Page 95 of Heartless Sinner

“Believe it, bellezza.”

She nods with acceptance and I feel like I’ve cracked another piece of the wall that’s still guarding her heart.

“It just feels so strange. Weeks ago, I was at the diner working so hard I couldn’t see straight. Now I’m married to you.”

“You’ve changed my life, too, Scarlett.”

She gives me a skeptical stare. “Oh, please. I didn’t do anything.”

If only she knew. “You did everything.”

“It’s not the same thing. All I did was be here.”

“And that’s everything for me.”

Her phone rings in her bag, the sound cutting into our conversation. She gasps and grabs her bag. “That could be Adrian.”

When she retrieves her phone, she gasps again.

“Is it him?” I ask.

“Yes.” She can barely talk but manages to answer the phone. She even manages to sound cordial with her best professional voice until I’m guessing he offers the part and she screams. The glow in her face increases a hundred times over as she tries to get herself together. “Thank you so much, Adrian. Sure, I can be there Friday. Thank you. See you then.”

She hangs up and flies over to me, throwing her arms around me.

“I told you you’d be fine,” I whisper in her ear.

She pulls back to look at me with tears in her eyes. “I just can’t believe it. He picked me. He said I was perfect.”

“I agree with him. Now I can tell people my wife is going to be a big movie star.”

We both laugh, and then she cups my face, running her delicate fingers over the scruff of my beard. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“No, bellezza, it’s you for me. You are my something good.”

Tears run down her cheeks, and she leans in to kiss me, her jasmine perfume filling my nose with the scent of her. “And you are mine, Micah.”

I hold her against me, savoring the magical moment many men like me don’t often get. I want this for us always, so I have to keep fighting.

Keep trying. Always.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Micah

I continue trying to balance my thoughts the next evening at the check-in meeting.

My father wanted us all to meet again to give everyone an update on the leadership transition.

It’s just seven of us tonight. The main guys—my father, Antonio, Gio, Mario, Lorenzo, Brahm, and me.

This time, my father chose for us to meet at the company office, which was great because I didn’t want to travel all the way to the hotel.

My work has doubled since my father placed me in charge of certain things, and during the next three months, that will increase as the final transitions are completed.

Tonight, people will want to hear if I’ve made decisions on the leadership. They won’t be pleased to learn that I’ve only allocated some positions.

Apart from Brahm, who hasn’t given me a straight answer yet, it’s hard for me to select anyone when I still don’t know who I can trust.

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