Page 56 of His to Claim

“I love you, too,” she whispers.

“Then marry me, sweetheart.”

“Yes! Yes, of course, I will!” She pulls me forward, practically right onto her lap, and I have to grab onto the chair’s armrests to steady myself. Then I lower my head and we kiss in front of the most powerful mafia families in New York City.

“I think there’s one more person whose permission you need,” Aldo DeLucca says.

“Yeah, you need to meet our father,” Miceli states, holding up his phone to show me the screen where an older image of him faces me. With silvered hair and a strong face, Salvatore Rossi’s reputation is legendary.

Even more so than Miceli’s or any of the men sitting at this table.

Christ. I rake a hand through my hair, my nerves eating away at me. I’m currently hovering over his daughter and I quickly straighten up, turn to face the phone and brush my sweaty palms down the front of my dirty cargo pants.

“I hear you want to marry my daughter,” Salvatore says in a no-nonsense voice. His Italian accent is thick, but his English is flawless.

I swallow hard then nod. “Yes, sir.” The head of the Rossi clan exudes such an aura of authority that I find myself transported right back to my military days. If he has this much presence on a cell phone screen, I can only imagine what it will be like to meet him in person. I resist the urge to give him a sharp salute.

Shit.I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my life and Carlotta must know because she stands, moves up beside me and threads her fingers through mine.

“Hi, Dad,” she says, greeting him with an effervescent smile.

“Hello, honey.” His face softens. “Do you really want to marry this guy?”

Someone chuckles—I think Angelo, that bastard—and Carlotta nods fervently.

“Yes, so very much.”

“I hear he came to your rescue.”

“Twice,” I pipe up. “I mean, two times, sir.”

Salvatore looks from me back to his daughter. “Is this true, Lottie?” he asks.

“Yes, Dad.”

“And you love him?”

“Very much,” she gushes. Pushing up onto her toes, she presses a kiss to my stubbled jawline and I feel my face heat up. No woman has ever had the power to make me blush before.

“And what about you?” he asks, turning his attention back to me. “How do you feel about my only daughter?”

“I love her,” I answer simply. “I love her more than I ever thought possible. So much that I refuse to live without her.”

For a long moment Salvatore doesn’t say anything and I get the sick feeling that he might refuse me. I don’t want her father to hate me. To not give us his blessing. Because regardless of what he says, I’m marrying his daughter. But, I’d much prefer to have the most powerful man in Sicily on our side. Otherwise, God knows, I’d probably end up disappearing one of these days, my body never to be found and most likely sleeping with the fish at the bottom of the bay.

“Preferably, I’d like to meet you before you become my son-in-law,” Salvatore says carefully. “But I know how careless young people in love can be…and what a hurry they are sometimes in when it comes to forever.”

I glance down at Carlotta then back at her father. Suddenly another face fills the screen and I get my first look at Lottie’s mother, Carmela.

“Where is my future son-in-law?” she declares. “Oh, well done, Lottie, well done.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I can see where Carlotta gets her beauty,” I say, tossing the compliment right back and the older woman grins.

“A charmer, too, I see,” she murmurs, lips twitching. “Just like your father was with me.”

Salvatore grunts and she kisses his cheek which makes his stern face crack with warmth.

“Well, if you’re done trying to scare off this young man,” Carmela says, “I have a suggestion.”

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