Chapter Eighteen
Ella
My mouth hangs open as I”m staring at Aiden.
He”s never yelled at me before, and I can”t say that I care much for this side of my fiancé.
This is the last thing I expected.
I scramble to find a response, but come up blank. It”s as if my brain has stopped working.
The knot in my stomach I thought would disappear with Niccolo is now more oppressive.
Ade and I stare at each other, the tension mounting. I don”t understand.
”Um, we”ll leave you guys to sort this out,” Lex says, taking Rhia”s hand, trying to pull her into the house.
She opens her mouth to protest, but Lex cuts her off. ”Trouble, I know you want to stay and help Ella, but this is between the two of them.”
Her gaze wanders from Aiden to me before she nods tightly. ”Holler if you need me,” she tells me before she lets Lex drag her inside, closing the door.
”I cannot believe you just yelled at me after the ordeal of dealing with that lunatic.”
”Exactly!” he raises his voice again. ”Romero is a lunatic! An unpredictable, unhinged son of a bitch! What were you thinking stepping out from behind me at the heliport?”
”Oh, I don”t know,” I retort sarcastically. ”Perhaps that a confrontation with Niccolo was unavoidable and that we might as well face this debacle together… you know, like a real couple? Like we”re about to promise each other… for better and for worse… that sort of thing!”
Ade”s face is red, and he drags his hands through his hair repeatedly. Have I ever seen him this angry?
”Ella, I”ve been trained for a situation like that. You should have let me handle it. You have no experience in dealing with these sorts of people—”
”Don”t I?” I cut him off. ”I was thrown into the mafia world. I dealt with Tiero and Molinaro, soldiers and thugs,” I claim. Though only the beingthrown in part is truly accurate.
As for dealing with those mafia men… I was completely out of my depth. I did not know what I was doing, playing it by ear the entire time. Aiden is right, he”s trained to deal with dangerous people… I am not. But the stubborn part of me refuses to acknowledge that.
I”m irate now too. If he thinks he can just walk all over me, he has another thing coming.
”Don”t belittle my ability to handle these thugs and stop treating me like a damsel in distress. We”re meant to be equal partners. Or is that no longer the case? We need to get clear on that before we promise each other forever.”
That seems to level Aiden, and he takes in a sharp breath. He runs his hands vigorously over his face, then folds them together as if praying and resting them against his chin and nose.
He doesn”t look at me but out to sea instead, trying to calm himself down.
I should do the same. Nothing good ever comes from lashing out in anger. We usually live to regret it, and I never want to hurt Ade.
He lets out a long sigh and turns to me, reaching out his hand for mine. When I take it, he pulls me against his body. He”s still shaking, and I realize it”s not with anger. It”s with anxiety… worry; the same emotions I”m still experiencing.
My heart that closed off to him after his outburst, opens like the sky after a storm. Compassion and love are all I now feel, as Ade engulfs me in his powerful arms.
”I”m sorry, Sunshine, for yelling at you,” he whispers into my hair, his voice contrite. ”There”s no excuse for it. I was just so… so scared. You are everything in my world. All I ever want is for you to be safe and happy. When you walked off with Romero into the bedroom, I nearly lost it. I was going out of my mind with worry about what he might do to you, and I was helplessly bound there. I felt like I was failing you… failing us. And I took it out on you. I”m sorry.”
I wind my arms tighter around Ade”s waist and bury my face against his chest, breathing in his alpine scent. His words sink in, and I”m feeling guilty for my outburst and fighting with him.
”I am sorry too, Ade. I didn”t mean to snap at you. You”re right, I should have let you take the lead. This is your scene, after all. But all I saw was that gun pointed at you, and I needed to do something.”
Perhaps it was foolish to believe I could handle that unexpected turn of events, but I”m not sure I”d do anything different if I were given the chance to do it again.
”I thought Niccolo was after those papers we found yesterday, and I was happy to give them up if it meant getting rid of him quicker. They don”t mean anything to me. But you, and Rhia and also Lex… you are everything to me.”
Ade squeezes me tighter, his heart still thudding heavily against his chest where my head is resting. Gradually, it decelerates.
”Did he take the papers?” he asks after minutes of just standing there and holding onto each other.
”He did. But it wasn”t what he was after.”
Ade pulls away to look at me, frowning. ”What did he want, then?”
”The necklace.”
”The necklace?” Ade repeats, sounding confused. ”But why?”
”I asked him, but he wouldn”t say.”
I snuggle deeper into Ade”s chest again, drinking in the comfort and feeling of safety only he can give me.
”Do you remember the pictures of the little kid we found last time we were here?”
”Yes, we were going to ask Mateo about him.”
”I think it was Niccolo.”
”Really? He looks nothing like the boy in the photos.”
”I know, but kids change a lot… and his eyes. I”m sure they”re the same.”
”How did Romero react to seeing them?”
”He seemed surprised and muttered something to himself. I couldn”t understand everything, but I”m sure at one point he said ”she wouldn”t have been that stupid, even if she was a woman”. That comment made me so angry. He really doesn”t seem to rate women highly.”
”Who was he talking about?” Ade asks.
I shrug my shoulder, shaking my head. ”I have no idea. He wasn”t giving anything away, nor did he confirm it was him. The mystery is as alive as ever, perhaps more so now. I certainly have more questions swimming in my mind.”
”Yeah,” Ade agrees. ”I”ll look more into Niccolo Romero when we get back to Atlanta. For the rest of today and the rest of our trip, I really want to forget all about that asshole.”
”Works for me.” I smile up at him and move my arms up his body and around his neck, placing my lips softly against his.
”I am truly sorry, Ade. It was never my intention to worry you. And thank God, we all made it through this episode unscathed.”
”Talking about God…we better find out what happened to the reverend, or it will be hard, if not impossible, to get married today.”
I quickly cover his mouth with my hand. ”Shh, don”t say that.”
”It”s a possibility,” he says against my palm, his words coming out muffled. ”Today hasn”t gone to plan so far.”
”Nope,” I reply, exaggerating the ”p”. ”I bet there are no published statistics on having your wedding day hijacked by the mafia,” I joke, the lightness I woke up with this morning slowly returning.
Ade chuckles. ”I don”t remember coming across any.”
He takes my face in his hands and kisses me tenderly before resting his forehead against mine, breathing me in.
”Nothing will stop me from making you my wife today,” he declares.
”Well, you better find our celebrant then.”