She continued to look at me. “Now,thatI believe.”
I smirked then finished the rest of my lasagna while she watched. I grabbed a slice of bread and dragged it through the sauce left on the plate to get every dropbecause it really was premium. “You know how to shoot?”
“Yes.”
“Have guns in the house?”
“Of course.”
“Alright,” I said, having some peace of mind. I sat there and stared at her, captivated by her beauty, how thick and dark her eyelashes were. She wore makeup, but I’d seen her without it, and she was a bombshell either way. I’d never been obsessed with a woman, but there was no doubt in my mind I was utterly infatuated with Francesca Mancini. I felt like an animal that wanted to claim its territory by coming inside her enough times every day that people would start to smell me if they came too close to her. “Ever been in love before?”
Her eyes didn’t flinch in surprise at the question, even though it came out of nowhere. “No.”
Good.
“You?”
My answer was a scoff. “Any long-term relationships?”
“My first year of college, I was seeing someone, but it didn’t last,” she said. “And then I got older and preferred hookups instead of anything real. Some ofthe guys I saw wanted something more, but I just wasn’t in that place. And then Emilio happened and I was pretty shaken up about it, so I went back to the hookups.”
“So I’m the most serious relationship you’ve been in.”
Her eyes hesitated, flicking back and forth between mine. “It’s only been two weeks.”
“Duration has no impact on depth.”
Her green eyes were rigid in place as she stared at me, somehow surprised by what I’d said when I’d said lots of crazy things before.
“Has any man ever said you’re his?”
She didn’t respond.
“Yeah, this is pretty fucking serious.” The hint of doubt in her eyes made me double down. When she pushed me away, I pulled tighter. Something deep within my bone marrow told me this woman was like my flesh and blood. Something about her made me insane and deranged and brought out qualities I didn’t know I had. If she said she didn’t want to see me anymore, I wasn’t sure if I could honor that. Wasn’t sure if she had a say in the matter, that was how fucking crazy she made me. “When did Emilio die?”
It took her a moment to come back to the present withme, like she’d been able to hear all the horrible thoughts that had just run through my mind. “Two years ago.”
“You think your dad would have approved of him for you?”
“Yeah. He asked for my father’s permission before he talked to me.”
And the award for the biggest pussy goes to…
She grabbed the bottle of wine on the table and filled her glass. “What’s the laptop for?”
I opened it and turned it toward her. “House hunting. These are the ones I starred. What do you think?”
She pulled the laptop closer and looked at the homes that caught my interest. I wanted a property that was turnkey, so all the listings were over ten million euros. I wanted something private and gated, with plenty of garage space for my cars. All the houses came on acres of land, which wasn’t important to me, but it was the only way to have privacy. “They’re all great.”
“Want to take a look with me in a couple of days?”
She turned her attention back to me. “It’s your home, Wolfe. You shouldn’t listen to anyone else’s opinion but your own.”
“Your opinion matters to me in every way imaginable,” I said as I looked at her green eyes. “I want you there.”
A little smile moved on to her lips. “Alright.”
“I want to know which house you prefer to get fucked in.”
