*Ava*
The light slants differently when I wake, golden and lazy, spilling through the slants in the shutters. I sit up slowly in Luca’s bed, the blanket still warm around me. From the other room comes the soft strumming of a lute. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and step into the hall.
Luca sits in a worn wooden chair near the hearth, his fingers moving over the strings in perfect rhythm. He looks up as I appear. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No,” I say, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “I needed to wake up anyway.” I hesitate in the doorway, then nod toward the lute. “That sounds beautiful. Will you play another?”
A smile curves at the corner of his mouth, and he looks adorably surprised. “You want a song?” He teases.
“If you have one to spare,” I flirt back.
He shifts, adjus
