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Dante grunted, which was apparently all the agreement Ruth needed, because as soon as she secured the fresh bandage around his leg, she placed his walker in front of the bed and grabbed his elbow to help him stand.
He’d hired Ruth based on a recommendation from Enrico after he’d been discharged from the hospital. She had an excellent reputation in terms of being good at her job, but also staying quiet and keeping out of her patients’ business. It was the perfect set-up for both Dante and Aurora to take their time healing in the privacy of the villa where they could still be with each other but out of the eyes of the public.
Dante hadn’t quite realized what a stickler Ruth would be for following doctor’s orders, but she was a sweet older woman and generally pleasant to have around. Aurora loved her, too. He would often find Ruth sitting at her bedside just chatting about the most random things, and it made him happy to see Aurora smiling.
As Dante and Ruth made the slow journey out to the gardens, Dante spotted Aurora sitting in one of the lawn chairs in the sunshine. She looked ravishing as always, even in her yoga pants and cotton T-shirt, leaning her head back so that her long, chestnut waves fell over the back of the chair. Hearing them approach, she sat up and smiled at them.
“What are you doing out of bed, young lady?” Ruth scolded her.
“I’ve been in bed for hours! I needed to see the sun,” Aurora whined, and Ruth shook her head.
“Alright, but only for a little while, then it’s back inside.”
“Whatever you say,” she told Ruth.
Dante watched with amusement as Aurora rolled her eyes the moment Ruth looked away. His feisty little fiancé acted as if the concussion she’d suffered was nothing to be worried about.
Which in fairness he could understand, considering that while he’d been bleeding out on the floor, she’d apparently emptied her clip into the fallen Gennaro at point blank range, then crawled over to his own prostrate body and put a tourniquet on his leg, all while flitting in and out of consciousness herself the whole time. Or at least so he’d been told when he woke up in a hospital.
It had been Enrico who read Dante the Carabinieri’s report as he lay in bed. Aurora had just listened in silence before leaning over and saying simply “Hashtag Bad-Ass Bride”.
He’d been painfully erect before she even planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
“If only your fiancé had that same attitude,” Ruth said, casting her scolding look at Dante and bringing him back to the present. “It’s been like pulling teeth to get him to do his exercises.”
“Is that so?” Aurora stood up and sauntered over to them. “Why don’t I take over from here?”
Ruth looked between the two of them skeptically.
“I promise I’ll make sure he gets them done,” Aurora told her. “I can be very convincing.”
Dante snorted, but Ruth ignored him. “Now that I believe,” she said, “Alright, fine. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it. But I’ll be back to get you once lunch is ready, so keep your eyes on the prize.”
“We will, promise,” Aurora said, and Ruth looked at her hard for a moment before walking back inside, leaving them alone. Aurora set Dante’s walker aside, and he rested his hands on her hips, giving her a gentle kiss.
“Someone is feeling bossy this morning, I see,” he told her with a smirk.
She shrugged. “More like restless. But I also kinda miss you.” She looked up at him with a sparkle in her eyes, and Dante felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him. He had felt that a lot lately. Sure, it was Aurora who had run away from him—more than once—but it was his fault that she was forced into this world to begin with. He should have just left well enough alone and let her continue her sheltered life, away from danger and away from him.
The problem was, he was starting to fall for her. Like, really fall for her. He’d always found her beautiful, of course, but the last several weeks in the villa together had really made it clear that his life had been pretty fucking empty and sad without her in it. They had been sleeping in separate bedrooms during their recovery, to make it easier for Ruth to tend to each of them, and it was starting to wear on him. He missed the feeling of her pushed up against him.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Aurora asked him, and he shook off his reverie and kissed her again.
“Nothing much. I’m just wondering if maybe I should have let you run away from me while you had the chance. Would’ve kept you out of danger,” Seeing her face drop, Dante reached one of his hands around to squeeze her bottom. “Would’ve saved this sweet little ass from a lot of trouble, too.”
Aurora giggled, then her face became serious again. “I’m glad you didn’t let me run away.”
Dante raised an eyebrow.
“I’m done running away now, so you’re pretty much stuck with me,” she turned to walk over to the chair she had been sitting in earlier, dragging it closer to Dante and turning to speak to him over her shoulder. “Besides, it’s not like you could chase me down anymore with your bum leg. Especially since you refuse to do your exercises.”
“Is that a challenge?” Dante asked, grinning.
“No, just a fact,” Aurora said with extra sass, and then giggled as Dante came limping toward her much faster than she expected, scooping her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing and he wasn’t in recovery from a serious leg injury.
“I’ll always be able to catch you, little girl,” he growled in her ear.
“Good,” Aurora said, blushing bright red as her gaze met his. “I love you, Dante.”
