31. Summer #2
“Of course, ma’am.” All business, he held open the rear door.
“And do you think you could maybe not tell Mr. Bellini that I’m coming?”
He visibly paled, shifting on his feet. “Uh.”
“I promise I won’t let you get in trouble . . .” I waited for him to supply his name.
“Gianni.”
I gave him a warm smile, placing my hand on his forearm. “Gianni. You would be doing this as a personal favor to me.”
A war played out behind his eyes, but after about a minute, he ducked his head. “Just this once, Mrs. Bellini.”
“Thank you.”
The ride from Gabi’s place to Matteo’s took twice as long as it usually did; every light on the way turned red right as we approached.
Anticipation buzzed beneath my skin, making it impossible to sit still.
I was chomping at the bit to squeeze my daughters, kiss Matteo, and promise all of them I was never leaving again.
We finally made it to the underground garage, and I hopped out of the back before Gianni could offer me a hand. The ascent to the penthouse level was spent picturing my husband’s reaction when I walked inside to surprise him.
The elevator doors slid open, and I pressed my palm to the scanner outside of our assigned penthouse. The gears turned to disengage the lock, and I pushed my way inside.
But instead of Matteo, it was Enzo who shot off the couch in disbelief. “Summer?”
“Where is he?”
“His office.” I began to walk in that direction, but Enzo’s clarifying words stopped me in my tracks. “The one on the 59 th floor.”
“Oh.” My head whipped toward the door. “And what floor are we on now?”
“The 60 th .”
Matteo was right beneath our feet.
“I wasn’t here. Understood?” I arched an eyebrow at my husband’s cousin.
Enzo smirked, dropping back onto the couch and stretching his arms across the back of it. “That’s weird. I could have sworn I heard someone trying to get in. False alarm.”
Turning on my heel, I didn’t bother with the elevator. The stairs would be faster.
My fingerprints unlocked the door that granted me access to the executive floor, and I surprised yet another person who was not my husband.
“Mrs. Bellini.” A middle-aged woman gaped at me from behind a desk set in the lobby.
“Camille.” I greeted Matteo’s secretary. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” To this point, all of our interactions had taken place over the phone.
Gesturing toward the door featuring a plaque that denoted it as Matteo’s office, I asked, “Is he in?”
She nodded woodenly. “Yes, but—”
“Do I need to book an appointment to see my own husband?” I challenged.
“No, ma’am. It’s just—”
“Just what?”
Camille cringed. “He’s not in the best of moods.”
I plastered a smile on my face as I said with saccharine sweetness, “I imagine it’ll only get worse once he learns that I’ve been held up out here.”
Yeah, I was kind of being a bitch, but after spending days apart from Matteo and the girls, my patience was wearing thin with his gatekeeper.
With her mouth dropping open, Matteo’s secretary pressed a button on what appeared to be a small speaker.
“What?” His voice barked.
“Uh, Mr. Bellini, I have—”
“I don’t care who the fuck you have. I’m not available.”
The woman shot me a pleading look, begging me to understand.
I held up a hand. “I’ve got this.”
“Ma’am,” she hissed to my back when I moved toward the double doors, probably thinking I was about to get her fired.
Grasping the handle, I pushed inside.
Though his head was bent, Matteo heard my entry, and it caused him to slam a fist down on his desk. The sharp crack was enough to make me jump.
“Goddammit! I said—” His words died when he peered up and saw me standing in the doorway, and he rubbed at his eyes, likely wondering if I was a figment of his imagination.
When he lowered his hands, I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “Should I go?”
He rose from his desk chair, placing both palms down on the polished wood surface before him. For a minute, all he did was stare at me, his gaze roving over me from head to toe.
I bit down on my lower lip to hide my smile. “Hi.”
He huffed out a laugh. “You’re really here?”
Letting the door fall shut behind me, I strode to where he stood and perched my ass on the edge of his desk. “Yeah, I’m really here.”
Shaking his head, Matteo asked, “Why?”
With a hand pressed to his shoulder, I shoved him back into the chair and climbed onto his lap. Once we were forehead to forehead, I whispered, “Because you’re worth the risk. I’m sorry it took me so long to figure that out.”
His arms banded around my waist as he let out a shuddering breath. “You’re sure?”
“Mm-hmm. Even if it’s cut short, I’d rather spend the rest of my life loving you than face growing old, miserable and alone, because I decided to play it safe.”
Matteo buried his face in my neck, breathing me in. “ Ti amo .”
My entire being flooded with warmth, and I ran my fingers through his hair, dropping my lips to the dark strands with a smile. “ Ti amo . Can we go home now?”
Brown eyes lifted, and within them, I saw my entire future.
“Yeah, let’s go home.”
For the first time, home was so much more than just an address, a place to sleep at night. It was the people within those four walls, that I loved, that I couldn’t live without.
And I was never running away from it—them—again.