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“Will you tell me now how your meeting with the bishop went? I’ve been so worried, and tried to call you…”
Emelia looked at him for answers, and he realized by ignoring her calls, he’d really hurt her. “I’m sorry for not answering. I went to, but couldn’t in the end. I didn’t have any answers and I really needed a clear head to talk to the bishop.” He pressed her closer. “When I talk to you, my head is so filled with thoughts of our time together that I can’t think about anything else. You distract me, and I’m really sorry that I worried you because of that.”
Emelia kissed his chest. “I distract you, huh? I like that. I’ll need distracting later…we both will.”
“Um, that isn’t such a good idea under this roof.” There’s no way he could comfortably make love to Emelia while in his father’s house.
“You’re right,” Emelia moaned into his chest. “Seriously, though. I want to sleep in your arms tonight. We won’t get up to mischief under the covers, but I need your arms around me.”
“We can do that,” he agreed, against his better judgment. In truth, he wanted to feel her nude body against his again, but it wouldn’t be right where they were, so he changed the subject, “Back to the bishop.”
“Hmm.” Emelia sat up and straddled his lap.
His hands caressed her thighs while he watched how her dark locks fell around her shoulders. How the frown on her forehead and darkened eyes told him just how worried she was for them. But his Em was heart and soul beautiful, and he would love and cherish her for the rest of his life. He knew that without even having to think about it.
Clearing his throat, he quickly repeated his conversation with the bishop, which didn’t take too long. The part that he wasn’t sure about how he felt, he kept to himself: they could be married but not in the Catholic Church.
Every moment of his forty-one years had been spent as a Catholic. He’d devoted years to the church, first as a child when he attended Mass as an alter boy, and the last few years as a priest. How was he supposed to marry in any other church but a Catholic one? No matter what else he had given up, that was the one thing that hurt the most.
“What are you hiding?”
He hadn’t realized that Emelia watched him closely while he was lost in thought, but she had and she knew him better than anyone. At least, now that she knew how much he loved her.
He had to tell her, she wouldn’t be happy down the line when she found out that he’d kept it from her. “If the response from Rome regarding the dispensation is negative…I will still be able to marry you…”
“Seriously?”
He nodded as a profound sadness filled him. “Just not in the Catholic Church.”
She gasped. “Oh, no…Dante.” She moved closer. “I’m so,” she cupped his face, “sorry. With how much of your life has been spent devoted to the Catholic Church, I know that must hurt you. A lot.”
“It does…Em, I love you. You know this, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to go through with a marriage—”
“Shush,” she covered his mouth with a hand, “Everything will work itself out. I know that you love me, just like you know how much I love you. We might not be able to marry because we both have the same man listed as our birth father.” His eyes snapped to hers, and she smiled softly. “I’m just trying to show you that there may be more obstacles with us making the love between us legal than not being able to marry in your church.”
“I do want you as my wife, Em. I need you to know that.” It was his turn to cup Emelia’s face in his hands and, with a gentle caress over her cheekbones, he brought her close to him for a sweet kiss.
“I do know that.” Emelia settled against his chest, and appeared to snuggle down to sleep when she whispered, “After everyone has been told about us, can we go to a hotel? I need to be as close to you as I can get.”
“What about Diego? Isn’t he arriving tomorrow?” Dante would give Emelia everything if he could. As much as he wanted to make love to Emelia again, he didn’t want to alienate his family more by leaving with her. The situation wasn’t ideal, but he was sure that they’d both be happier if their family spent time around them, while they were a couple.
“You don’t think it’s a good idea…you think too loudly sometimes.”
He moaned. “I’ll have to remember that in the future.”
“I think I probably spoke too soon because it wouldn’t be a good idea to disappear after we’ve told them. At least, I don’t think it would be. Ugh, just remind me that I agreed with you when everything goes to shit later.”
“Have faith, Em. I know what your mom said about Dad, but just have faith in him.”
He held Emelia while she fell asleep in his arms. His faith wasn’t as strong as he wanted Emelia to believe because he was worried. Whereas he hadn’t been around while Emelia was growing up, his dad had been there for both of them, so out of everyone it would be more awkward for him to accept than the others. And it did bother him. It bothered him a lot.
Chapter Thirty-One
With a stretch, Emelia came awake with a start. She lay still, wondering what disturbed her sleep…and then she heard it again. Shouting.
What?
She shot up on the bed and looked around in the dim light. Where was she?
