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I bite my lip. "I don't know. I just don't know."
"Dani, you asked him to take you with him to Italy. Pack your bags and fucking go. You don’t have to marry the guy, but can you please do me the honor of getting some real Italian gelato and pizza? Pleeease?”
Ten minutes later, Emmy’s and my bags are packed, and I’ve got us ready to go. There's a knock at the door. "Who is it?"
"Your driver, ma'am. Mr. Montavio sent us to get you, your daughter, and your bags."
My phone buzzes with a text. I quickly look at it and feel Sarah tightening beside me.
Open the text from Ricco.
I had to talk to Sergio and make sure that everything is set for us to go. I sent two of my best guys to bring you and Emmy to the airport. Wait for me there, I'll come as soon as I can.
"They’re his men."
"Of fucking course they are," she says under her breath. "I hope they're hot too."
Sarah opens the door, throws her shoulders back, and flashes her dazzling smile at two of the hottest guys I've ever seen. Neither one of them flinches or even blinks.
"Which one of you is Daniella?"
I raise my hand.
Now they're paying attention to my sister. Of course. Neither one of them would look at me once they knew that I was Ricco’s. They probably value their lives a little more than that.
It feels real, as I watch them carry my bags and Emmy's outside. I lock up the house and take Emmy’s little hand. She rubs her eyes sleepily, but grins when I tell her we’re going on a plane.
"We're going flying. Way, way up in the air."
I must be crazy.
"I love this for you," Sarah says, her eyes misty as she squeezes me in a tight hug. "Finally, some fucking adventure. You deserve this."
"We’ll see about that."
We walk down the front sidewalk, the air pregnant with the smell of rain and the chill that comes with evening. A long, gleaming black luxury car waits for us. I'm surprised to see, though I shouldn't be, there's a car seat already installed in the car.
The ride to the airport is quick, with no traffic this time of night. And when we arrive there, another car is waiting.
I hold my breath, as if I’ve been waiting for this moment. The door opens, and Ricco steps out. I melt as soon as his tall, muscular physique, chiseled jawline, smoldering eyes, and dark, tousled hair appear. His confident stance and untamed charm capture my heart. And I know I made the right choice.
He gathers me in his arms, kissing me briefly on the lips.
"This is the smallest plane I’ve ever seen," I say in a panic.
"It's one of the safest planes you’ve ever seen," Ricco explains patiently. "It's private. That's the only reason why it's small. I promise, once you get inside, you’ll be fine." And he's right. It's beautiful and well-appointed in here, and Marco's already strapped into his car seat, waving at us. There are little bottles of apple juice and lollipops for the kids to suck so their ears don't hurt as we increase altitude. There’s even a young woman, dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, sitting next to Marco.
"This is Penny. She's coming with us. She's Marco's nanny."
Oh, wow. He really did think of everything.
"And now she's Emmy’s nanny, too. For the trip anyway."
We get the kids situated, and their excitement quickly wears off once the plane is in the air. Penny reads some stories as the hum of the engines lulls them off to sleep.
"Come with me," Ricco says, now that things have settled down.
He takes me to the back of the plane, close enough so that I can still see the kids and Penny from where I am. Her head lolls to the side, and she's dead asleep. But we're far enough away that we have a little privacy. "I can't believe you're here with me," he says with a shy smile. Ricco gestures for me to join him. “Have a seat.”
I sit next to him. "I can't believe I’m here either. Was Sergio, like, okay with this?"
"I don't fucking care what Sergio’s okay with," Ricco says, adjusting his seat. Well then, that answers that question. Dammit.
"What's Sergio’s problem anyway?"
"You have to understand, in my family we don't date for fun.”
"Okay, so…."
"My sister Vivia is married to one of the Rossis, one not related by blood. I married Martina because my family needed me. She and I made the best of it, but there was never any romantic love involved."
"Right. And Timeo?”
"He's too young to be forced into marriage right now, but within the next couple of years, he'll have to make a choice. And for reasons I won't get into, it’ll be a complicated one."
