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“I want to give them an invitation, let them see I’m not dead, you know?” she explained.
Oh. She wanted to give me a way to rub it in her brother’s face that I always got what I wanted. The idea left me grinning.
“I’ll have it sent out immediately once you have something drawn up.”
She was smiling as well.
“Perfect.”
Ramona
Antonio was going to murder me. Maybe I shouldn’t have run away without giving a warning.
At the same time, it was so nice to finally be able to breathe without having him hovering at my side.
I was almost thirty without any kids or a boyfriend. If I stayed with Antonio, I wouldn’t meet the love of my life until I hit a retirement home. By then, most of my life would be over.
Elias Mariani was my ticket to freedom. Why would I waste time getting a boyfriend when I could get a husband? Especially one who hadn’t stopped staring at me since I took my first bite of food. Tasted a bit salty.
Seeing how Elias reacted when one of his men offered to be the one to take my invitation to Antonio, I didn’t want to think what would happen to the cooks if I complained.
Elias was all over the place with his emotions. While he stared at me like I was something special, he glared at his men. There was a warmth factor lacking in the home and it felt a bit unsettling. I wasn’t around long enough to find out why Elias treated his men the way he did.
“Antonio is definitely going to try to come here,” I explained to Elias as I picked at my food, “can you make sure nothing happens to him?”
He scoffed, frowning at my request. “If he tries to take you away, I can’t make any promises.”
“Something tells me you wouldn’t even let him take me out of a room,” I joked.
His lip twitched into a smile. “I wouldn’t allow him to touch you at all, darling.”
My stomach tightened as I felt a round of tingles. I should not get excited by the promise in his voice.
“I plan on making my intentions of staying very clear, so don’t worry. He won’t be able to convince me to stay. I just want to make sure you don’t try to shoot him again. If he gets hurt, then I don’t think I’ll be able to stick around.”
Elias sat back in his chair, clicking his tongue in distaste. “It was hardly a graze of a bullet,” he defended. “An act of self-defense. If Antonio had given me his blessing instead of punching my face, then he wouldn’t have gotten injured.”
“You’ve asked him to marry me before?” I asked, curious. Clearly, my brother hadn’t been very open with me when it came to Elias.
“Every chance I could possibly get,” he admitted proudly.
“Why?”
He met my curious gaze with a confused one. “I don’t understand.”
“After all these years, you’ve stayed determined to make me your wife, I just want to know why. Surely, you’ve had to have women come in and out of your life, right?”
Elias was grimacing at my question. “Why should I settle for some boring woman when I had you as an option?”
I scoffed, laughing at his words. My smile drifted off when he reached over to squeeze my hand. He felt warm, much unlike his colder personality.
“You told me you’d be my bride once I met the conditions. After going to the lengths I had, I couldn’t possibly lose sight of my prize. Now you’re in my home, promised to be mine in a week. I’ve been rewarded for my patience.”
“I’m yours now,” I promised him softly.
As much as I loved the aspect of freedom, I was growing worried.
“Why are you upset?” he asked, his hold on my hand growing firmer, grounding me to avoid allowing me to slip deeper into my concerns.
