"I'm thinking about you," he said. "I've forgotten what it's like to touch a woman, I've forgotten how to do it, but I want more than anything to kiss you, to hold you. Would you forgive me if, at first, I were awkward?" "Yes." "Would you forgive me if at first I seemed cold?" "Yes." "And for having, at the moment, only one good arm?" "Oh yes." Ariane walked forward until she stood by the bed. Her eyes swept down toward her feet, and as she kicked off her shoes, her mouth tightened. Then she straightened her head, and her eyes and Alessandro's met.
