Page 88 of Broken Prince

I rested my hands on his shirt over his pecs and rubbed gently. “Of course I will.”

He grinned. “Brava.”

“Thank you for Jude—it means the world to me.” I looked up at him. “You, fighting for him, means more than I can say.”

“There’s not much I wouldn't do for you, Cassandra, except maybe let you go. You made a deal with the beast now, and I’m keeping you.”

I stood on my toes and kissed his neck. “That’s a good thing because I’m not going anywhere whether you like it or not.”

“Is it supposed to be a threat?” he asked, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

I shook my head. “No, it’s an oath.”

The rest of the day went like a dream. I showed the garden to Jude and watched him play chess against Dom and Luca. He crushed them both and instead of being annoyed at being beat by a ten-year-old boy, the men were proud of him.

I could see it now, our life here. The family we’d be building soon and I couldn’t wait for this life to begin because I trusted Luca to keep the darkness at bay.

He might have been a villain in his own narrative, but he wasn’t, not in my story.

No, Luca Montanari was my hero.

Chapter Twenty-One

LUCA

Saying I was happy was an understatement. I’d never thought it was possible, even before the accident, before I deserved nothing but penance, I’d never thought I had deserved a gift as precious as Cassandra West.

The loving, soft, forgiving, kind Cassandra West. She was the polar opposite of me and yet she completed me so perfectly.

I’d once told Carter that I had never done anything to warrant meeting a good woman and yet I got the best of them.

I woke up every morning expecting her side of the bed to be empty, to realize that it had all been a trick played by my alcohol-ridden brain to torture me a little more, but no, every time I opened my eyes in the morning I saw her, fast asleep beside me, her beautiful pink lips slightly open, and every morning I thanked whoever listened for giving me this invaluable gift.

“You don’t mind, do you?” I asked her after we settled our bags in the New York hotel room. “I can take you if you want,” I added quite reluctantly. I was not so keen on the idea of her meeting Benny, but I didn’t want her to think I wanted to keep her hidden either.

She turned toward me and scrunched her nose on an adorable grimace. “If he's anything like your cousin Savio, I’d rather pass…no offense.”

I laughed at that. “Like father, like son. I don’t blame you.” I pointed at the door. “And you get to spend some time with your girlfriend Dom and you girls can do whatever you like. Shopping and stuff.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll go get a dress for dinner.”

I nodded. “I won’t be long, I promise, and then you and I can have a little fun before we go to Carter’s house.”

She turned toward me, suddenly serious again. “How are you feeling about seeing your friend again after so long?”

This woman really could slay me; she saw right through me no matter what.

I knew I was supposed to reassure her, tell her that I was not bothered. I was the capo, nothing was supposed to touch me—at least not publicly—but she was my Cassie, the woman I swore to respect and to keep my walls down with. I was not going to be my father or any other man of the outfit. I couldn’t be vulnerable but with her, I was going to be because she deserved the real Luca.

“I’m nervous,” I admitted. “And mostly embarrassed, I’ve not been kind. He has tried time and time again to be there for me and I rejected any attempt. I just discarded him out of my life… Except for Dom, Carter was my only friend and I know it was the same for him.”

She nodded. “Yes, but true friendship can come back from that. And they were pleased to have us over for dinner tonight.” She grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ll be here for you, the whole time.”

I squeezed her hand; she was my anchor.

I was reluctant to separate from her even for a short period, but I had to go see Benny.

Now that Cassie decided to be mine, I would need Matteo's support and to get it I had to take my place back, which based on what I witnessed, was more than overdue.

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