Page 25 of Vow to Me

“Well?” he asks with a raised brow. Did he ask a question?

“Well, what?” I ask, trying to recall whatever he said before that kiss.

“Tell me your wearing panties under that dress, baby.”

Oh,that.

“I couldn’t wear anything under the dress, the dress is cut too low on my back for me to wear a bra, and if I wore panties, you’d be able to see the outline, so no, husband, I’m not wearing a single thing under this dress,” I say with a smirk.

Luca cuts me a glare before looking up to the ceiling and mumbling something about driving instead of keeping the driver.

After a couple of seconds, he brings his gaze back to mine, and the heat in his eyes is so intense I have to grab on to his arm to stop myself from swaying.Fuck, it's gonna be a long night.

I’m already thinking about all the dirty things I want him to do to me once we get home after this godforsaken event.

“Fuck, if we weren’t already late, I’d drag you back upstairs and fuck the defiance right out of you, little queen.” He loops his arm around mine and escorts me out of the building and into the car. Once again, he straps me in and closes the door before getting in himself, only this time we’re not driven by a driver.

No, Luca is behind the wheel of the Bugatti—which is a stunningly beautiful car—and starts the engine, pulling out into traffic. What is it about this man, that he can do the most fucking basic of things, likedriving,and it turns me into a needy, squirming, messy puddle of hormones.

I rub my thighs together, trying to reduce the ache in my core and he peers at me from the corner of his eye, smirks and places a hand on my thigh to still me, the cocky fucker knowsexactlywhat he’s doing to me.

We make the short drive to the venue the gala’s being held at, pulling up outside, Luca throws the keys to the valet and comes to open my door. He offers me his hand and helps me out of the car before we walk inside, his hand on the small of my back, guiding me.

I don’t even know if he’s conscious of the fact that he can't keep his hands off me, but whenever he’s near he always touches me somewhere. Not even in a sexual way, he’ll just place a hand onmy thigh, run his hand across my shoulder, play with my hair, whatever he can do to make sure I’m still there. It’s as though he’s worried that I’ll disappear.

Trust me, baby, I’m not going anywhere.

We enter a large ballroom, decked out in pretentious decorations that are more suited for a sweet sixteen than an annual event held by the mayor of New York. It's like he’s having a pissing contest, showcasing how much money he’s spent on tonight, but rather than looking good, it’s as though the event planner just went around the store and picked out the most expensive items, no matter that they’re fucking awful and clash with each other.

I hate events like these, I had to attend them all the time as the heir to the Chicago outfit, even though I’d never personally take it over—with me being a woman—but I was forced to attend all thesame.

Luca steers me over to a table in the far corner where his father sits with a fake ass smile on his face. That is, until he sees me and Luca walking over to him, and his smile turns from fake to genuine in seconds and he stands.

Salvatore gives Luca a nod as we reach him before he turns to me and kisses my cheek.

“Izzy, it's good to see you sweetheart, you look lovely. I hope my son is treating you well?” he says with sincerity and warmth in his tone.

“Thank you, it's good to see you. We've been getting to know each other,” I laugh, not knowing what the hell to say and he grins at me.

We take our seats just as Marco joins us. Apparently, Enzo had something he needed to do tonight and couldn’t make it. I’m guessing that’s code forstalking,but hey, to each their own. I chat a little with Marco, he seems quiet and reserved, not one to initiate conversation and happy to keep the chatting to a minimum, which I’m grateful for.

For all the training I had for this type of thing growing up, I’ve always been terrible at filling the awkward silences and making small talk. If I’m honest, I’d rather cut my goddamn tongue out than talk about the weather. Maybe I could put it in a jar like my gift from Luca?

“I’m hosting a family dinner for my birthday in three weeks, I expect to see you all there. Enzo too, so make sure he comes,” Salvatore announces while shooting a pointed glance to Luca.

The evening progresses slowly while me and Luca walk around the room and chatting to the attendees.

We’re about to walk over to the bar when I hear a male voice that I don’t recognize from behind me.

“Isabella Romano, oh how I have beendyingto meet you,” the voice says, and I turn to see a man the same height as Luca with light brown messy hair, he’s not quite as built as Luca is, yet he’s handsome in his own right.

And that’s when I recognize him. I’ve researched him, I’ve worked with him every day for the past two years. Buthow the fuckdoes he know who I am? I know for a fucking fact that there is no way he’d be able to link my online persona—Scorpion—to myself.Theres no way in hell, I’m too good, too skilled, too fucking paranoid to ever let that happen.

Luca must read the confusion on my face and see it as something different because he sighs.

“Izzy, this is Alec Cane, businessman, billionaire bachelor of New York, and my asshole best friend.”

My asshole best friend.

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