All Chapters of The Florence Promise: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The train slowed as it pulled into Florence.I couldn't take my eyes off the view. Slowly, I closed the magazine resting in my lap. My heart tightened. I was here. I wasn't sure if I was imagining it. Then I saw it.The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore rose above the rooftops, glowing beneath the warm afternoon sun. I'd seen it hundreds of times in photographs, textbooks, documentaries, and in the sketches filling the pages of my notebooks.But this wasn't on paper or on a screen. This was real. And so was Florence.Just a few months ago, studying architecture here had felt like an impossible dream. Something that happened to other people. Braver people. The kind who packed a suitcase, left everything behind, and somehow never looked back.Now I was one of them or at least I was supposed to be.The elderly Italian woman sitting beside me noticed the way I stared out the window and smiled."Prima volta a Firenze?"It took me a second to switch my brain into Italian."Sì.""My first time."

The next morning, I woke before my alarm.For a split second, I couldn't remember why.Then it all came back.Florence.Architecture.The project.Matteo...And the strange sense of calm that settled over me whenever I thought of Rafael.I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.It was only six o'clock.A normal person would have gone back to sleep.Not me.Whenever I was nervous, or excited, sleep became impossible.After ten minutes of tossing and turning, I gave up.An hour later, I was sitting in the Boboli Gardens.They were almost empty.That was exactly why I was beginning to love this place.The city was only just waking up.The morning air was cool against my skin, and the sun hadn't yet warmed the stone paths. A peaceful silence lingered over the gardens—the kind of silence I rarely managed to find back home.I settled onto a bench, pulled out my sketchbook, and opened the page with our hotel design.Something still wasn't right.I knew it.I just couldn't figure out

Someone was pounding on my door.At first, the sound slipped into my dream, blending so naturally that I barely noticed it.Then came another knock.And another.Eventually, I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling in confusion.The room was still wrapped in darkness.Outside, dawn was only beginning to break.I reached for my phone.5:46 a.m.I frowned at the screen.Looked again.Just to make sure.Still 5:46.Any normal person would still be asleep.Or at least pretending to be.Another loud bang rattled the door.This one even harder.I buried my face in the pillow."If the building's on fire," I mumbled, "don't tell me."A laugh echoed from the hallway.Of course.Matteo."Get up!""No.""We've got a train to catch.""Wonderful."I squeezed my eyes shut again."Go without me.""We can't.""Why?"A brief silence."Because you have the tickets."I opened one eye.Then the other."What?""I said I'd buy them.""You did.""And you insisted you'd do it yourself."I sat up, rubbing t

We still had almost an hour before our train left, so we wandered into a small restaurant tucked between the old stone buildings near the harbor.It was exactly the kind of place you never found in a travel guide.No crowds of tourists.No souvenir stands.Just a handful of tables, faded photographs covering the walls, and the irresistible smell of homemade food drifting into the street.We took a table on the terrace overlooking the sea."I'm starving."Matteo announced the moment he sat down.Rafael didn't even bother looking up."That's the first surprising thing you've said all day."Matteo threw a paper napkin at him."One day you'll thank me.""What for?" I asked."For making sure neither of you dies of starvation.""Matteo..."Rafael sighed."We had lunch three hours ago.""Exactly."He sounded completely serious.When the waitress came over, Matteo ordered in less than ten seconds.Rafael took his time.I took even longer.In the end, I ordered pasta simply because I couldn't

The next morning on the way to the studio my phone buzzed.Matteo.I smiled before I even opened the message.I bought the right pastry.Underneath was a photo.I stared at it for a second.Then burst out laughing in the middle of the street.It was a pastry.Covered with olives.Again.You're doing this on purpose now.I replied.His answer arrived almost instantly.I'm starting to think the problem isn't the pastries.I shook my head.Exactly then another notification appeared.Rafael.Don't listen to him.Attached was another photo.A fruit tart.Exactly the kind I always chose.I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.I wasn't sure whether to laugh...or be completely speechless.How did you manage that in under two minutes?I sent the message to both of them.Matteo answered first.We're highly organized professionals.A few seconds later Rafael replied.He's lying. We're sitting next to each other.This time I laughed so loudly that an elderly woman walking her dog turned to loo