CHAPTER 26 #2
“You’ll see,” was all he said and I turned my head to him.
“I want to go shopping.”
He seemed pleased with my answer. “Perfect. Now, why don’t you go upstairs and get ready? I’ll find you in a minute.” He placed a quick kiss to the top of my head. I nodded up at him, and he stepped aside.
I casted Cesar a glance, and he seemed oddly satisfied. I headed up the stairs, and pushed open the door, taking a deep breath in when I stepped into the house.
I lifted my hand to my heart, walking to my room. I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.
Kingsley barked excitedly, wagging his tail as he stood on the edge of my bed. Sylvester deserved it, Nirah.
I walked over to my bed, sitting down next to Kingsley and he climbed onto my lap, resting his head on his front paws.
Slowly dragging my hands down his soft fur, a tear slipped from my eye.
I just killed someone. Someone who deserved it!
I just killed someone. Someone who hurt you and hundreds of others!
I just killed someone. Someone who would’ve shown you no mercy.
Wiping my tear, I carefully lifted Kingsley off my lap and laid him on my bed. I got ready to leave, and I couldn’t get the image of Sylvester out of my head.
Thankfully, Rosalia had agreed to watch Kingsley while Antonio and I were out for the day.
“You can take him for a walk. And, please don’t forget his meal times,” I said and she nodded.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Nirah,” I corrected her and her smile reflected warmth. “I really missed you,” I stepped closer. “Can you forgive me for being mad at you?” I asked and she gave me the most motherly smile.
“I was never mad to begin with. I knew you just needed time,” she softly said and I pulled her into my arms. After she left, I slipped on my jewelry, and glanced around the room for my handbag.
“Antonio!” An aggressive female voice growled from downstairs. Clipping on my earrings, I knitted my brows together. I grabbed my handbag before walking out of my room.
I got to the top of the stairs and saw a brunette looking around. She had strong facial features, and her brows deepened into a frightening scowl.
Walking down, I watched as she stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. “Anto—” she cut herself off when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Can I help you?” I asked and she looked me up and down for a second. She scanned my outfit, then my face and walked towards me.
“You’re her , aren’t you?”
My confused face met her excited eyes. “Her?”
“Amelia,” she extended her hand, so I shook it, utterly clueless. “I am so sorry,” I apologized. “You’re telling me your name like I’m supposed to know who you are, but I don’t…” I hesitantly explained.
“Of course you don’t,” she sarcastically said, waving it off. “I’m his older sister.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, he’s never—”
“Don’t worry about it,” she chuckled. “He’s always forgetting minor details,” she casually brushed it off. “I think he’s getting old,” she almost whispered and I smiled.
“You’re older than me,” Antonio said, walking into the foyer and my head snapped to him. He walked to his sister, kissing her cheek to cheek.
“Are you both ready to go?” she excitedly asked, clasping her hands together. I looked at her, then Antonio.
“Where are we going?” I asked and she dropped her head in her hands.
“I still wonder how you got her to marry you,” she mumbled irritably.
“I could tell you,” he grinned and disgust exploded across her face.
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” she shuddered. “I don’t want to know,” she shook her head and turned all her attention to me. “ We are going wedding shopping,” she sang. “We only have a week left so let’s move.”
“Oh, no—we can extend the date,” I said to Antonio. “We don’t have to put ourselves through all the—”
“You’re getting your June 16th wedding,” he said, kissing my temple.
“I don’t know if I can plan a wedding in a week,” I doubtfully admitted.
“That’s why she’s here. To help you.”
“I’m a great planner. Trust me,” she assured me. “Now, let’s go,” she hooked her arm with mine, dragging me to the door.
“I thought we were going shopping for tomorrow?” I asked Antonio and Amelia nodded.
“We are. But, we might as well go wedding shopping as well,” she shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve always wanted a sister—this is so exciting!” she squealed, grabbing my arm and I couldn’t contain my smile. She was adorable.
* * *
Lo and fucking behold, I was meeting the entire De Luca family. Yes. All of them. Even the one’s who no long fell under the De Luca last name was going to be there. And boy, was I fucking nervous.
Amelia and I agreed on finding an outfit for tomorrow night first. It was a formal dinner party—apparently, all their family events were formal .
We looked through a couple of outfits, and each one she had me try on made my nerves worsen. She wasn’t kidding when she said formal dinner.
Antonio sat on the little sofa opposite the dressing room, watching us go in and out and grab multiple dresses. He didn’t seem bothered by the amount of time we took, as he spent his time working on his cellphone , and chugging down the champagne he was constantly brought.
Amelia had left after getting a phone call from her husband and I sighed, looking at my pantsuit in the mirror. “Antonio…?” I hesitantly said, still staring at myself.
“Yes, tesoro ?” he answered from outside the dressing room.
“Could you…” I trailed off, clearing my throat. As if he read my mind, he walked inside, pushing the curtain to the side. He stopped and immediately closed the curtain behind him. I had my fingers gripped onto the sides of my pants which stopped mid-thigh.
He tried hiding his smile as he crossed his arms over his chest. I know, I know. I never tend to learn my lesson. I looked at him through the mirror—with my back facing him—and narrowed my eyes at him.
“Need some help?” he grinned, pushing his tongue against the inside of his cheek and I rolled my eyes.
“Shut up and help me,” I said and he walked over. These damn thighs . He removed my hands and spun me around to face him. He gripped onto the sides of my pants and I held onto his shoulders as he pulled them up.
He turned me to face the mirror and zipped up my pants for me, then buttoned it up. “Thanks,” I smiled and his hands rested on my hips.
I turned around, looking at my ass in the mirror. “ Perfect .”
“I hate when you wear tight pants,” he groaned and I looked up at him in confusion.
“Why?” I asked, looking at myself from behind. “My ass looks amazing,” I mischievously grinned.
He grabbed my ass with both hands, pulling me against his body. “Yes, it does,” he confirmed. “But they’re so hard to take off,” he said against my lips and my shoulders dropped as I shook my head at him.
I took his face in my hands, standing up on my tip toes. “Stop complaining and just focus on how hot your fiancée looks,” I said leaning in to kiss him.
As soon as my lips parted his tongue slid into my mouth and I smiled.
With his hands still on my ass, he pressed his front to mine and I softly groaned. A strong sensation spread throughout my body, landing between my thighs.
He slowly pushed me up against the wall and I smiled into the kiss again, before hesitantly pulling back. “No, Antonio,” I whispered and he kissed my neck. “We’re not having sex in a dressing room.”
“Why not?” he asked, not taking his lips off me and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Because it doesn’t even have a door!” I whisper-yelled.
“So what you’re saying is, we need to find a dressing room with a door?” he smirked against my skin and my eyelids felt heavy.
“No—” I cut myself off, pushing him back. “We’re not having sex in a dressing room, period,” I said and he sighed, holding onto my waist. “Now, go before someone walks in. Or worse, Amelia,” I whispered, pushing him out.
After finally getting him out, I changed back into my clothes. Amelia made me buy all three dresses and both pantsuits.
Antonio could not care less about the amount of money Amelia forced him to spend on my clothes. All he whispered to me was, “As long as I’m the one taking it off you.”
We left that store and decided that wedding planning was next.
After an insane amount of shopping, we finally arrived at the shop filled with wedding dresses.
Antonio parked the car and Amelia sent him across the road to get his suit fitted, so that he didn’t see my dress.
He wasn’t too keen on going, but after Amelia whispered some things in Italian to him, he eventually agreed.
It sounded like a threat, and I was confident it was.
With the wedding not being too far away and with my recovery time, I wasn’t able to get a personal dress maker like Antonio had wanted.
We looked around until she found a floral-like, long white dress. I looked at her in uncertainty and she dropped her shoulders.
“It’s stunning, come on, Nirah,” she said and I opened my mouth to speak but shut it instead.
“I don’t know…” I shook my head, smiling.
“Fine,” she said coming closer to me. “Call your best friend and ask her. I’m sure she’d agree with me,” Amelia encouraged me. Good idea.
I got on FaceTime with Silvia and showed her the dress. “When did we travel back to the 1600s?” she asked and I couldn’t help but laugh. Amelia laughed too, placing the dress back where she found it.
“Silvia can be… truthful,” I said to Amelia and she simply shook her head.
“It’s good. It’s what we need.”
We continued searching through the dresses—with Silvia still on the call—and I fitted two dresses on. The first one made me look like a nineties bride, whereas the second one made me look like it was my third marriage within a year. Not judging, just not what I was going for.
We laughed it off and Silvia agreed to join us when we came back again. It’ll be much easier that way. I ended the call with Silvia and noticed Amelia seemed off.
“Everything okay?” I asked, and she looked hesitant.
“I don’t want to ruin the moment, but… you know , don’t you?” she softly asked and I looked over at her.
“Know what?”
“I’m talking about my brother, Nirah.” Right .
I nodded, continuing to scan through the dresses. “How’d you know?” I asked, picking up a dress as I examined it and she sighed, turning her body to face me fully.
“I saw how scared you got after that guy bumped into you and Antonio turned around. You knew what Antonio wanted to do.”
Running my hands down one of the dresses, I tried to ignore the pity in her voice. “He’d never hurt you, Nirah. You know that, right?”
I smiled, facing her. “I know. I just… I don’t know,” I shook my head, contradicting myself.
“Are you doubting him?” she questioned with a gentle hand on my arm, and I sighed in response. “Nirah, Antonio has done everything to keep you safe and with him. He’s not going to do anything to jeopardize that,” she assured me, her eyes holding sincerity. “He fell in love with you, Nirah.”
“How do you know that—he’s never said anything remotely close to that,” I said in defeat.
“We both know Antonio is not the touchy, feely type. But he’s my little brother, and even though he hasn’t admitted it, he feels something for you. Something strong.”
I dropped my eyes to my heels, partially knowing she’s right.
“Look,” she half smiled. “Before my wedding, I hugged Antonio and thanked him for everything he’s done for me throughout our lives, and I told him I love him.
Do you know what he did?” she asked, and I nodded.
“He stared at me. Blankly,” she half laughed.
“And when I told him ‘ This is the part where you say you love me back ’, he replied, ‘ Don’t tell me what to do, ’ and said that I looked beautiful. ”
I couldn’t help but laugh because I wouldn’t expect anything else from him. “He doesn’t know, nor does he understand the word ‘ love ’. He’s just always been like that, you know.”
“So I’ll never know how my fiancé truly feels about me?”
“This is the most affectionate he’s ever been. With anyone. You made him this way, and you’ll be the one he lowers his guard for. Trust me.” She pulled me in for a hug and her phone vibrated.
She dug for her cellphone in her handbag before checking the caller ID. “On second thought,” she pressed her lips into a thin line. “Don’t get married” I swear they’re like little kids,” she groaned in annoyance. Ivan .
She started quietly scolding her husband after he asked where his shaving cream was—it was on the sink underneath his towel.
I decided to give them a minute and grabbed an ice coffee before heading over to Antonio.
I walked in with two bags on each arm and a coffee in one hand as I looked around. I finally spotted him near the back of the shop and smiled.
As I walked closer, I saw a girl with a tailor’s tape, measuring his waist. She got onto her knees and used his thigh for support as she spoke, batting her eyelashes up at him.
I refrained from crushing the cup in my hand as I stopped in front of them, dropping my bags on the chair. “Okay, that’s enough of that,” I said, walking over and she turned around, confused.
“Excuse me?” she asked, and I shoved my coffee into Antonio’s hand.
“I’ll just take that,” I said, taking the tape from her. She got up and awkwardly chuckled. “Do you even know how to— look I work here so I know what I’m doing—”
“Why don’t you go and help the two customers that just walked in while I help my fiancé,” I smiled, and she looked between Antonio and me.
After she left, I rolled my eyes and got down on my knees. I wrapped the measuring tape around his thigh, and he spoke.
“She was only doing her job,” he said, and I could tell he was smirking.
“Her job is taking your measurements, not touching you,” I snapped back, holding onto his thigh as I looked up at him. Oh my… this was a brand new view. I liked it.
“She wasn’t touching me. She just held onto me for support,” he nonchalantly said, and I knew he was trying to tease me.
“Yeah, well, I’d rather her fall on her ass than holding onto you.”
“You know I’m only interested in seeing you on your knees,” he grinned, and I rolled my eyes, lowering the tape to below his knees as I continued measuring. “You’re the only one that can get this reaction out of me,” he said, and I frowned, looking up.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, jumping up. I stood in front of him, trying to hide the bulge in his pants. “Seriously?” I asked with wide eyes.
“Let’s get rid of it, shall we?” he grinned and lifted me by the back of my thighs, throwing me onto his shoulder.
This fitting room had a door .
This door could be locked . And it had mirrors on three of the walls. Fuck .