AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He escorts us to his car. Shortly after Tess arrived, he bought an armored SUV with bulletproof windows. Angelo is a stickler for security, especially when he’s driving the kids and me.
After securing Tess in her car seat, he helps me into the passenger side and fits my safety belt. A car with armed men leaves before us while another one follows. Sandwiched in the middle, we cross over the mountain pass and arrive at the southern border of Bastia just before noon.
Close to the peninsula, he takes a turn to the right and parks in front of the marine research center.
I squint at the handsome, modern building through the windscreen. “What are we doing here?”
“Come,” he says, getting out but leaving the heater running so that Tess won’t be cold.
“We’re visiting?” I ask with surprise when he opens my door.
I’ve been here before on university tours. It’s an advanced facility that also houses an aquarium. They recently put out a request for funds to expand and upgrade the aquarium. They’re on Letitia and my list of fundraiser beneficiaries, and my husband donates handsomely to their cause on a monthly basis.
“Look,” Angelo says, intertwining our fingers and lifting our hands to point at the sign face on the front of the building.
As I lift my gaze, my mouth drops open. The name of the facility is spelled across the front in brand-new aluminum letters with blue backlights.
Sabella Edwards-Russo Marine Research Center and Aquarium.
“What?” I ask in a shocked whisper. “You named the place after me?”
Wrapping a hand around my nape, he turns me to face him. His dark gaze pierces mine as he leans closer and brushes his lips over mine. “Happy birthday,cara. It’s yours.”
“Mine?” The word comes out breathless. “What do you mean it’s mine?”
His sexy lips curve into a smile. “I bought it for you.”
“You did what?”
“They needed the investment, and—as you’ll soon be qualified—you need a job.”
“So you bought the whole workplace?” I exclaim. “To give me a job?”
“To do with it whatever you please. Manage it. Develop it. Or just leave it up to the team currently running it. They seem to be doing an adequate job.”
Tears well up in my eyes. “Angelo.”
He presses a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “I already gave you two rings and two cats. As you donated the car I gave you for your birthday to charity, I thought I’d better give you something you’d like.”
“Like?” I cry out. “Like doesn’t come close to how I feel. I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you?” he says with a teasing smile.
“Angelo Russo.” As always, when I look up at his face, he takes my breath away. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I have some ideas, but not in front of Tess. We’ll have to wait until we get home.”
I swat his arm. “You’re impossible.”
He takes my elbow and helps me back into the car. “So you keep on telling me.”
“Thank you,” I say when he gets in beside me.
His eyes are warm and his smile soft. “You’re welcome,cara. I already set up meetings with the management team to talk about changes. You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure everything runs smoothly until you’re ready to play a role or to take your place.”
“We could offer shark conservation fundraisers here,” I say, my excitement building as I think about the future possibilities. “We could run educational as well as exchange programs.”
He cups my knee. “I have no doubt you’ll make a success of whatever you set your mind to.”
