Читать книгу Firefighter's Doorstep Baby / The Soldier's Untamed Heart онлайн | страница 47

The next morning after tidying up, bathing and dressing the baby, Mariella set off for Cristiano’s house. The road to the cottage was lightly traveled and easily navigated. However, it proved awkward pushing the baby stroller down the uneven graveled driveway.

The day was a copy of yesterday, sunny and balmy. Leaves had begun to change on some of the trees covering the hillside, bright spots of yellows and reds showed brilliant in the sunshine against the deep green of the conifers. She breathed the fresh air. What would it be like to live here year round? Nothing like New York where she’d been the past four years, with its concrete canyons and few open parks beyond Central Park.

Different from Rome, too. But that was home. Crowded, frenetic, yet comfortably providing all she really needed.

Rounding the bend, she saw the cottage. She studied it as she walked toward it. It was warm cream-colored stone, with a steep pitched roof of dark slate. The windows were wide with shutters on either side. It looked old, settled, perfect for its mountain backdrop. With an ageless look, it was hard to tell when it was built, but clearly a long time ago, she suspected from what she’d seen on the inside. He was lucky to have such a comfortable place to recuperate.

Cristiano was not on the patio this morning. She walked to the front door and knocked.

Cristiano opened the door a moment later and stared at her in surprise, then at the baby, his expression softening.

“What are you two doing here?” he asked, smiling at Dante.

“I came to take you up on your offer to use your computer. I need to check in with my clients.”

“Come on in.” He opened the door wide and she pushed the carriage in.

“It’s dark in here,” Mariella said, stepping into the living room. “Why is it all closed up?”

He looked around as if seeing the heavy drapes pulled over the windows for the first time.

“It suited me.”

“How odd.”

“They help insulate the windows.”

“It’s not that cold.”

He stared at her a moment, then shrugged. “I’ll get the laptop.”