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She almost hissed at me, falsifying my words and making my grin turn bigger. “I am not afraid of dogs.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care!”
“I don’t believe that either.”
Annoyance flashed in her eyes, and I felt too damn proud of myself. I liked her riled up by me instead of her father. I wanted all of her reactions. It was addicting.
Luciana threw her hair back and said, “Dogs are unpredictable, and they are just annoying with their unlimited energy, much like you. I don’t like that.”
“Ugh,” I said, putting a hand over my heart in mock pain. “I am wounded.”
She rolled her eyes. My dick was actually getting hard at her dismissal of me. “Cats are calm, and they usually hate humans. I say that is perfect.”
“Ah, I bet I can make them love me. Everybody loves me.”
Instead of giving me a smart comeback or a hard look, she turned away from me and took the kitten in her arms. Short silence cut the air with intensity. But then she spoke in a low but determined voice, “I am bringing them to Chicago.”
My eyebrows almost touched my hairline. “Is this mean you are saying yes to my proposal?”
She looked at me now. “Only if you accept my conditions.”
I nodded. “Hit me.”
Luce lifted her chin like we were in some kind of war of wills. “I want my cats with me.”
“Deal.”
“I am not the perfect housewife at all, and you cannot expect that from me. I won’t be your maid. I can hardly cook eggs.”
“It is okay. I am a great cook.”
She looked a little surprised at that but didn’t let it show for too long. “I want my own room. I need privacy.”
I didn’t like that one a lot but still said, “Deal.”
“I don’t want you to think you can control me. You cannot lock me in a house. You cannot force me to do anything. I might be your wife, but I am still a free person.”
“Luciana,” I said in a serious tone. “I know how the dynamics are here. I see how your mother cowers in front of your father. I grew up with similar parents, but right now, things are different in my family. I know you don’t trust me, and you have every right, but even if I want to abuse you, the women in my family will kill me for it and take you away from me. I might be called the Monster, but I know how to keep it away from my family. I will sure as hell keep it away from my wife. If I ever mistreat you in any way, you can just tell Priscilla, and it won’t matter who I am. She will help you. You will be freer than you have ever been.”
She looked away and licked her lips. I could see the war going on inside her head. My words could all be lies. There was no way for me to make her trust me fully at this point.
All I could do was hope she would take a chance on me.
“I won’t be your slave or toy,” she said in a determined voice.
“I am not looking for those. I just want you to be my wife.”
Luciana took a deep breath and looked deep into my eyes. “Then I will be your wife.”
A huge grin broke on my face. I was way too excited about that journey. Yet I didn’t spend time to tease Luciana about it but instead left quickly. I didn’t want to make Gino mad with my absence. I had other plans to get on his nerves.
We went back to dinner separately. As we ate, I waited for a perfect time. I found my opening when Priscilla was done boring Gino with a conversation about her and Antonio’s love story. I got on my feet and addressed the whole table about a big thing I wanted to do. I actually saw Gino get excited. He was probably expecting me to ask him for Luciana’s hand after dinner, but he was okay with this too. However, I had no intention of doing that. He was ready to give her to me anyway. I didn’t need to impress him.
“Priscilla and Antonio’s story has affected me for a long time,” I said to the table. “I always wanted love at first sight, just like them, and this trip has provided me with it.” I turned to Luciana and got on one knee. I opened the ring box, and it was almost a regular proposal. Her eyes filled with surprise, but I could also see the amusement deep within her. “Luciana Borelli, will you marry me?”
A side of her lips tipped up, and she answered, “Yes.”
