My Sweet Nicoletta…

By kira

Happy bday, Jen!! Hope your day is as special as you are! *huggles*

As he walked through the open air market, buying the things he would need to make pasta primavera, Claudio would occasionally slip his hand in his pocket. Now that he had put his feelings to rest and accepted the fact that his ex-wife was never coming back, he was able to make a life with Nicoletta. Sweet little romantic that she was, he wanted to do it right. And that meant a candlelight dinner with her favorite dish and a special dessert.

After getting everything he needed, he slowly walked home, running all things he needed to do to get for tonight through his head. Before he knew it, he was home.

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Claudio closed the door, locking, and went straight to the kitchen, where started putting everything away. Taking the tiny box out of his pocket, he left it on the kitchen counter and went to tidy his little apartment before Nicoletta arrived. He dusted the side tables and swept the floor and the mindlessness of the simple chores kept him from worrying too much about tonight. When he had finished, Claudio went into to his bedroom and took a short nap. Thoughts of Nicoletta dancing in his head, he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

He woke up a couple of hours later, Getting out of bed, Claudio headed to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. Once there, he decided to grab a quick shower since he had slept later than he had wanted to. He had just managed to get dressed when the doorbell rang, announcing Nicoletta's presence.

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Glasses propped on top of his head, Claudio squinted at Teo's messy handwriting. The young chef had scrawled a simple recipe on the back of some parchment paper and Claudio was finding it hard to decipher. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Claudio sighed. He was going to have to wing it and hope for the best. Thankfully pasta primavera was easy to make.

Nicoletta tried not to giggle as she watched him. Claudio looked so adorable and she knew he was trying his best for her. She sipped her wine.

After setting a pot of water on the stove to boil, he set to work chopping the fresh broccoli into florets and the carrots into coins. He also chopped two sweet red peppers into strips. When they were done, he heated some water in a pan to boiling, and added the vegetables, where he cooked them for about five minutes. Draining the vegetables, he set them aside.

"Nicoletta, could you please get me the butter?"

"Sure" she replied. Getting up, Nicoletta walked to the fridge and took it out as he opened a tin of evaporated milk.

"Shouldn't that be cream?"

"Probably, but my… my ex-wife always made it this way…"

"Okay," Nicoletta said as she gave his hand a tiny squeeze. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to cook for you, Nicoletta as you're always cooking for me."

She smiled. "Okay, I will sit here and try not to be a pest."

Nodding in reply, Claudio soon had the pasta primavera cooked. He dished out two generous portions, carrying the plates to the small table he had set for their dinner. Setting them down, he lit the candles and dimmed the lights. Turning to Nicoletta, he gallantly held her chair out for her and she sat. Everything was perfect.

Nicoletta ate a forkful of her dinner. She chewed, slowly savoring the taste, which pleasantly surprised her. While she had grown up eating similar thrown together meals, her training as a apprentice chef gave her a new appreciation for fresh ingredients and the hard work involved in cooking a meal. "It's delicious, Claudio!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes!" She took another bite. "Much better than Teo's." She giggled.

Claudio nodded. "Good, I'm glad you're enjoying it."

Nicoletta smiled as she took another bite. A companionable silence settled between them as they ate, each stealing an occasional glance at the other. She sighed softly, thinking how easily she could get used to this.

As he toyed with his food, Claudio wondered when he should ask her to marry him. The waiting for the perfect moment was starting to get to him. Even though he was fairly certain of her answer, Nicoletta was a hopeless romantic and he wanted his proposal to live up to her expectations. Unfortunately, she caught him completely off guard when she asked him what he was thinking about. "I was wondering when I should ask you to marry me…" he trailed off when he realized what he said.

Giggling, Nicoletta said, "How about now? I promise to be surprised." She mentally sighed, thinking how sweet he is, and how lucky she was that her dream was coming true.

"Okay then," he replied, a rueful smile tugging the corners of his lips upward. Pushing away form the table, Claudio stood up and walked over to her. Getting down on one knee, he took Nicoletta's hand in his as he fumbled in his pocket for the ring with his free hand. "Miss Nicoletta, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, hoping he sounded less stupid and more like the hero in one of her romance novels. He slipped the ring on her finger.

Nicoletta started to cry.

"Are you alright?" Claudio asked. He was unsure if she was happy or not and he cursed himself for ruining her moment.

She nodded, as she sniffed back her tears. "You've made me so happy, Claudio!" Leaning forward, Nicoletta wrapped her arms around him, covering his face with little kisses.

Pulling slightly away so that he could speak, Claudio said, "I had wanted to ask your parents permission first, but…"

"I've been on my own for a while now and I don't think Mama would have a problem with it, nor would Lorenzo." She kissed him again. "But now I'm not… Now I'll be with you, Claudio, and that makes me very happy…"

"Me too…" he mumbled softly between kisses…