Chapter 37
JULIUS
Ilove the fire in Rose, but I wish I hadn’t started it. She is more than everything I wanted in a wife, and yet I mourn the innocent angel I first set eyes on. Her courage is building, which is a very good thing, but the selfish part of me wants to keep that innocence for as long as possible.
“Tell me what I must do.”
The determination in her voice makes me sad, but I push it away and say roughly, “I’ll arrange the lunch date. My mother will fly in from the Hamptons and will accompany you. Eddie and the rest of my men will go with you.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, didn’t I say?–”
She leans forward, and I remark casually, “Where you go, I go, and I may not have been invited, but three against one is much better odds when you are dealing with a woman like Morgan Sorcusi.”
Her eyes flash with happiness, and she leans forward and reaches for my hand. “Thank you.”
A soft smile accompanies her words, and my heart aches. “I would never place you in danger, Rose, not for all the information in the world.”
“I appreciate that, Julius, and well–” she smiles. “I’m more than happy about that.”
I nod toward the uneaten breakfast.
“Finish this while I find Eddie. We must get this moving because it may help your sisters. I’ll arrange it for today, so when you have finished, if I’m not here, head back to the room and change for lunch.”
Her face falls, causing me to respond, “What’s the matter?”
“It’s silly but well–”
“Tell me.”
“I, um, I’m not sure if I have anything suitable to wear. I mean, your mom must be a smart woman, and Morgan definitely is, and all I have are my clothes that I traveled here in and a few items we picked up in Spain.”
I berate myself for not addressing Rose’s needs sooner and, in a flash, I pull out my phone and dial the housekeeper.
“Julia, please arrange for the personal shopper at Marlowe’s to deliver a wardrobe fit for a queen with items for every occasion within two hours.”
I cut the call and Rose gasps, “What did you just do?”
“I shopped, Rose, and unlike a woman, it took me two seconds to get what I wanted. You’re welcome.”
I stand and point to the food.
“Now eat and then dive into that guilty pleasure of yours, otherwise known as a deep bath and when the clothes arrive, enjoy unpacking knowing that whatever you wish is my command.”
I wink as I leave her open-mouthed at the table and head off to make the arrangements with Eddie because as I said before, I like to be three steps ahead of my enemies and Morgan will be a slippery adversary which is great because I am so fucking ready for the challenge.
The helicopter hovers overhead, and Rose grips my hand tightly.
“Relax, baby. She doesn’t bite.”
“What if she hates me?”
“She won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because nobody could hate you, and if they do, I’ll deal with them.”
“For hating me.” She laughs and nudges me. “You’re such a fool, Julius.”
I take a moment to appreciate the description because, apart from my brothers, I don’t believe anyone has ever called me that.
They wouldn’t dare, and I love that she calls me out without worrying about the consequences.
I have never felt this comfortable with a woman before and I’m surprised how much I like it.
It’s as if we are one fluid movement. I can relax around her and not worry that she is playing some kind of game. What you see is what you get with Rose, and I like what I see – a lot.
My voice softens, and I say with a confident smile. “Of course she’ll love you. What’s not to love?”
The word hangs between us, and my heart has a strange ache inside. Love. Is this the emotion I’m experiencing? Do I love Rose? Do I deserve to love a woman like her? I doubt it, but it appears that God has thrown an angel at me to make me a better man, and I wonder about that.
Will this make me less ruthless and not quite so brutal? Will my softer side interfere with business, which, up until meeting Rose, was the most important thing in my life?
If anything, it will only heighten my character traits because now I have something—someone—to protect other than myself or family.
I have her, and God help anyone who tries to take her from me.
So, if anything, my resolve hardens and my inner knives sharpen.
I am metaphorically loading my gun and pointing it at my enemies.
Hurt Rose, and it will be the last thing you ever do because, as I have said on so many occasions, I am always three steps ahead of my enemies.
The helicopter lands, and my heart tugs in a different direction because as the blades slow down and the door opens, my mother steps out a vision of elegance and warmth.
A smile always accompanies my greeting to the one woman who starred in my world center stage, until I met Rose of course, and I wonder about that.
She heads toward us with a soft smile, her eyes gleaming as she registers our hands linked together.
“Julius.”
I step forward and kiss her three times and then pull Rose beside me.
“Mom, this is Rose.”
“Such a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
I roll my eyes, and Mom chuckles in amusement, and Rose blushes as deep as her namesake as she whispers, “I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Ravera.”
“Call me Sophia, darling.”
Mom pulls her into a hug and kisses her three times, as is customary in our family. Then she nods toward the house.
“I could murder a coffee. Why don’t we talk inside?”
Mom doesn’t visit the Washington mansion much, preferring to spend most of her time in the Hamptons with my father. I prefer to run the business from here because it gives me privacy.
Nico lives in his penthouse in New York most of the time to be close to Viper holdings and Joseph is stationed in London, living in the house in Belgravia.
Simeon flits between them all, and if he favors any particular location, he prefers the ranch in Denver. When in town, he stays in a converted building in Queens, shying away from the elite because he prefers to surround himself with reality, as he calls it.
Subsequently, our parents leave him alone because it’s not a place they enjoy going, which makes me conclude that of all of us, Joseph possibly being the only exception, Simeon is the shrewdest of us all.
Rose is quiet as she walks beside me, and I sense her unease. Mom is a stylish and elegant woman and exudes confidence, and Rose has a long way to go in achieving that. But she will. It will come in time, and I’m not pushing it because the longer Rose stays exactly how she is now, is fine by me.