Hello… This chapter is rather short because the next chapter is going to have a lot in it and also have some plot twisters. woooh.

I'm really busy now so bear with me.

Thankss… REVIEW

NICO

I woke up and found myself in the bedroom of my home in Italy. On the bed beside lay a dark headed woman who was still asleep.

I got out of bed and noticed that I as devoid of any clothing but I didn't care. I looked around the room and noticed a few differences; there was a vanity filled with make-up and other feminine products and this was beside my drawer of clothes which also held my colognes and other things.

That was odd; I don't remember adding a vanity to the room. And why were there so many female touches in the room? I noticed there were some pairs of heels arranged beside the vanity, one of the large wardrobes which had an open door contained dresses and bags.

I heard the woman groan, maybe she was the reason that all this stuff was here. Was she my girlfriend or my wife or something?

The woman lifted herself out of the bed and walked toward where I was standing. "Thalia?" I called out incredulously. She lifted her head and smiled at me slightly while stretching her naked figure demurely.

Doing that made two things happen; one, I got horny, again. And two, seeing her smile made my heart swell and then accelerate and my stomach grew unstable with butterflies.

"Hey, did you have a nice sleep?"

I pulled her into an embrace and nodded. The close contact of our naked bodies seemed to wake her up because she kissed me on the lips and soon things escalated and I found myself in bed with her.

It was different this time though, I wouldn't say it was just sex, it was more than that. I shifted her under me as we both drew towards the end and while I reached up inside of her I gazed into her eyes and let the fire continue to consume me. Even through all the panting, the passion in our eyes was still ardent and it flowed through each of us, using our intimate connection as a bridge. Right before I made her reach her peak I whispered into her ear, "I love you." She didn't seem surprised at all; nor did I feel like that was the first time I had confessed my overwhelming feelings for her.

As we came down from our ecstasy, she rubbed her palm along the planes of my face and face and whispered those same words to me. She still continued to rub my face and I noticed an object which felt like metal trailing up and down my face.

I took her hand in mine and there, sitting on the fourth finger of her left hand, was a very special ring.

I woke up with a start and looked around me. That was all just a dream.

I stood from my chair and tried to absorb everything that had happened within the frame of time in which I had fallen asleep. Had we been married in that dream or were we about to get married?

That ring on her finger was what surprised me the most.

I walked towards the bar to pour myself a drink. As I stood there sipping on my drink, I contemplated what life would be like in the next four years.

By then I would be nearing thirty and I would like to have a family. But was Thalia the kind of person I wanted to have a family with, or was I just infatuated by her and our great sex?

I turned back towards where we were seating and watched her sleep as the plane continued moving smoothly through the flight. I might as well talk to my father to make sure he has everything ready; the plane would be landing in a few hours and I didn't want to have all this time to myself to think.

I picked up my cell phone and dialled his number, "Hey Dad," I greeted.

"Nico, how are you my boy?"

"I'm doing well; we're on the plane on our way to you now."

"Finally, I get to see and spend time with my son after he ditched me over Christmas and New Year's."

"Dad, I didn't ditch you, besides you seemed to be pre-occupied with your new woman whom I still haven't met." I smirked.

My father switched languages to Italian now, "You'll meet her soon enough, besides I would like to meet the woman who encouraged you to ditch me, and if I'm correct, that woman is supposed to be your secretary."

I blushed slightly at his comment but replied also in Italian, "Dad, I already told you, nothing is happening between us."

"Nicolas Alessandro Di Angelo, do not lie to your father, I can hear you blushing. By the way, that background search has found some interesting informational leads. But nothing is certain, when it is I'll discuss it with you."

"Dad," I whined, "I'm not lying and I'm not blushing either!"

"Whatever you say Nicolas, remember, I don't care who she is or what she does, as long as you're a hundred percent sure she's legitimate you have my blessing. True love doesn't come to just anybody and it can be taken away very quickly, trust me, I know. Cherish your time with your soul mate, if and when you do decide to find her. Don't be ignorant; love can come from anywhere, at any time and by any means."

"Yes father," I knew my mother's passing really scarred my father and I'm not quite sure he ever got over it.

"Do you still have the necklace and the ring?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're locked up in the titanium vault." I reassured him.

"Good, you know the story behind that jewellery. Find your love soon so they can go to her."

"I will father, always."

We talked for a while after that but mostly about football and tennis. I also tried to guess who his new lady was by playing twenty questions with him but I didn't even get half way there.

Once I dropped the phone, I noticed Thalia was looking at me. I was startled for a second because I didn't even know she had woken up.

"Hey, how long have you been up?" I asked.

"About ten minutes," she responded with a smile and a voice still thick from sleep, "How much longer do we have before we land?"

"I don't know, I'd say about an hour and a half?" I answered.

"Great," she muttered. I heard her stomach grumble lightly and chuckled.

I stood up and walked towards the back of the plane, "Could I have the menus please, we're ready to eat." I asked the male air host who had been taking inventory.

"Right away sir" he replied,

He dropped what he was doing and pulled our two menus from a neat stack inside a drawer.

I took them from him and smiled graciously. I turned to leave and heard him say,

"I'll be right over to take your orders sir."

I looked back at him and smiled, "thanks a lot." And then I head back to where Thalia was waiting.

This time I took the seat opposite her and handed her a menu. "So, what would you like to eat?" I asked her with a smile. She returned the smile graciously and looked down to begin considering her options.

A few hours later, they were pulling away from the runway strip in a black town car. Nico had missed his home; he hadn't been to back to Milan since before Christmas.

Thalia looked out the window in awe; all she could think of was how beautiful it was here. As they got closer to the town centre she stared in awe at the narrow streets filled with people. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the Duomo Cathedral as they drove through the streets.

About thirty minutes after we passed the Duomo, we pulled up opposite my home. From the outside it looked the same as it had since I was last here.

I could barely control the smile on my face as I turned to Thalia who was standing beside me staring at awe at the building, and pulled her into the house. The house had been modernised over the years but there was a section that was dedicated to my mother, which had all her antiques artfully placed to suit her style. My father never redecorated but he always ensured that it looked absolutely spotless.

THALIA

We walked through the large anteroom into the even larger living room and I was in awe. The house was absolutely magnificent.

It had wide arches and polished marble floors. Around the walls there were large art canvases and some smaller pieces were scattered around. As I looked up I noticed the two very large chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling and if I was right, they were made of real diamonds.

A section of the opposite wall of the room was made up of French doors which led out onto a patio with what looked like a deck pool.

The grand staircase at the other end led up to a kind of balcony type view and when I looked up I noticed the figure of a man, who looked to be around his mid to late forties standing there looking down at me.

He started making his way down the steps and at this point, Nico had turned and begun walking towards the edge of the staircase.

I stood by the side watching as father and son had their reunion. It was nothing outwardly over emotional but I could tell it meant a lot to them. They spoke briefly in Italian and I took that time to observe the similarities between Pluto Di Angelo and his son.

They both had similar builds and heights. Nico had definitely gotten his eyes from his father and also his aristocratic face but their noses were quite different. Soon both men turned to me and I had the urge to squirm. I had never thought of what an angry Nico would be like and just looking at his father's expressionless face, I was sure I didn't really want to find out.

"Miss Grace, it is so nice to finally meet you. I have heard many good things about you" Mr Di Angelo said. His accent was definitely thicker than Nico's who only ever had a weird lilt on some of his words.

I smiled and held out my hand to shake him, "It is a pleasure to meet you too sir." He smiled and shook my hand warmly. He had a nice smile, like his son, but it wasn't the same.

"I take it you both had a nice flight?" he asked us both.

"Yes father are the rooms ready so we can go and freshen up,"

"Yes they're ready and I'll leave you guys to rest for the remaining day, I have a meeting I have to attend in a few minutes but tomorrow we will begin the presentations. I'll be having some guests over too who can help with giving an opinion."

Nico scrunched his face up, "Who?"

His father just smiled mischievously, "You'll see tomorrow won't you?"

At which point Nico groaned and his father chuckled, "See you tomorrow kids" he said as he walked out the front door.

I looked at Nico, "Your father seems really nice and your house is amazing."

He shrugged, "my mum loved to design and decorate so that's what you get. My dad is just my dad I guess." He looked down for a second then looked up again, "So, how would you like to go on a tour of the house and then of the surrounding area?"

I smiled and nodded, "Lead the way boss."