Chapter 31
Matteo
We walked by the Colosseum and did a pasta-making class in Rome, visited the Tower of Pisa, went to more galleries than I can recall in Florence, and now, we’re in Portofino, walking through the streets and checking out the shops.
This week has been perfect. Dani has fallen in love with Italy, and I’ve fallen even more in love with her. The days have been spent sightseeing, and the nights have been spent with her wrapped around me.
Tonight is our last night here, and I’m freaking out a little because I want to make it memorable.
We’re staying at a hotel that overlooks the Ligurian Sea, and I’ve enlisted the hotel restaurant to have dinner ready for us on the terrace when we get back.
I never imagined this would be my life, but the happiness I see radiating on Dani’s face as she experiences each part of Italy makes it worth it.
“Oh! Let’s go in here,” she says, pulling me into a high-end boutique.
She spends the next twenty minutes checking out the expensive purses that I’ve seen my mom and sister use, and she finally settles on a little white-and-black one that shouldn’t cost as much as it does.
Of course, she doesn’t ask me to buy it for her because she has her own money and refuses to let me pay for anything unless it’s part of the trip. Once the overpriced purse is paid for and in some ugly-ass orange bag, we head out.
“The purse is so cute, right?” she says, her hand back in mine, where it belongs, while I carry her bags in my other hand.
The guards—who I insisted come with us because I’m not taking any chances—are following behind, keeping enough of a distance that it doesn’t feel like they’re with us, but close enough that if something were to happen, they’d see it coming.
“So cute,” I say with a laugh, making her grin. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving. We should find somewhere to eat and then go back to our hotel and put that huge spa tub to use.”
She waggles her brows, and I shake my head. Dani’s sex drive is insatiable—not that I’m complaining.
“You know, with you being twelve … well, shit, actually, thirteen years younger since I turned thirty-five, I worry, in a few years, when I’m old and I can barely keep it up, you’ll leave me for a younger guy.”
It’s meant to be a joke, but I realize it fell flat when Dani stops walking and glances up at me.
“You think I’d leave you over sex?”
“I was just kidding.”
Though a part of me wasn’t.
She quirks a brow, and I sigh.
“Andrey used to say that he fucked other women because my mom wouldn’t put out. They were always younger women, in their prime.” I shrug. “I’m already thirty-five, and you’re twenty-two.”
“I’ll be twenty-three soon,” she sasses, which makes me think …
“When’s your birthday?” Fuck, I should know this, but I don’t.
She snorts out a laugh. “Actually, it’s tomorrow.”
“What?” I bark. “Are you fucking serious? How did I not know that? I feel like I’m already failing at this boyfriend shit.”
“You’re not failing at anything. We can’t possibly know everything about each other.
And the fun is in getting to know each other.
” She palms the side of my face. “I love you, and I don’t care how much older you are than me.
I’m not going anywhere. Plus, they have those little blue pills for a reason. ”
She sticks her tongue out at me and goes to run, but before she can get away, I swat her ass, making her cackle as she glances back at me.
Her grin is so infectious that I don’t know how I’m going to go back to reality in a couple of days.
She’s quickly become an addiction that I never want to break.
The table and chairs I requested are on the terrace, and once we rinse off and change, they’re going to bring up dinner. I also emailed the manager and told him to add a birthday cake since Dani’s fucking birthday is tomorrow and I had no idea.
“Where are we going to eat?” Dani asks, peeking out of the shower, her hair dripping wet.
Knowing that she’s naked behind the curtain has my dick swelling in my pants, but I remind it that tonight is too important to fuck her in the shower. The sex will hopefully come later.
“We’re eating here,” I tell her. “I ordered room service.”
She grins. “Good, then we won’t have to go far to the tub afterward.”
She disappears behind the curtain, and I double-check to ensure everything is in place.
The table is set with an ivory cloth, plates and glasses situated on top, with candles waiting to be lit in the center.
The terrace railing has been wrapped with flowers of various colors, and a dock, where I can put my phone to play soft music, is in the corner, ready to go.
As I stare at the setup, I wonder if I’ve made the right choice. If we were having dinner at a restaurant, I could have someone take pictures, but since we’re alone up here, that’s not possible.
I’m about to text my brother to get his opinion when Dani steps out of the room.
She’s wearing a gorgeous, sleeveless sundress that cuts low in the front, giving me the perfect view of the swells of her tits, and hits just above her knees, showing off her legs.
The dress is tight in all the right places, emphasizing her curves.
She’s barefoot, she has only a hint of makeup on her face, and her hair has been brushed but is still damp.
She’s glowing from all the sun she’s gotten this week, and suddenly, nothing else matters but making her mine.
“You look gorgeous.” I take her hand in mine and guide her onto the terrace.
I was supposed to do this after dinner, but I can’t wait.
“Thank you,” she says with a soft smile. Her gaze shifts to the dinner setup. “Wow,” she breathes out. “This is beautiful. Is this all for dinner?”
“Actually”—I pull the box out of my pocket and open it—“it’s for this.”
She turns to see what I’m referring to, and when her eyes land on the ring, she gasps, her hand going to her mouth and her gaze meeting mine.
I planned an entire speech, but the moment I go to speak, it all flies out of my brain, frustrating the hell out of me.
She stands there, waiting for me to say something, and I chuckle, stepping closer to her.
“Everything I planned to say just left my brain,” I admit.
She laughs. But it’s not deprecating. It’s sweet and understanding because Daniella Russo understands me.
“I never planned to fall in love,” I tell her, going with what’s in my heart.
“I won’t get into my life story since you know it and it would kill the mood.
But because of it, I didn’t want any of this.
” I wave my hand around to emphasize my point.
“And I definitely didn’t want you,” I admit, cringing when I realize how bad that sounded.
“Not that you’re not worth wanting, but you were always Little Russo to me. Lorenzo’s little sister. The little girl my brother was supposed to marry before he got out of it—fuck.” I chuckle humorlessly. “I really suck at this.”
“No, you don’t,” she says, placing her delicate hand on my arm. “I was off-limits.”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “But you grew up and became this amazing woman. But even then, I didn’t consider it.
And then you were taken, and we started texting, getting to know each other.
When you moved in with me, it was like my entire life as I had known it was all a lie.
You have me wanting shit I never knew I wanted, like marriage and babies and … ”
I swallow thickly and look into her bright emerald eyes. “I’ve realized that it’s not love I want. It’s you. And I’ll take you any way I can get you as long as I can have you in my life.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I love you,” she says with a playful smirk. “So, you get me and love.”
“I want it all with you. I want you to be my wife. I want us to have a life together where we go on vacations like this. To eat meals with you and fuck you on every damn surface we come across.”
She barks out a watery laugh, and my heart fills with so much damn love.
“I know you’re planning to renew your birth control, but when you’re ready, I want to have a baby with you, if that’s what you want.
I never wanted any of this shit, and I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it, but the thought of a piece of you and a piece of me growing inside you …
” I shake my head and run my hand along my stubble.
“The idea of a little mini us with your green eyes and patience and unconditional love …”
“And your strength and loyalty and big heart,” she adds.
“Will you marry me, Dani? Will you become my wife and spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Yes,” she says, sniffling back her tears. “I would love to marry you.”
I slide the ring onto her finger, and she snakes her arms around me. I lift her into my arms, and she wraps her legs around my waist as our mouths connect.
I walk us back inside, leaving the French doors open to let in the evening breeze, and I spend the next God knows how long worshipping my fiancée, until her stomach rumbles, reminding me that I never called for dinner to be brought up.
“Let’s get you fed,” I tell her, handing her back her clothes.
With three orgasms, she’s lying on the bed in a sleepy daze, but because she’s hungry, she nods and sits up.
“Stay there,” I tell her, leaning over and giving her a quick kiss when there’s a knock on the door. “I’ll bring the food to you.”
“No, that’s okay,” she says. “I want to sit out on the terrace. It’s decorated so beautifully, and it’s our last night here. Plus, I want to take a few pictures of my ring out there.”
She blushes a beautiful shade of pink, and I can’t help but kiss her again, this time harder.
“Okay, I’ll meet you out there.”
Since I’m not going to risk anyone seeing her half naked, I let the bellhop know I’ll bring the food in myself, and then I wheel the cart in.
I grab our dome-covered meals and carry them onto the terrace, where Dani is sitting, staring out at the water.
Her hair is up in a messy bun, she’s back in her pajamas, and she’s smiling softly.
“It smells good,” she says, taking the lid off the plate.
Her engagement ring hits the light and twinkles, and I now understand where the possessiveness my brother feels toward Peyton comes from.
“I don’t want to wait.”
“Well then, sit down and eat.” She laughs, misunderstanding.
“No, I don’t want to wait to marry you. Anything can happen in life, and I don’t want to wait to make you my wife.”
A beautiful grin spreads across her face. “Okay, we don’t have to wait. But …”
She gnaws on her bottom lip, and I reach out and pull it out, then lift her so she’s sitting on my lap.
“Talk to me.”
“I know I’ve been married before …”
The growl that leaves my body has her widening her eyes.
“You were not married to that fucker,” I tell her. “It was annulled, which means it never happened.”
“I know,” she agrees. “But what I was trying to say was, when Enrique and I got married, it was so quick. When I mentioned wanting an actual wedding, he ignored me and pushed forward with the quickie wedding. Looking back, I know it was because of his master plan.
“But I don’t want that kind of wedding with you.
I don’t have a lot of family or friends, but I’d like to wear a white dress and walk down the aisle with my brother.
I’d like a pretty reception and a cake we cut into and feed each other.
I want to dance with you, and at the end of the night, I’d like to go to a hotel, where we spend the evening consummating our marriage. ”
She shrugs shyly, her gaze averting to over my shoulder, so I tilt her chin to look at me.
“You can have all that,” I tell her.
The only thing I care about is marrying her, but if she wants a wedding, she’ll have it, and I’ll be right there, in a tux, with my brother by my side.
“But I don’t want to wait. Hire someone or plan it yourself. I’ll do whatever you want. Two months, max,” I say, “and then you’re mine forever.”
A beautiful smile curves the corner of her lips. “Thank you.” She presses her lips to mine. “Now, feed me, fiancé. I’m starved.”