

Chiara got serious as she looked at Drew.

"So, now that you know that, you still want to marry me and all that?"

Drew stared at the woman he loved.

"Of course! Even more so, if I'm honest. I think that's fantastic news! How could you even ask me that?"

Chiara shrugged. "I don't know. I was just worried that, you know, after all the mess with LeeAnne and everything, maybe you'd just, gone off babies and pregnancy and all that in general, I suppose."

Drew leaned in and kissed Chiara's cheek. "Well, I haven't. I mean, unless you have? You do want this pregnancy, right? You want our baby?"

Chiara squeezed his hand and nodded. "And you do too? Really?"

"More than anything."

They hugged each other fiercely, and Drew buried his face in Chiara's fragrant neck, kissing it over and over, so happy he felt like he could fly away across the lake if he had a mind to.

He pulled back so he could see her face, wiping her tearstained cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, a gentle action.

He leaned in and kissed her, their first kiss in months.

His lips were as soft as she remembered, the feel of his tongue just as sexy. Chiara grasped his wrists, moaning softly, tilting her head and opening up for him.

"Hold on," he said against her mouth.

"What?"

He stopped kissing her and leaned back as he reached into the neck of his shirt and yanked at something. It was a chain he was wearing around his neck. He'd broken it, and pulled it out, clutching something in his fist.

He opened his hand, showing Chiara the gorgeous ruby ring she'd picked out online all those months ago.

"I ordered it, and didn't want to send it back when it came," he explained simply. "Been wearing it here ever since, hoping someday I'd get the chance to give it to you."

He got off the bench and knelt in front of her.

"Will you wear it? Will you wear it and agree to be my wife and have our baby and never, ever leave me?"

Chiara looked at him her gaze softening as she wiped her eyes.

She nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I'll agree to all those things," she said, smiling the smile he adored.

He slipped the ring on her finger and leaned up to kiss her again, as they heard people clapping behind them.

They turned around to see that five or six people on bicycles had stopped riding to watch the impromptu proposal and applaud them. A young boy named Dieter had even had the presence of mind to take a picture of the magical moment, so Chiara gave him her number and he sent her the photograph.

"So, should we head back and tell everyone all our big news? About getting re-engaged and about the baby and everything?" Drew asked, pulling Chiara to her feet so he could hug her.

Chiara nodded, laughing as Drew spun her around.

"Not too much, please, or I'll throw up on you!" Chiara warned. "I feel sick all the time!"

"Is that what happened on the plane this morning?" Drew asked, concerned.

Chiara nodded.

"So, when are you due?"

"December third."

Drew grinned. "I can't fucking believe it!"

"Are you excited?"

"I'm so chuffed I feel like I'm going to float away!

"Chiara?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to get married here? Like Mara and Luke?" Drew put an arm around her. "You seem really taken with it here."

Chiara shook her head. "I want to stick to the plan and get married at Langton next year in the rose garden where we met. I think it's romantic."

"The place where you said I looked like hammered shit?"

"Yeah," Chiara laughed comfortably. "Exactly."

They walked back to Villa Azzurra to share their happy news with everyone, especially Ellie, who would probably be over the moon.

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AN: One more smutty chapter, then an epilogue, then finis, okay?