27. Anna
Anna
Vincenzo guides me down the dock side and into the boat as his soldiers and enforcers surround us, intense looking men no one would want to get on the wrong side of.
Nicolo speaks to someone in a low voice and then joins us.
“The entire yacht has been thoroughly checked including a thorough sweep for bugs. I still don’t like you being out here.
” He points to the shore. “I’ve got some of our best men out on the points, they’ll run interference and let us know if they see anything suspicious and the men at the docks, you know they’re not going to let anyone through. ”
Vincenzo nods. “Then everything is well in hand, nothing to worry about.”
Nicolo meets Vincenzo’s eyes, and I get the impression Nicolo thinks there is definitely something to worry about but clearly, he’s not going to argue with the boss in front of his new wife. “The rest of the items you requested are being set up as we speak.”
He leaves us and Vincenzo turns to me. “My younger brother worries too much. Now, come, I have something to show you.”
I follow him through the spacious living area of the yacht. The interior is all whites, blues and clean lines. A very Mediterranean vibe that I absolutely adore. “It’s beautiful.” A large vase made of blue and green cut crystals sits on a shelf.
“It’s gorgeous. Aren’t you scared it will fall if the yacht sways?”
Vincenzo laughs. “It’s secured to the shelf. It will probably be here when we are old and gray.”
A quick tour of the kitchen surprises me. Tons of pots and pans, and a pasta maker. All the items he has in his penthouse are here too. “Who cooks while you’re aboard?”
“It depends who’s on board, but mostly my mother and Lanah. They love to make dishes while we’re out to sea. We’ll need to get them out once Ma is stronger.”
I laugh recalling his mother earlier. “She’s getting there.
She wouldn’t let anyone help her when she came for lunch with Lanah.
Lanah said she tried to give her an arm to help keep her balance and she shrugged it off.
She’s getting stronger by the day. And she had a very good appetite which is always a good sign.
Have you heard when your father is coming back? ”
He shakes his head. “No, but now that everyone in the family knows he’s alive he’s got extra incentive to get this done and get home.”
“I hope for your mom’s sake it’s soon. She’s so animated when she talks about him. I think it really did her a world of good to see him, just at the very time she needed it.”
“They were always close.” He takes my arm and leads me downstairs via a circular staircase that leads to a highly polished floor below.
We walk through the sitting room and his hand moves to my lower back, allowing me to enter the bedroom first. It’s decorated in the same blues and greens, with tons of pillows in triangular and square shapes that look like a mirage of the colors of the sea.
The windows above the bed and to the other side of the bed provide a nice view of the sea line.
“You’ll find a few of your personal items in the bathroom and the closet.
While I didn’t have time to order items to make your dinner, I ordered dinner, and it’ll be set up outside shortly if you want to get freshened up. ”
I reach up on tiptoes to kiss his lips. “Thank you for doing all of this for me.”
“We both needed to get out of that penthouse a little bit. I was starting to go stir crazy myself.
Meet me upstairs. I need to speak with Nicolo and then we’ll have dinner out on the deck. It’s a beautiful night to be on the water.”
“I won’t be long.” I peek into the bathroom with a large glass shower and dual vanity, spying my favorite body wash on the counter along with my makeup bag and perfume.
My heart could not be any fuller. How a Cassone and DeLuca, two people who shouldn’t have ever been together, fell so deeply in love is something I’ll never understand. Butterflies dance in my stomach.
A loud sound upstairs makes me jump. I chastise myself for being such a mouse, but clearly, I won’t ever be comfortable until Bastian Gallini is out of my life.
I push thoughts of the devil’s brother out of my mind. I refuse to let thoughts of him spoil my time with Vincenzo tonight. I get freshened up and make my way through the yacht to find him up on the deck. Nicolo is just walking away when I reach Vincenzo. “Everything okay?”
He wraps a hand around my waist, drawing me to him and kissing my lips. “Everything is perfect, princessa. Now, let’s have dinner. Your husband is famished.”
I walk with him around the corner toward the bow of this yacht, and gasp in surprise.
My chest tightens with all the love I feel for this powerful man who loves me like this.
“This is incredible.” The lights strung above the deck glow against the dark sky, and a floating candle sits in a vase of rose petals in the center of the table. It could not be more romantic.
Vincenzo pulls a chair out for me. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble but thank you. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
“It was no trouble at all. Your smile is thanks enough, Anna. You’re absolutely glowing this evening.”
I nod, putting a white linen napkin in my lap. “It feels so good to be outside in the fresh air.” A young man in starched black pants and crisp white shirt rolls a cart out onto the deck laden with two plates beneath silver domes.
Vincenzo takes the first one and places it on the table in front of me and then places the other in front of himself before he puts a basket of bread and bruschetta on the table.
He turns to the soldier who’s been put on waitstaff for the evening.
“Thank you. That will be all for the evening. I’ll take it from here.
” He lifts a bottle of wine out of the ice and pours each of us a glass.
He swirls the glass and inhales deeply. “This is a special edition from the DeLuca vineyards in Italy. I’m going to take you there soon but not until everything has been settled with my father.
Steam and the delicious aroma of butter and lemon from the succulent looking crab pieces and seared scallops waft under my nostrils. “This looks delicious. I wasn’t that hungry until I smelled it. Now I’m absolutely ravenous.”
He laughs but there’s something that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me, Vincenzo?”
He reaches out and places my hand in his. “Nothing for you to worry about. I’m just ready for the Gallini bullshit to be over with so we can go back to our normal lives.”
My eyebrows lift. “Normal, huh?”
Vincenzo smirks, that dark devilish smile that makes my insides quiver. “As normal as it gets for those of us in this world, princessa.”
I take a bite of the scallops and close my eyes. “These are delicious.”
His fork stops midway to his mouth, and he grins. “I had them sent over by Denato’s, a little family restaurant not far from us. We do business with the family. Good people and excellent food. When all of this is over, I’ll take you. I think you’ll like them.”
The breeze blows across the deck and the lights from the yacht shine across the ocean as we eat, the gentle sway lolling me into a relaxed state that I haven’t felt for some time. “I could probably live on the water,” I tell Vincenzo before popping the last morsel of crab into my mouth.
He smiles. “See, yet another thing we have in common. I can work while I watch you sunbathe in the middle of the ocean. Not a bad way to spend a day, princessa.”
Vincenzo pulls a small remote from his pocket and music begins to play on the deck. “A dance?” he asks as if I could ever resist the devil who’s managed to steal my very soul.