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She took comfort in his innocent touch, a mountain of reassurance in his unabashed stride as he urged her through the doors and down the wide aisle. Soft, indulgent gasps accompanied what was most people’s first sighting of her son, but it did nothing to ease her nerves as those gazes swept up to probe her because the most probing was Rocco’s.
Even from the distance between them, she felt its power, its laser-like, unwavering focus. It drew her like a magnet, propelling her forward until she was beside him.
Vaguely, she sensed Gianni being ushered away by his great-grandmother.
Then Rocco was taking her hand, firm and implacable, and turning her to face the priest.
The ceremony was shockingly quick, the words barely sinking in before she felt the soul-shaking finality of his ring sliding onto her finger.
She shivered; her fingers trembled wildly.
Rocco’s grip tightened, his nostrils flaring in that possessive, definitive way that spelled that he’d well and truly captured her. Then he clasped her shoulders, tugged her to him. When their lips were a breath apart, he held her there, locked in his arms and by his gaze.
‘You’re mine now, cara,’ he breathed, his voice low and for her ears only. ‘Now show the world you’re ecstatic about it.’
It took a moment to realise he was leaving the option to her. To buck tradition and initiate their wedding kiss. It was a clear challenge, a push for her to play her part.
Perhaps it was simply because this man drove her to dangerous extremes. Or perhaps because he expected her to refuse. It might have had something to do with not wanting to invite speculation from the dozens of Vitellis holding their collective breaths.
Whatever it was, she refused to back away from it.
So she curled her hands beneath his silk lapel, slowly slid her hands up to lock around his nape. Then rising on tiptoe, she pressed her lips to his.
It was meant to be brief, to the point.
It turned out to be anything but. The moment her lips touched his, Rocco took over. The alpha male who couldn’t cede control for longer than two seconds, he slanted his lips across hers and deepened the kiss, his tongue gliding between her lips to stroke hers.
The cheer of the crowd fell away, the rush of blood in her ears drowning out everything save the riot of sensation pummelling her. Time ceased to register. By the time Rocco ended the kiss they were both breathing hard, his eyes dark and stormy as he stared at her.
It might have started off as a way to make a point. But it ended with her recognising that she’d only weakened the armour she should’ve been fortifying around him.
That thought triggered mild panic as Rocco escorted her down the aisle and out into the waiting limo. As had been prearranged, Gianni would ride with his grandmother and her retinue in another limo, leaving Mia alone with Rocco.
She watched him reach into his breast pocket as the car left the church to head back to the villa. When she realised what he was holding out to her, her lips fell open in shock.
She stared at the flawless, square-cut diamond engagement ring that had adorned her finger for many months before she’d realised she was living in a dream world. ‘You kept it?’
He shrugged. ‘I was tempted to throw it into Mount Etna at one point, but luckily I resisted that particular melodramatic gesture.’
Because he couldn’t be bothered? ‘Why? I’d have thought you’d be eager to be rid of it.’
His lips twisted. ‘Perhaps I needed the reminder? Or more likely, whoever was tasked with removing your belongings thought it prudent for it to find its way to my bank vault. Which is where it’s been all this time. Don’t overthink it, Mia. You picked it. It’s yours again now.’
He caught her fingers with his and slid the ring next to her wedding band. As if designed for the sole purpose of complementing one another, the rings fitted together perfectly. If he’d been anyone else, she’d have asked whether he’d intended it that way. But as he’d said, he’d barely given the ring, and her, a second thought until now.
She tugged her hand away and balled her fist, to hide its trembling and to hold emotions determined to overflow locked inside, while he sat back, his eyes resting on the rings for a moment before rising to her face.
‘I take it from that smug expression that I’ve passed another one of your tests?’ she asked.
‘The one at the altar you passed with flying colours. For a moment there, even I was convinced we were an ecstatically married couple, crazily lusting after one another. So you see, cara, your transition back into my life is going to be less fraught than you think. And speaking of transition...’
The pause was deliberate. A predator taunting its prey. She knew it but still couldn’t help herself. ‘
Yes?’
‘We have an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t follow.’
