Page 9 of The Bond

“We’ve already spent so much money on this wedding,” I said, starting to think through the pros and cons of doing this.

“That’s not a reason to get married,” he said.

“Okay...what’s a good reason to get married?” I asked him.

“Love’s a good reason,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat when he said the word love. I could feel my pulse start to accelerate, my body trembling with longing for him. “Any other reasons?”

Enzo looked right at me, the look in his dark eyes utterly unreadable. I was in danger of getting lost in those eyes. It would be so easy to let my desires and emotions take over. So easy and so hazardous for my heart. “Wanting to have kids with somebody is the one other reason I can think of. But love tops the list.”

“What about family?” I asked. “Is family a good reason?”

“Family?”

“The thought of disappointing my parents after everything they’ve given me.” My voice wavered, forcing me to shut my eyes to stop the tears from coming. “I’ve let them believe that everything’s normal these past couple of weeks. How can I pull the rug out from under them now?”

“Hard as it is to disappoint your parents, that’s no reason to get married,” he told me.

Enzo sounded so sincere that I found myself believing what he was saying in spite of all the mistrust between us. Or maybe he was still playing me. Manipulating me for his own ends.

“Why are you trying to talk me out of this? What about your parents? Don’t you want to make them happy?”

“They’re still in the dark like your parents right?” he asked.

I gave a nod, opening my eyes now that the worst of the emotional storm had passed. “I texted your dad using your burner phone. I let him believe that you were going to go ahead with the wedding—”

“So you know that I told my father I wanted out,” he said forcefully. “You know I tried to back out of this scheme.”

“You went to your father with the truth but not to me,” I pointed out. “No one ever comes to me with a choice. It’s all demands and expectations. I’m always the last to know the truth.”

“You’re getting a choice now,” he said. “I’m telling you the truth now.”

“What if it’s all too late?” I asked. “Then what?”

“Put everything from your mind Valetina,” he ordered. “Don’t think about your parents, or the guest list, or the money, or any of it. What do you want?”

I want you to love me.

I was trembling all over, wishing I could close the space between us and crawl into bed with him. My love for him threatened to overwhelm me. I desperately wanted him to love me back, so much so that I was willing to throw out every coherent plan and just give in to my emotions. But I hadn’t gotten this far by getting swept away. I was going to keep a level head. I wouldn’t let any of the De Lucas see how much they had taken from me.

“We need this wedding to go ahead if we want to stop whoever set that fire at the safehouse,” I said.

“The fire doesn’t matter right now—”

“Nothing matters more than your safety,” I said fiercely. “I lost my Uncle Tony. I watched my father almost bleed to death. I thought you were going to burn to death in that fire. I’m not going through any of that again. If you’re going to die, Enzo, then it should be by my hand and no one else’s. That’s what I want.”

He placed his hands behind his head, sizing me up with a spark of desire burning in his eyes. That hungry look in his eyes made me quiver. “Your threats aren’t going to scare me off, Valentina. They’ll just make me want to face whatever you throw at me.”

I inhaled sharply. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Stop stalling,” he commanded. “What’s your decision about the wedding?”

“You’re convinced my father is to blame for the safehouse fire. I think he’s innocent,” I replied. “I say we go through with the wedding so that I can watch and learn. I’ll observe all our suspects in the same place then I can judge for myself.”

“Are you serious? You want to go through with a wedding to catch a potential killer? That is an insane reason to get married,” he said, shaking his head furiously.

“You asked what I wanted,” I reminded him. “Well, this is what I want. A marriage that keeps my friends close and my enemies even closer.”