Page 153 of Wicked Rivals

He kissed my neck, the side of my face, and then my lips while my stuck mind processed absolute shock.

And fear.

Oh god, no. No, no, no.

My breath got caught in my throat.

My hands trembled.

I pushed myself away from him using his chest.

“What the hell did you do, Stefano?”

CHAPTER 32

STEFANO

Val pushed away from me.

“What do you mean? What engagement announcement, Stefano? It came out where?”

I hadn’t planned to ask her to marry me right then.

I had planned to tell her about the announcement, and once I explained how it made Enzo safer with my rivals and that no other immediate options existed, I thought she would get on board with it.

If only for our son’s sake.

Val would do anything for her boy.

Did I want a fake marriage?

Fuck no.

My plan had been to win her over while we nursed her back to health, to show her the three of us could be a family.

A safe family. A happy family.

The words “marry me” had slipped out in the heat of the moment, like an involuntary reflex after making love to her.

She’d said yes without hesitation.

Christ, she’d even accepted my punishment before that.

But when I mentioned making the announcement, her face paled, her voice trembled, and her hands shook.

Val feared something more than just a public declaration.

Instinct kicked in, and I wanted to protect her from whatever had scared her. I wanted to protect her from every-fucking-thing. I touched her warm cheek with the back of my fingers.

“I blindsided you… I’m sorry. But for the sake of our son’s safety, you must not fight me on this.”

“What did you do?” she whispered. “Show me, Stefano.”

I grabbed my phone and tapped open the Weddings & Engagements section in the app forTheNew York Times. It only took a few seconds to find the article.

Prominent Manhattan Businessman and Brooklyn Barista Celebrate Caffeinated Reunion

All the articles in the section were written to be as entertaining as they were informative, so the headline sounded ridiculous, like something from the Hallmark Channel.

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