“He’ll be here,” she stresses. “Just trust me on this one. Enzo, will you pass the bread?”
A sardonic burst of laughter bubbles up my throat, and I shake my head, unable to believe that no one will tell me what the hell is going on.
Enzo glances at me and smirks, then reaches across the table to hand Vinnie the rolls as he asks, “So was the paperwork taken care of? Officially notnotmarried?”
“Seriously, Zo-Zo,” Sully grumbles again, dipping his hand into the basket that Enzo still has hovering mid-table. He rips his roll in half and uses it to soak up the leftover salad dressing on his plate.
“Never was,” I answer. “Not that I would know where we’re at in the process since my lawyer won’t return my phone calls.”
“If the marriage wasn’t real, what more is there to do?” Nixon asks curiously.
“Great question.” I tuck a rogue strand of hair behind my ear, then look down at my plate for a moment. “I assume file more paperwork that basically tells the courts ‘just kidding!’”
No one has anything to say after that, and suddenly, I’d rather be anywhere else. This is the first dinner we’ve had all together since everything happened between Luciano and me. I thought it’d be hard to see him, and I’d be able to handle it, but him not even being here makes it so much worse.
Gently pushing back my chair, I stand, deciding I’ve had enough. “Thank you guys so much for having me, as always, but I’m exhausted. I’m going to head home.”
“You can’t!” Vinnie practically yells at me at the same time Sully jumps to his feet and shouts, “No way, you can’t leave!”
Their boisterous attempts to stop me have me hesitating.What the hell is going on?“Guys, I’m sorry, I just don’t have it in me tonight and I really would rather go ho?—”
But my sentence is cut short when Sly and Vinnie’s front door flies open, slamming against the wall with a sharpthud. In unison, our heads swivel in its direction, and a small gasp catches in my throat.
Luciano stands in the doorway with his chest heaving, soaked head to toe from the rain. His white button-down clings to his chest and arms like a second skin, with rivers of water running down his exposed forearms from where his sleeves are rolled, and cradled in his arms is the biggest bouquet of pink flowers I have ever seen.
When our eyes collide, I see the nerves flash through them, even from where I stand across the room, and his voice is pleading when he says, “Don’t leave.Please.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The moment my gaze meets Raina’s, the weight of the world I’ve been carrying on my shoulders lifts, and I want nothing more than to gather her into my arms and do everything I can to make things right between us.
She looks breathtaking in a soft dress that hugs her body in ways I wish I could. Every curve is accentuated, making my mouth water as I take in the sight of the woman I’ve deprived myself ofagain, after I promised both of us I would never.
I’ve screwed up in so many ways these past couple of weeks.
“Don’t leave, Raina,” I plead again. I overheard her through the door saying her goodbyes. I got here just in time, after spending the last eight hours terrified I wouldn’t.
Sully’s plane was delayed while we were trying to leave Italy when another aircraft had to make an emergency landing, grounding all departing flights for nearly an hour.
Just my luck.
For the last twenty-four hours, I’ve been on a mission to buy as many of Raina’s favorite things as I could get my hands on, determined to shower her in as much affection as I could possibly think to give. I wanted her to have everything—mywords, my actions, and a few tangible items I knew she would love.
I sent Sly to Cartier to pick up the matching earrings to the necklace Vinnie told me she purchased. She showed me a picture, and my only regret was that I hadn’t found it first, so I could give it to her. The choker is perfect for her.
Nixon was sent to Vermont to pick up the maple cream-filled cookies she loves from a small bakery nestled in Bennington. It’s one of the most random things, but her face lights up whenever she thinks about those damn cookies.
Shockingly, I convinced Sully to fly to California on a commercial airline to grab the wine she loves from Napa. He almost refused to come back, especially when he realized how close to Ridgewood he was—the town Nixon is from and where Sly lived briefly when he and my sister weren’t together. He said he wanted to explore Nixon’s ‘stomping grounds’ and to see the place that kept Sly from him for so long. Thankfully, he made it back to San Francisco with enough time to catch his flight back.
Enzo, I assigned the easiest task, not wanting to ask too much of him since our newfound truce is still precarious. He was sent to my favorite family-owned florist to prepare the largest, most beautiful bouquet of pink florals they could arrange. The bouquet’s been sitting behind the front desk of my sister’s building, waiting for me to bring up to Raina.
And me? I flew to Italy to pick up a one-of-a-kind dress by her favorite designer I somehow convinced him to sell me. After reaching out with an offer well above any asking price he could fathom, he sent me four photos of designs he was close to finishing. I gave him her specifications and a handsome sum of money and was promised the dress would be ready by the time the wheels of the jet touched down. In fact, his assistant met me on the tarmac to hand it to me personally. It’s hanging right outside the door on the light fixture, in a garment bag.
I can’t wait to see her face when she opens the dress made only for her.
That is, if she’ll let me give her everything. By the look in her eye right now, I’m not so sure.
Stepping out from around the table, she strides toward me with an unreadable expression, her proximity making my heart skip a beat. With less than five steps between us, her eyes dip to the bouquet in my hand before she reaches for her purse sitting on an armchair near the front door.
