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He brushed his lips against hers, the heat of his breath filling her senses, expanding her shrivelled heart.
‘After speaking with the Mastrangelos, I called Godfrey earlier and withdrew my offer for the casino,’ he whispered. ‘I don’t want it anymore. It’s tainted. All I want is you. That’s if you’ll have me. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.’ He sighed and nuzzled into her cheek. ‘You asked me once if you scared me. The truth is you did—you scared me because you made me feel, and because I knew I wasn’t worthy of you. The only real relationship I have as a reference is my parents’, and witnessing that was like living in one of Dante’s circles of hell. You deserve so much better.’
‘Not all marriages and relationships are like that.’
‘Intellectually, I know that. Emotionally, though, it’s taken me a lot longer to accept it. I wanted to protect you from me. I looked at you and saw the innocence my mother had before she married my father. I didn’t want to taint you.’
‘How could you do that? You are not your father, Francesco. You’re a mixture of both your parents and the uniqueness that is you. You’re just you. No one else.’
He almost crushed her in his embrace. ‘I swear I’ll never hurt you again. Never. You make me a better man. Even if we leave here and head our separate ways, I will still be a better man for having known you.’
Tears pricked her eyes. Her heart felt so full she now feared it could burst.
Head their separate ways? Was that really what she wanted?
‘I know how important your work is to you and I would never want to get in the way of that. Medicine is your life, but what I want to know—need to know—is if you can fit me into your life, too. Forget what I said about you not fitting into my world—it’s your world I need to fit into. Let me in, I beg of you. I’m not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I swear on my mother’s memory that I will love and respect you for the rest of my life.’
Hannah’s chin wobbled. But she kept it together, refusing to let the tears fall. All the same, her voice sounded broken to her own ears. ‘I love that you’re not perfect.’
He stilled and pulled away to look at her. His eyes glittered with questions.
‘Neither of us is perfect but...’ She took a deep breath, trying to keep a hold of her racing heart. If Francesco, her big, arrogant bear of a man, could put his heart and pride on the line... She cupped his warm cheek. ‘I think you’re perfect for me.’
She’d barely got the words out before his mouth came crashing down on hers, a kiss of such passion and longing that this time the tears really did fall.
‘Don’t cry, amore. Don’t cry.’ Francesco wiped her tears away and pressed his lips to her forehead. He wrapped his arms around her and she nestled her cheek against his chest.
He gave a rueful chuckle. ‘I can’t believe I worried about you getting burned. I should have known from the start—deep down I think I did—that, of the two of us, I was the more likely to be.’
‘Oh, no, but you were right,’ she confessed. ‘And I’m glad I was so blasé about your concerns because if I’d known how badly you would burn me I would have run a mile.’
She tilted her chin back up to look at him. She felt light, as if the weight that had been compressing her insides for what felt like for ever had been lifted. ‘You’ve brought me back to life and let colour back into my world. You make me whole and I want to be in your life, too. Your past, everything you’ve been through has shaped you into the man you are today and that’s the man I’ve fallen in love with.’
‘You really love me?’
For the first time Hannah saw a hint of vulnerability in Francesco’s cool, confident exterior.
‘More than anything. I didn’t think I needed anyone. You’ve shown me that I do. Not just you, but my family, too.’ She kissed his neck then whispered into his ear, ‘You’ve also weaned me off my addiction to my phone. I’ve only checked it three times today.’
He threaded his long fingers through her hair, a deep laugh escaping his throat that deepened when he snagged a couple of knots. ‘If I could trust myself not to break every bone in his body, I would pay another visit to that bastard who knocked you off your bike and thank him.’
‘For bringing us together?’
‘The stars aligned for us that morning.’
‘Shame about my broken collarbone and concussion.’
