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"How are you going about the business you came here for?"
"I have to travel every morning, but I'll be home as soon as I can every day. I promise."
I sigh and blow out a breath, but I know this is one of the tradeoffs. I know it.
Actually, we seem like a real team as we carry our bags and lead our kids into the house.
I'm exhausted, and so is he, but we get the kids situated first, getting them ready for bed. They easily tuck themselves under the blankets because they are still half asleep. Ricco bends down and kisses the top of Marco's head.
Emmy is going to love her room. All white, with pink pillows by a vanity. And mine is adjacent to hers, a door adjoining the two rooms.
Ricco kisses my cheek. “Rest well. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I kiss him back. Tuck Emmy’s blanket around her shoulders. Then flop on the bed and reach for my phone.
I text Sarah and Jason.
It's beautiful here. We're going to enjoy ourselves, I know it. And, guys?
I bite my lip.
I think I'm in love.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
RUSTIC RETREAT
Ricco
We’ve only been here one day, and I already know that I’m falling for Daniella. If I were someone who made reckless decisions, I would ask her to marry me right now. Then I’d give her the goddamn universe.
The kids wake way, way too early that first morning. When I half stumble to the kitchen, my eyes bleary from lack of sleep, I find Dani sitting at the little kitchen table with the kids. She holds a cup of hot coffee, her hair all messy, wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts.
I imagine I’m looking into my future. A future I never imagined allowing myself to have, but I want it so badly I can taste it.
"I told Penny she could sleep in," Dani says, "and I made you coffee." I love the adorable way her cheeks dimple when she smiles at me. The way her casual clothes are snug against her curves. The way her messy hair still looks sexy as fuck.
The sun has long since risen over the horizon that overlooks our courtyard. The vineyards in the distance smell of ripe grapes, and the sun-scorched fields look warm to the touch even from here.
Emmy sits at the table, swinging her legs from side to side.
"It's so pretty," she says. I wink at Dani and tuck a little bit of her hair behind her ear.
"Yes, she is," I whisper to her. Smiling shyly at me, she scoots her chair back as Marco starts to squirm and pull at the buckle holding him in his high chair when he sees me.
He fusses when she tries to help him, and as I’m reaching for him my phone rings.
"Go ahead, take it," Dani says. "I'll hold him."
“Thank you. He likes to drink milk in the morning," I tell her before leaving the kitchen, scrubbing a hand over my face when I see it’s Sergio. Fuck.
Sergio normally only ever has a conference call with the rest of the men of the Brotherhood back at Bella Notte, bringing everyone up to speed no matter where they’re traveling or stationed. It’s usually at 11:00 a.m. Boston time. This time, it’s only him and Timeo, and it’s 1:00 a.m. in Boston. I’m screwed.
His eyes flash at me and he looks like he wants to hit something. "You took her to fucking Tuscany?"
I scowl into the phone, then take a quick glance at a stained glass window that I know overlooks a paved walkway that leads to the vineyard. I'll take the kids and Dani there later. "She has a name, dipshit. And she’s safer by my side. Safer than at Bella fucking Notte."
Sergio blows out an angry breath and shoves his hands through his hair. "Is there anything I can do to talk sense into you?” He leans in closer to the phone, glaring at me, and drops his voice. "And how the fuck am I supposed to get any respect from my men when my own brothers don't do what I tell them?"
"Hey! That doesn't have to be plural. I've been a perfect saint over here," Timeo says. I can even see him holding his hands up in the air over the phone.
"For what? Like a fucking day?" I mutter. "Let me polish your goddamn halo, princess. And listen, no one needs to know anything about Dani, Sergio. Is that why you called?"
His jaw tenses and he points an irate finger at me. "You better marry her."
I groan and shake my head. "What is that supposed to mean? You're going from 'don't go anywhere near her' all the way to marriage?"
Sergio steeples his fingers, every bit the Don who rules Boston. "You know exactly what that means. If you marry her, she can't back out when she finds out what you did."
