His phone buzzed once on the nightstand and he picked it up to see a message from Sophia.
**Sophia:** *Kill it tonight. I'll be watching every minute. Love you ❤️*
He typed back quickly.
**Demien:** *Thank you. Love you too.*
Another message came through from Isabella.
**Isabella:** *Tesoro, I'm in my seat already. Section 23. I'll be cheering for you the whole match. Go show them what you can do. Ti amo.*
**Demien:** *Ti amo mamma. See you after.*
He set the phone down and finished dressing—trousers, belt, jacket, shoes—and when everything was on properly he checked the mirror one final time before sitting on the edge of the bed to wait.
Outside the window the afternoon was moving toward evening and shadows were lengthening across Florence's buildings, and somewhere the Artemio Franchi was filling with supporters arriving hours early to secure their spots and build atmosphere.
