Sophia’s POV
Morning arrived softly.
Not with noise.
Not with urgency.
But with a kind of quiet light that slipped through the curtains and settled gently across the room… like Venice itself was trying not to wake me too harshly.
I was still half-asleep when I felt it…
Warm fingers brushing lightly against my arm.
Then a voice.
Low.
Familiar.
Close.
“Sophia…”
I stirred slightly.
Brows pulling together.
Still caught somewhere between sleep and waking.
“Sophia, wake up.”
I blinked slowly.
The world came back in soft pieces…
The ceiling.
The sheets.
The faint scent of him.
Colton.
I turned my head slightly and saw him sitting at the edge of the bed, already dressed.
Not fully formal.
But neat.
Put together.
Like he had already been up for a while.
“Morning,” he said
