Chapter 17
Iwake up to darkness and know I’m alone. The bed where Antonio should be is cold. I get up, throw on a robe, and walk towards the closed door, only to pull it open and find Emillio sitting in the hallway, propped up against the opposite wall.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“Sitting in the hall?” He says it like it’s a question.
“Why?” I glance both ways before narrowing my glare back on him. “Where’s Antonio?”
“He had something to do. He’ll be back soon, though,” Emillio says. “You want some ice cream?”
“No.” I shake my head.
I’m about to turn around and go back to bed when I hear the front door open. Then voices fill the foyer. Emillio jumps to his feet and is in front of me quicker than I can blink. His body relaxes when he hears his brother. I move to the side, to peer around him, and gasp when my eyes land on Antonio. He’s covered in blood.
My whole body goes cold. Everyone looks at me. And I do the only thing I can think of. I turn around and sprint back to the bedroom before closing the door behind me. I rush into the bathroom and make it to the toilet just in time for the contents of my stomach to expel into the bowl.
The door opens and Antonio curses under his breath as he sits down next to me. He brushes my hair away from my face.
“Matilda? What’s wrong?” he asks, then yells out through the door, “Shit. Someone get a doctor.”
I shake my head. “I don’t need a doctor,” I whisper.
“What’s wrong?” he asks again, running a hand down my back.
“I… You weren’t here. I woke up and you weren’t here. And now you’re covered in… Wait… Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?” I reach out and start patting his chest, looking for the source of all the blood.
“I’m fine, ragazza. It isn’t mine,” he says.
My shoulders sag in relief. I should be concerned for whoever this blood belongs to, but I already know without even asking. “You found him.”
“We did. He’s no longer an issue,” Antonio confirms.
They found the guy who threatened me. I knew they would and I’m glad they did. At the same time… “I don’t like that you had to do that for me.”
“I know. But, Matilda, I’ve never had a better reason to kill. I will always put you first.” Antonio presses a kiss to my forehead. “Marry me,” he whispers.
I freeze. “What?”
“Marry me. I want forever with you, Matilda Valentino.”
“I… We don’t even live together, Antonio. You’re skipping a few steps here,” I tell him while my brain tries to catch up.
“So, move in with me.” He shrugs.
I consider his proposal before nodding my head. “Okay, I’ll move in. And I’ll marry you… but not until after I finish college.”
Antonio frowns. “You have two years left.”
“I know.”
“That’s a long time to wait for you to have my last name,” he says.
“You’ll survive.” I smile. It quickly drops into a frown. “Well, maybe. My dad might actually kill you when he finds out I’m moving in with you.” I push to my feet and walk over to the sink. Where I pick up my toothbrush, squirt some paste on the bristles, and go about washing out my mouth.
“Why were you sick?” Antonio asks from where he’s now standing behind me.
I wait until my mouth isn’t full to respond. “I don’t like seeing you covered in blood. I thought… I don’t know what I thought, but it scared me.” I sigh as I turn around to face him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I also don’t like waking up and finding you gone. Next time, tell me you’re leaving the house.”
“Okay.” Antonio’s lips curl into a huge-ass grin as he grabs my hips and tugs me against him.
“Thank you.”
“I love you, Matilda.”
I rest my hands on his chest and peer up at him. “I love you too, but you need to shower.”
Antonio steps back and reaches into the stall. “You know, I think I actually am a little hurt. I might need your help in the shower, ragazza,” he says as he tugs his shirt over his head.
One look at his naked torso tells me it’s a lie. But I decide to play along. Truth is, I’ll take any chance I get to touch this man.