Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
At least, she used to.
I looked again. The bastard was holding her far too closely.
And she was leaning her head on his shoulder.
What the fuck?
She lifted her head and said something to him, and he nodded. They stopped dancing and headed out to the balcony, disappearing through the door. Together.
I blinked. She didn’t come back to the table. To me.
She went with Roman.
Red-hot anger tore through me. Jealousy, a feeling I had never experienced, raged inside my chest, and of their own volition, my hands clenched into fists on the table.
Nonna V looked at me, then toward the balcony doors. “Oh dear,” she murmured.
I stood, my feet carrying me across the floor, ignoring everyone around me. I dodged couples and people carrying drinks. My focus was on one place.
I stormed onto the balcony, ready for a fight. Prepared to end a friendship of a lifetime.
Except, Roman was seated at a table, his head bent over the phone in his hand. Vi was by the rail, staring at the view. Roman looked up as I appeared, a slow grin on his face.
“Took you long enough.” He stood, clapping me on the shoulder. “Go get your girl.”
“What?” I sputtered.
“Me and Nonna. What a team.”
Then he strolled away, whistling. Vi glanced over her shoulder. “You didn’t really fall for that.”
“Of course not.”
She turned, leaning back against the rail. “Yet, here you are.”
My anger peaked, and I covered the space between us quickly. “No more dancing with the Costas brothers. Or anyone else.”
“Is that a fact?” she murmured. “Who will I dance with?”
“Me.” I yanked her into my arms. “And I don’t want to hear a word about your toes.”
Except as I began to move, my body felt different. In sync with hers. Vi sighed and leaned her head on my chest. It fit there far better than it had on Roman’s shoulder.
“See?” she whispered. “You can dance. You just needed the right partner.” She lifted her hand, running her fingers over my neck. “We always move well together.” She nestled closer, clutching my back. “People say dancing is like making love standing up.”
I grunted. We made love well. Then it hit me. She was right. I was dancing with her. Slowly, not as gracefully as Roman, but we moved together.
She fit me perfectly.
Everywhere.
She always had.
And she always would.
I stopped, looking down at her. Her eyes glittered in the light. “Tell me,” I said. “Tell me your words again.”
She swallowed, looking nervous. “I love you, Aldo Ricci.”
“I love you, Violet Nelson. Every fucking thing about you. You were made for me.”
The glitter became liquid, and tears spilled over her cheeks. “Yes, I was. Took you long enough to figure it out.”
“I know and I’m sorry. The feelings were there for a long time, but it took me a while to find the words.” I bent and captured her mouth, tasting her tears and her smile. Tasting her love that had always been there.
“You’re not going back to your apartment.”
“I’m not?”
“No. You’re staying with me at the house. Because when you’re there, it’s a home, and I want to share that home with you. You’ve been looking for a place to belong. You found it. With me.”
“You’ve been saving up lots of words, I see. Anything else?”
“We’re getting married.”
“Right now?”
“Soon. You want that?” I indicated the room.
“God, no. Something small.”
“I’ll arrange it. Wear something that shows off your legs. I fucking love your legs.”
“Anything more to add?”
“No more working. My wife doesn’t need to work.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. No point anyway. I’m going to get you pregnant, and we’re gonna fill that house with babies.”
“You’re awfully bossy for someone who hasn’t fucked me in weeks and just learned to use their words.”
I stopped moving, staring down at her. “It’s been eleven days, six hours, and forty-seven minutes since I was last inside you. That is going to change in the next fifteen minutes. We’re going inside, saying good night, and if you take too long, some people in there are going to get a show they didn’t bargain for and Luca will never speak to me again.”
“And then?” she whispered breathlessly.
“I am taking you upstairs, and I’m going to fuck you until you pass out. I won’t hurt you, but you will know exactly who you belong to. Then tomorrow, we’re going to the jewelry store, and I’m getting you the biggest fucking rock I can find. No one will doubt you’re taken.”
“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”
I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her close. “I am because I love you and you love me. We were meant to be together. I’m the shadow, and you’re the light. We need each other.”
Her smile was brilliant. “Well, why didn’t you just say that?”
I began to laugh.
“I love you, baby. I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. If you let me.”