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I raised a brow in surprise. "You do?"
"Well, we have something for you." He picked up a bag that I hadn't noticed beside him. "Now I'm not sure the meaning behind them, but my brothers assured me you would understand."
I watched as the first thing he pulled from the bag was an eternal flower. A dark red carnation, gilt in gold and encased in a glass dome.
Luca!
"Luca said you would know?"
I nodded, taking the flower. "He gave me red carnations the night we went to the charity ball. In Spanish culture, it means someone really adores you."
He grinned. "That he does."
"So you keep saying. What makes you so sure?"
"I know he does. No one has made him as careless, or as mad, as you do," he laughed. "He was pretty pissed the night you left. Although I'm not sure what he was madder at. You leaving, or the garden you destroyed."
My brow creased in confusion. "The garden?" This was not what I expected to hear but it was kind of endearing.
Luca cares about plants?
"The roses that you burned to be exact. They were climbing on the house. They were flowers his late wife had planted, and they reminded him of her every time he saw them. I guess in his own way, he loved them as a way to keep her memory alive."
My stomach dropped and I groaned inwardly. Shit! I didn't think for one second that Luca could be sentimental about anything.
Nico must have seen the sad expression on my face, as he reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry. By the looks of it, he may have forgiven you." He nodded towards the flower smiling, before looking in the bag again bringing out a beautiful pearlescent bottle with a questioning frown. "And this is from Atlas."
I took the bottle and popped the crystal top, immediately noting the heavenly scent of rosemary. His special elixir to heal the body and soothe the mind. I inhaled deeply.
Oh yeah, I missed those heavenly spa baths.
"Mmm. He certainly knows how to treat a girl." I took another whiff before replacing the top. "It's his special spa blend, as you probably know. He set up a spa bath the night I got attacked by those men."
Nico nodded solemnly. "Yeah, they told me about that. I'm sorry that happened to you."
I shrugged. "It’s okay. It happened. It's in the past. It was my own fault anyway, and I was more worried about you that night."
"And that leads me to my gift." He held out a small box.
"You bought me jewelry?" I took the box, opening it and gasped. It was beautiful. But it wasn't the fact that it was clearly expensive in its intricate three tone woven design, nor even the diamonds that studded the custom lace heart pendent. It was what was inside. "Is that what I think it is?"
He nodded, "The bullet that was meant for you. I wanted you to have it as a reminder that I will always be here to protect you." I felt overwhelmed with guilt and tears sprung to my eyes as he clasped my head in his hands. "I risked my life for you, and I would do it again."
I blinked away the tears, searching his eyes. "Why?"
He smiled wanly. "You're more important than you know, Catalina."
"How?"
He reached out, wiping away the tear that rolled down my cheek with his thumb. "I promise, when you know more about yourself, and you find out about your father, that I will tell you everything you want to know."
"Why can't you tell me now."
"Because you need to find out for yourself. We don't want to upset you or want you to think that we are persuading you onto our side. It's something you need to figure out, and when you do, we will be waiting." He cupped my chin, looking into my eyes. "I know it's hard for you right now, confusing, even frustrating, but I need you to trust me on this. Okay? I promise, when the time is right, you will know everything."
I hated that he wouldn't tell me, but deep down I knew that whatever dark secret was at play here, that Nico was speaking the truth. Overwhelmed by his honesty, I couldn't fight the urge any longer. My hands were already ahead of my thoughts as they ran through his hair and pulled him to me, pressing my lips to his. His mouth opened and he kissed me back, hard, his tongue swirling deliciously in my mouth causing a warm glow to spread in the pit of my stomach. His arms encircled me, pressing me tightly to him, and I lost myself in his embrace as the urgency in our kiss deepened. I moaned, loving the feel of being in his arms and wanted nothing more than for him to take me right there against the railing. Instead, I pulled away, both of us breathing heavily.
He leaned his forehead against mine. "I take it you believe me?" he breathed.
