Page 51 of Taking His Heart

“You know, that’s very 1940s of you, CJ. I can and will contribute to our life just as much as you do. I’m not going to just sit around and leech off my husband’s hard work.”

I can’t help the stupid smile that spreads over my face. “I like hearing you say that.”

“What? That I’m not going to leech off you?”

“That I’m your husband.”

“Me too. I know I have issues, CJ, but I really do want this to work. I want to be good enough for you.”

“You are more than enough for me, Dani.” I pick up her hand and bring it to my mouth, kissing her knuckles before resting our now-joined palms on my thigh.

“I’m going to do my best.”

“Daniella Bianchi, you don’t need to be anything but who you are.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t. But you will. One day, you will believe those words.” I’ll make damn sure she does. I don’t know what it’s going to take, but I will do anything to make her believe in us, believe in herself. “When are your parents planning on going home?”

“We were supposed to leave three days ago.”

I don’t miss the fact she said we, not they. “Why didn’t they?”

“Mum said Dad wasn’t finished doing whatever he needed to do here.”

“Right.”

I need to start making arrangements, so that when her parents return to Australia, Daniella and I are on that jet. Even if it’s only for a few weeks to find a house before bringing her back to Vegas.

“I need to find a job,” Daniella says.

“Why? You have a job.”

“I work for Cinque Whiskey,” she says. “In Melbourne. Last I checked, there wasn’t a Cinque here.”

Her family’s whiskey distillery is world renowned. “Maybe it’s time there was a Cinque bar here. I happen to know a few casinos on the Strip that would support the project.”

“That sounds an awful lot like nepotism.” She laughs.

“We both work for our families, Dani. We are both the very result of nepotism.” I chuckle.

“True. I’ll talk to my father and uncles. Maybe I can branch out and do something with Cinque in Vegas.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her she doesn’t need to work at all. But I know Daniella, and I know that would be a stupid thing to tell her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The thought of moving Cinque into Vegas in some way, even a small one like a bar, is exciting. I need something to do here, and bringing my work from home might make the move a little less daunting.

I know I have the luxury of being able to return home whenever I please. But if I really want this marriage with CJ to work, I need to put in the effort. I need to prove to him that I’m here for good. I’m not going to run again.

“Where do you see yourself in ten years?” I ask CJ.

“Inside your pussy.” He smirks.

“Funny. I’m being serious. Where do you see us in ten years?”

“I am serious. I see us in a bed. In a big house, our house. I see us happy as fuck, Dani, with a cat or two,” he says.