CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT – ROUGH WEEKS AHEAD.

They managed to make themselves presentable and slip out of the dressing room without being noticed. As they left the store (with the red dress purchased, at Vito's insistence), there was a newfound lightness between them. The rest of the afternoon passed in a romantic blur. They took a leisurely stroll through a nearby park, hand in hand, stopping to feed the ducks and share ice cream cones like teenagers. As the sun began to set, Joan led Vito to their final destination: a rooftop garden where she had arranged for a private cooking class. "Surprise," she said, gesturing to the setup. A chef stood ready at a portable cooking station, surrounded by fresh ingredients. Vito's face lit up. "Joan, this is amazing!" The chef guided them through preparing a gourmet Italian meal, with Vito and Joan working side by side, laughing and playfully competing over who could chop vegetables faster or flip pasta more skillfully. As they sat down to enjoy the fruits of their labor, Vito reached a