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His low growl surprised me. “I will break anyone who tries.”
There was something real and deeply rooted behind his gaze, something I’d never seen before. Was it possible Luca truly loved me? My heart skipped a beat at the thought. I desperately wanted Luca to love me, really love me, not because I was his arranged bride, but because he’d chosen me above all else.
“How can you know that what you feel is genuine, that it won’t fade?” I asked.
“You’re the only one questioning their feelings. I’ve always known how I felt about you. I always knew you were the only one for me. I just had to be ready to go all in.”
My eyes burned with unshed tears as my heart ached with the need to hear exactly that, but my brain was determined to question everything that came out of his mouth and I was breaking from the strain. “I can’t think anymore,” I cried, losing it. “I just can’t. Luca, I—”
“Shh,” he crooned, drawing me into his arms. “Then don’t think. Just let me do the thinking for now. We’re on our way to wine country, where we are going to enjoy being tourists, okay? I want you to think of nothing more than which wine you want to sample next. No more picking at problems bigger than whatever the moment can provide.”
It sounded so tempting—turn off the brain and just enjoy the day with the man I was impossibly crazy about—but could I actually do it? God, I wanted to enjoy this day with Luca. I wanted to hold his hand and walk through the vineyards, eat good food and laugh at silly jokes.
So do it.
The voice I’d been trying to ignore was louder than my fears this time.
I wiped at my tears, nodding slowly. “Okay,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I can do that. I think.”
Luca smiled and kissed me again.
Everything felt right when his lips were on mine. Was it possible to say screw the world and just chase my happiness?
Could I convince Luca that a life with me was better than a life slaved to his family? Was I really going to ask Luca to choose between me and the Donato empire?
Two seconds into my attempt to stop thinking, I was already breaking the rules. I exhaled a long breath and drew a halting one. “I’m ready to be a tourist,” I told Luca, earning a grin from his sexy lips. “And just be with you.”
“Good,” he murmured, sealing his lips to mine.
Yes, today...I was Luca’s.
Tomorrow? I wasn’t going to think about that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Luca
NESTLED AGAINST ME, Katherine drowsed in the hotel bed after a long day at the Coppola vineyard. She had been delighted to learn everything about the wine-making process on the private tour, even though the filmmaker hadn’t been our tour guide.
Watching her eyes light up had been worth every inconvenience the trip had caused to my work schedule. I hadn’t planned to spend so much time wooing Katherine, but I couldn’t deny that I’d enjoyed every minute. I should’ve been doing this months ago.
Maybe I’d been scared to get too close. Maybe I’d been caught up in my own arrogance—the Donato way striking again.
Either way, I was man enough to admit I’d gone about it all wrong and now I was faced with damage control. I wanted to wake up with Katherine by my side every morning. I wanted to taste her kiss and swallow her cries for the rest of our lives. Falling in love with your arranged wife... I guess it wasn’t the usual thing, but I didn’t care. I loved Katherine and I had to find a way to convince her that I was being genuine.
Today had been a good start.
Katherine sighed in her sleep, her hand curled under her chin.
As if sensing I was having a good moment, my father called.
I hesitated, tempted to send him to voice mail, but I eased myself away from Katherine and out of the bedroom to take the call.
“What’s the status?” Giovanni asked gruffly. No hello, no how are you, just plain business. I’d long since stopped hoping my father would find his humanity in old age, but I knew Dante still hungered for that fatherly affection and that was a constant irritant between us. I’d settle for respect. I wanted to grab Dante and say, Open your eyes, you idiot, but Dante was as stubborn as a Donato could be, so I didn’t waste the energy.
“I’m making progress.”
“What does that mean?” Giovanni asked, irritated. “Are you bringing her home or not?”
“She’s not a piece of luggage,” I said, matching my father’s clipped tone. “Don’t worry about my fiancée. I have everything under control.”
“I’m going to call her father, have him bring her to heel. I need you here, not chasing after some silly twit.”
“Watch your mouth, old man.”
“Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to?” Giovanni shot back in warning, but I didn’t care. I was tired of my father bullying everyone around him. Times were changing, yet Giovanni was anchoring the family to an antiquated and frowned-upon tradition. I mean, Jesus, we weren’t in feudal Italy any longer. “Mind your own business. I have things handled.”
“I want details.”
“Details? What the hell does that mean?”
“How do you have things handled?” Giovanni replied, his disbelief evident.
My father was the last person I would accept relationship advice from. He and my mother were strangers to each other, and it seemed they preferred it that way. My mother was content to doodle around, lunching and gossiping with her matron hens, and my father was off trying to remain in the power seat when he should’ve retired years ago. I was sick of his bullshit.
“Just back off,” I told him, ready to get off the phone.
“You forget your place,” Giovanni said, unimpressed with my stance. “I want you on the next flight home.”
“I’m not leaving without Katherine. I’ll be home when we come together.”
“Don’t be stupid. I should’ve found you a different girl, a better one, two years ago. One girl is not worth this much trouble.”
This one was. “Don’t talk about things you know nothing about. Just keep your nose out of my business and we’ll be fine. Cross that line...and you’re no longer my father.”
The silence on the other line was deafening. Would Giovanni get the message that I wasn’t playing around? I wouldn’t let anything come between Katherine and me. Never again. “You might have introduced her into my life, but she was meant to be mine, so back off and leave me to my business.”
“You love her?” he asked, shocking me with the bald question.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I answered.
He exhaled in irritation, but he didn’t question me further. I hadn’t made a conscious choice to defy my father, but the time had come. My father was the kind of man who would push for as long as someone allowed him. That time was done.
“So when are you coming home?” Giovanni asked by way of concession.
“In a few days. I’ll be at the office on Monday.”
“I suppose that’ll do.”
“It’s the only offer on the table.”
There was a long pause, and then my father said, with uncharacteristic paternal concern, “I just want what’s best for the family.”
“Then trust that I will do what needs to be done to protect the Donato name, but you have nothing to fear from Katherine. She’s going to make a fine Donato.”
Giovanni harrumphed as if to say, That remains to be seen, and then said, “I’ll see you Monday.”
The line went dead and I clicked off.
A sound caused me to turn. Katherine leaned against the doorjamb, dressed in a T-shirt and nothing else—just the way I preferred her, actually, but her expression was questioning. It didn’t take much brainpower to realize she’d heard at least part of the conversation.
“Who was that?” she asked.
&nb
sp; “My father.”
“What’s going on?”
I could level with her—take the chance that she could handle the ugly truth—or I could lie.
The urge to smooth things over with a lie was strong, but I knew if I was going to make a fresh start with Katherine, I had to start with complete honesty.
“My father wanted me to come home. I told him I wasn’t ready.”
“Does he need you back at the office?” she asked with a confused frown. “I didn’t think Giovanni needed anyone, the way he seems to be in control of everything.”
“He likes to think he’s in control,” I corrected her with a small smile. “But he’s not in control of this time between us right now. I’m dying to know what you have in store for us today.”
Since I’d taken over half of her day yesterday, it was her turn to plan the activities. Somehow I doubted we were heading to another soup kitchen, but as long as I was with her, I’d board a ship to the moon if that was where she wanted to go.
If she was charmed by my answer, she didn’t let on. I knew she wanted more details about my conversation with my father, but I wasn’t going to let anything ruin our day.
