10. Caterina
Before I can wonder what “time to get back to our lives” looks like, Emilio and I head downstairs to have breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. Rocco and Lara are there to meet us.
“You’re officially married,” Lara says, hugging me. “How does it feel?”
“Seeing as Caterina spent the night drunk,” Emilio answers for me, “not well.”
I scowl. “I wasn’t drunk.” I pause. “Ok, maybe I was just a little bit. I fell asleep in my wedding dress, so that was fun. And then I woke up and had to run to the bathroom to keep from throwing up on said wedding dress.”
Lara laughs as we take our seats. “I’m sorry to hear that. My wedding night wasn’t much fun either.”
“We don’t need to talk about that,” Rocco says.
“No, I want to know,” I say, resting my chin on my hand. “Give me the tea.”
“We got into a fight,” she tells me. “It wasn’t fun. But we eventually found love.”
Rocco looks at her with warmth in his eyes. “We did.”
“You’re so cute,” I say. “I hope Emilio and I have a love story like that someday.” I flash my new husband a smile. He only sighs and shakes his head.
“I can’t wait to get back to work,” Emilio says.
Rocco and Lara share a look before Rocco turns to him. “Actually, Emilio, you’re not going back to work. At least not for this week.”
Emilio frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sending you and Caterina on a honeymoon.”
“Sweet,” I say, while grabbing a roll and buttering it.
Emilio, on the other hand, does not look so pleased. “What? Why? You and Lara didn’t have a honeymoon. Massimo and Ophelia didn’t either.”
“Well, Lara convinced me it would be a good idea,” Rocco explains. “You two need some time to get to know one another away from the distractions of daily life. And I know you, Emilio. If you had your way, you’d bury your head into work and never spend time with your wife. I want this marriage to work for the alliance between Francesco and me. So, you two will make it work.”
“Who says we’re not?” I ask.
Rocco huffs. “Even a blind man could tell things are not working between you two.” He sets his eyes on Emilio. “You’re too stubborn. Give Caterina a chance. This honeymoon will do you both a favor.”
“I’m down,” I say.
Emili grumbles under his breath.
I smile. “I take it that’s his way of saying he’s down, too.”
* * *
“I can’t believe this,”Emilio mutters as we sit in the airport terminal, waiting for our flight to Italy. “I could be at work right now. I could be dealing with Dante, not dealing with this.”
“Who’s Dante?” I ask.
He looks at me for a second before shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Well, it sounds like it matters because you’d rather spend time with him than your wife.”
Emilio’s expression screams “I hate you,” but he answers, “Dante is a problem for my family. He tried to kill Rocco and take over. He kidnapped Gabriella and Lara. He even tried to befriend Massimo and gain information from us. He’s still out there, plotting who knows what. Rocco tasked me to find him, but I can’t do that because I have to be on this honeymoon. With you.”
I snort. “Thanks. I appreciate your enthusiasm.” I slip through the magazine I bought. “You know, Emilio, neither of us asked for this marriage. You don’t need to take your anger out on me.”
“You’re the one who drives me crazy.”
I put the magazine down and turn to him. “How do you think you make me feel? You’re constantly bossing me around. Trying to control me. I’m a woman, Emilio. I have a mind of my own and my own wants and desires. If you can’t appreciate that, then you should never talk to another woman again because you’re insufferable.”
“And how do you think you make me feel?” he hisses. “Always contradicting me. Always getting into trouble. You’re the insufferable one.”
I huff. “What are we? Twelve? We’re fighting like children. We’re going on this honeymoon whether we want to or not. So, let’s try to make the most out of it. It’s Italy, for Christ’s sake. Who can’t enjoy Italy?”
He looks me for a moment before nodding. “You have a point.”
“I know I do.”
“And just like that, you annoy me again.”
I smile as I flick through my magazine.
* * *
Emilio is annoyedthe entire flight to Rome. Between the food on the airplane not being up to his standards to the crying baby behind us to the snoring passenger in the aisle over, he finds fault with everything.
“Emilio, chill.”
“How can I chill? This airline should be ashamed of themselves for how they make their food. It’s First Class. I expect better. And people should not bring crying babies on planes. It’s inconsiderate. And if you’re a snorer, then you shouldn’t be in sleeping anywhere where someone might hear.”
I look at him for a moment. “Who hurt you?”
He stares back before a tiny smile passes his lips. “Fine. I’ll admit, I have exacting standards.”
“You can say that again.”
“I’m a De Luca. I expect the best.”
“And I’m married to a De Luca now,” I say. “Don’t I get the best things, too?”
“No. Because you drive me insane.”
“Well, maybe you’re the one driving me insane.” I flash him a smile. For a moment, I’m at ease. Emilio and I are actually … teasing each other. Playful banter.
His eyes soften for a fraction. “Let’s just get to Italy.”
“And have a real wedding night?”
His eyes go from soft to dark. “Well, you did ruin it when you got drunk.”
I lean in closer to him, so no one can hear me. “Looking forward to fucking me, aren’t you?”
“A mature woman shouldn’t talk like that.”
“Well, call me immature, then. But you are, I know it. I saw how your body responded to me after you touched me this morning. You were hard.”
He lets out a rough breath. “So, what if I was? Doesn’t mean I want to fuck you.”
“Ok, then.” I lean away from him. “We’ll just see what happens after we get to Italy.”
“I agree.”
I sneak a glance at Emilio out of the corner of my eye. He looks completely unfazed by my attempt to seduce him. “You’re not a virgin, are you?”
He scoffs. “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. Because you don’t want to have sex with me.”
Emilio glares at me. “Caterina, enough. I am not a virgin. I haven’t been for a long time. That has no bearing on whether I want to fuck you or not. And for your information, I’d love to fuck you just to shut you up.” He grabs a book from his carry-on and begins reading, effectively ending the conversation.
“Ok,” I say. “Totally a thing a virgin would say.”
I can hear him growl under his breath, and it makes me smile the rest of the way there.
* * *
When we arrive in Rome,we head to Rocco’s villa.
“It’s our family’s vacation home,” Emilio says as we get out of the taxi.
I stare up at the vacation home—it’s a mansion, for one thing. Decorated with golden, orange paint, it’s the epitome of Italian luxury. It’s three stories tall, with large windows overlooking a grand courtyard.
“This is a home?” I ask. “It looks more like a museum.”
“My family does tend to have more extravagant tastes.”
“How much did this cost?”
“Talking about money is taboo, Caterina,” he says, walking past me to the front steps.
I can only make a face behind his back before I excitedly run up the stairs and enter the vacation home where I’ll be spending my honeymoon.
The place is gorgeous, from the elegant furniture to the tall ceilings and windows. I could honestly stay in a place like this forever.
But I’d probably get bored eventually. I need to have fun.
I wonder how much fun I’ll have on this honeymoon.
“We should go out to eat,” I tell Emilio.
For once, he doesn’t fight me on the idea, but he makes it clear he gets to pick the place.
I huff. “Fine, whatever.”
He leads me back outside and around the house where a car is parked. A very nice, red sports car.
“I get to drive,” I say, yanking the keys from Emilio’s hand and running to get into the driver’s seat.
“No, you don’t,” he growls, but I’ve already shut the door and buckled myself in. “Caterina, get out.”
“No. Now, come on. We’re going out for dinner. Let’s not waste time arguing over who’s going to drive us there.”
“Do you even know how to drive? You’re a New Yorker.”
I mean, he’s not wrong. I don’t technically have my license, but that shouldn’t matter. “Driving can’t be that hard.”
He looks like he might have an aneurysm. “Out of the two of us, only I have a license.”
“But do you have an Italian one?” I pause and wait for him to respond. He just shakes his head, looking confused. “Didn’t think so. Now, get in.”
Finally, Emilio does as I say. He gets into the car, even though he gives off the energy he’d rather be dead.
I drive us to the restaurant with no problems. Ok, so … maybe there was a little problem. I almost hit a kid passing a street on the way there, but it isn’t my fault. Kids shouldn’t be passing streets on their own. Emilio glares at me, but I ignore him.
Soon, we arrive at the restaurant, unharmed, I might add.
We order decadent food, most of which I can’t even pronounce. Emilio orders in perfect Italian—or what I assume is perfect Italian. I don’t actually speak it myself.
“When did you learn Italian?” I ask.
“My family is Italian. It was customary in our house growing up. You’re Italian, too, you know.”
“I know.”
“So, why don’t you know it?”
“Because I’m an American first and foremost.” I flash him a wink as I take a sip of my wine. “And we’re stupid.”
He chuckles. Actually chuckles! I stare at him and wait for him to realize what he’s doing. It takes him a second, but he does. His eyes widen, and he immediately stops laughing.
“Maybe you don’t hate me as much as you think you do,” I say.
“I’m not responding to that.” He keeps his gaze fixed on the menu.
“You just did.”
Emilio glances up at me and holds my gaze. His eyes say a lot, but I can’t quite make out what they’re saying. I just hope they’re saying he wants to be with me.
Because if there’s one thing I know I want, it’s to be in Emilio’s arms again. I’m a fiend. I’ve had a taste, and I want more.
The only question is—will Emilio give me more?
* * *
I runto the driver’s seat of the car and get in before Emilio can stop me. I’m a little tipsy from the wine, but I’m not drunk. I swear.
“Slow down,” he growls as I speed through the streets of Rome late at night.
“Honey, there’s no one out.”
“Honey?”
“I was trying it on. No?”
“Definitely no.”
I laugh as I speed even more. We’re just outside the city where Emilio’s family’s vacation home is, so there truly aren’t a ton of people around. I’m not worried about anyone getting hurt.
“Slow down,” he repeats.
“It’s fine. We’re having fun!”
And then a sheep runs out into the road, making me swerve at the last minute. The car slides off the road, and we spin for a couple of seconds before the car stops.
“Are you ok?” Emilio asks, concern in his voice. Huh. That’s new.
“I’m fine.” Then I start laughing.
Emilio looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have. “Why the hell are you laughing right now?”
“Because we could have died, but we didn’t.” I laugh even harder. I laugh so much my stomach starts to ache, and I think I might pee my pants.
My laughter slowly fades after a while.
“Are you done?” Emilio asks.
“Yes.”
He makes a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. “You’re unbelievable.”
“What?”
“You could have died, Caterina! I could have died. And you’re laughing like it’s some joke. You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m ridiculous? I’m laughing because we could have died, but we didn’t, and that’s cause for celebration. You’re the ridiculous one. You never have any fun!”
“That’s because I understand my responsibilities. You don’t. You think life is one big party, but it’s not. There are things in life I have to worry about. I don’t also want to have to worry about my immature, insane wife.”
“You’re insane, Emilio. We’re on our honeymoon. You need to relax.”
“I need to relax? You need to relax. Stop getting into trouble.”
“I hate you,” I hiss.
“Then that makes two of us.”
Breathing heavily, we gaze at each other with dark eyes.
And then the next thing I know, we’re kissing.