Delicate

Chapter 66

HAVEN MCQUEEN

From the oval window to my right, I look down to see Florence peeking out from underneath a thin veil of white clouds, lightly rocking Lily in my arms to hopefully keep her asleep as we prepare to land. I was so nervous to take the babies on their first plane ride when we left Los Angeles last night, but they were surprisingly alright. I think they cried twice during the entire 13-hour ride for a total of about one hour, so I'd say that's pretty good.

In no way was I even expecting that we'd be on a plane heading to Italy either, but Harry surprised me at the last minute with not just the private jet ride but a new house. He impulsively bought a private home in a Tuscan seaside village amid lockdown, and impulsively booked our little family a flight to stay for the next couple of weeks.

For obvious reasons regarding the state of the world, I was hesitant to agree when he brought the idea to me. He was quick to remind me that the US already lifted restrictions to travel to Europe three months ago back in July, and we wouldn't be coming in contact with anyone apart from the flight attendant on our plane and the car that would pick us up at the private airport we're about to land at. Jeff arranged for the house to be thoroughly sanitized and cleaned prior to our arrival, and all we needed to do was have our groceries delivered just like we did at home.

Harry just wanted to do something special for our third anniversary after the difficult time he knew I was having with quarantine, and I couldn't blame him for that.

"Well, we made it," he smiles tiredly in the cream leather seat across from me.

"Wasn't too bad," I nod as Jack nuzzles his face into Harry's neck while he holds the back of his head to keep him steady for the slightly bumpy landing.

"I can't wait to stretch my legs," he mumbles, adjusting his mask over his nose when Jack pulls at it.

The flight attendant is also wearing a mask as she emerges from the cockpit to announce our arrival in Florence. To keep our distance and minimize contact, she lets Harry get our luggage when he offers, as well as our stroller and car seats.

As we step off the plane and onto the runway, it feels as though I'm coming up for air after being underwater and I don't think I'm alone in thinking that as we stop to stretch like Harry said. I know the twins must be happy to breathe in the fresh air and see the sun as we give them a minute to adjust from the plane as well.

The SUV that Harry rented is already waiting for us on the runway, but I stay outside to bounce the babies in my arms while he secures the car seats into the first row of black leather seats. He puts the stroller in the trunk with our luggage, and then we're back in another moving vehicle.

The good news is that we won't be flying back to Los Angeles until January so the twins won't have to sit on another long plane ride for a while. Vogue reached out to Harry last month and asked him if he'd like to be on the cover of their December issue, and he agreed to do the shoot in England in November since we'll already be in Europe.

That's when we decided that we might as well stay here for the holidays with Anne, keeping it a very small family gathering of just us, her, Gemma, and Michal. My parents were sad, mostly my mom, but she also understood that we spent last Christmas with them and that she needed to share us. Besides, we live in Los Angeles year-round, so once the virus begins to clear up, we can see her all the time.

After driving for about an hour and a half, Harry points out our new Italian seaside home at the end of a long and winding gravel road up the hill. It looks as beautiful as it did in the photos as the golden hour sun begins to set over the side of it. I only release his hand once he shifts the gear into park right outside the front of the house and I can't believe it belongs to us.