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Still, I was letting myself be seduced. The food, the house, the handsome brothers who were so genteel and yet so deadly. But most of all, Antonio himself was seducing me. He was more than a businessman, a criminal, or even a guy who looked like a model in a watch ad.
Convince me, I heard my mother say in my mind. Convince me there is an upside to this.
Well, he’s sweet. He’s . . . soulful. I almost heard her snicker. No, really, I argued. The way he talks about his mother, for one thing.
There was a long list of things I liked about Antonio. His love of old movies, and newer ones, but mostly the classics. The affection he had for his aunt, his brother, and even the respectful but firm way he treated the guys who took their orders from him.
The way he’d saved me from those guys that first night, then stayed up all night watching me sleep. Even his relationship with Doc, the outlaw biker with a medical license. He didn’t just see things on the surface. He had an instinct and a profound respect for quality. For things that were real.
He was . . . complicated. Deep. Antonio was more than any one thing. And some of those things, I could love. Objectively speaking, at the very least. I certainly liked him, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
Red Riding Hood, meet Wolf.
Never mind that the way the man kissed should be illegal. He was dangerously skilled in the sex department. He wasn’t rushing me, not yet, but part of me couldn’t help wishing that he would.
I shivered, wondering what it would be like when he finally took me to bed. So far, we’d only fooled around a little, and my clothes had stayed on. I had a feeling he was frustrated with the glacial pace. But he wasn’t making me feel bad about it, either.
He really was a gentleman. No matter who or what else he was, he was treating me well, other than the whole lock-and-key thing. I sighed wistfully and was rewarded with a gentle pat to my cheek.
“Marriage is like a dream for you,” Auntie said approvingly. “Tony is a dream husband.”
Uh-huh. Sure, I thought sarcastically. But I had to smile at the older lady. Auntie didn’t cause any of this. She was just another woman living in a man’s world. A world full of criminals and violence, but also family and warmth and kindness.
I prayed that the smile reached my eyes.
“Out! Out!”
I giggled as Auntie held the door shut dramatically. Apparently, my fiancé was trying to come inside. As dark as all of this was, it was also kind of funny.
“Bad luck to see the wedding dress!”
“Well, tell her to take it off!”
I blushed as the ladies all laughed. A little too loudly. He hadn’t meant it in a crude way. He just wanted me to come to dinner. I knew he was making something special tonight.
“We need more time. Come back in an hour.”
Antonio grumbled good-naturedly but said he’d be back in twenty minutes and not a second longer. The ladies got back to work poking and prodding me. At last, they turned me to face the mirror.
I was covered head to toe in a soft ivory lace. It was such a warm color it was almost pink. I brushed my fingers over the veil covering my shoulders.
It was old school. Classic. I was covered up. But it was still, somehow, kind of sexy. I’d never felt more beautiful. Never known I could ever have felt this beautiful.
Auntie gestured to the high neckline.
“Only for the husband to see, eh?”
I blushed and bit my lip. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. No one had seen anything yet.
But the thought of Antonio undressing me, or as he had said, unwrapping me like a present on our wedding night, was exhilarating.
I was nervous but I was also starting to count down the days until the wedding for a different reason.
I wanted him. I wanted the gangster. The killer. I wanted him more than I could have imagined.
I was in over my head. I knew that since the start. But it was worse than that. I was starting to realize that I was in over my heart.
Chapter 23
Antonio
“Ready to eat?”
“Yes, please.” Evie gave me a sweet smile from the couch. She looked around at the books and papers around her then back at me. “I still don’t know how you managed to get notes and all of my assignments.”
I shrugged. Did it matter? She already knew I was a wealthy criminal. I had people who could make almost anything happen.
Scratch that. I could get anything I wanted done. Except making her trust me.
I could have easily gotten someone to go to all her classes, do her homework, and bring her a report card full of As. I could have bribed or blackmailed her professors. But I knew that wasn’t what she was about.
