Page 189 of Forced Vows

But these giddy feelings inside of me this up and down, this uncertainty…it feels like that. Miceli and I are going to be married for goodness sake, and I am wondering if he likes me.

If he doesn't like me, we're both in a world of trouble.

Which I know is a complete about face for me. Because yeah, I started this whole thing sort of despising him.

I love him now though.

"I more than like you, mi dolce fiore. You make me believe in my own soul again." His kiss almost obliterates mine.

That sounds like love.

Will the underboss learn to love me, after all? Stranger things have happened, right?

Chapter 65: MICELI

Róise is on the back of my motorcycle, her body pressed tightly to mine. It's the last trip we'll make to the studio until the yellow alert level is over.

This trip is too important to put off though. I've taken precautions. Keeping Róise safe means sharing my secret with four of my most trusted men.

One of them is the man I plan to make my underboss when I become don, Allessio. Not only do I trust him like family, he has the intelligence and animal instinct to do what must be done.

He came up with the route and strategy for getting me and Róise safely to the studio.

The trip goes without incident and the security detail peels away in the parking garage to take up guard positions outside the private access.

I haven't told the team what I do in this building, but telling them I come here is an exercise in trust. As I told Róise, it has to start somewhere and a don has to trust more things to his men than the underboss.

I stop the bike and climb off before helping my fiancée. After checking the guard positions, I close the door and arm the alarm on it. Then I divest both me and Róise of our helmets and leather jackets before taking her by the hand and leading her to the access panel.

Sev gave Catalina access to the secret archives of our family's history in the New York Cosa Nostra and to the safe in his office. But Róise doesn't care about information, family, heirlooms, or money.

I'm here to give her something a lot harder for me to offer: access to what is left of my heart. I hope she can hear the message in my actions, because I'm still struggling to come up with the words.

"I'm glad we're here. You need this space, Miceli."

I grunt. Not as much as I need the woman at my side.

"Thank you for bringing me."

"I want you with me." Always, but that's not practical.

I understand why my brother has changed his schedule and where he works so much since marrying Catalina though. I said I'd never be as gone on a woman as my brother and cousin, but the truth is? I'm worse.

No way can either of them be as obsessed as I am with my Aphrodite. Having Róise an elevator ride away is fucking intoxicating.

And when things are trying to go to shit, knowing she's there in the penthouse brings me peace.

I access the panel and explain to her how to do it. "Now stand still and try not to blink."

The retinal scanner takes a map of her retina's blood vessels.

When it's done, Róise blinks up at me, her eyes soft. "I think your painting is an important part of you and I hate that you hide it from everyone who loves you."

My lips twist too, but it's not a smile. "I don't think the world is ready for a don who is also an artist.

"I think the world, including the world we live in, can surprise you. Look at how well Uncle Brogan is doing with the calf's eyes that Zoey and Fi keep making at each other."

The older man does surprise me with his acceptance of his youngest daughter's choice in partners. But Róise told me that one of the conditions of her agreeing to marry me is that Fiona will never be forced into an arranged marriage.

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