Page 61 of Corrupting Lily

You are my first love. And you will be my last.

Chapter 37

Lily

"So what did you want to be when you were younger?" Dominico's question catches me off guard, pulling me from the almost sleep I was experiencing in the hammock next to him.

I turn my head to look at him, his eyes glued to a book he is supposedly reading. Perhaps he can listen and read at the same time? I wouldn't put it past him. It is surprising how much he can do. And being alone on this island, his island, for the last couple of days has highlighted just that. Aside from speaking four other languages, he has a master's degree in business economics, can cook Michelin-style meals that have the taste to match, and can fuck me senselessly like no one else ever has. Okay, the last one was admittedly a given. I wasn't exactly experienced, but while I saw it as a flaw before, now I am grateful for it. Every experience with Dominico felt like the first. And somehow, I think the same was true for him. He was always looking at me bizarrely, as if I were surprising him. Or as if his feelings were surprising him. Kind of like the way he was looking at me now, reminding me that Ihave left his question unanswered.

"Oh, um, well, there wasn't some particular profession I set my sights on. It was more like a business that I wanted to own. A plant slash book shop. A place where people could buy books and plants. With sofas, couches, and tables where people could sit and read together. Amongst all the plants. Like being together in the shared activity of silence. Maybe have a coffee and cake. You know, something like that." His eyebrows raise comically when I imply he knows what I am talking about. There was no way in hell we would ever have that same dream.

"It sounds nice. And it suits you." As usual, there is no mocking tone. When I told Johnathan my dream, he laughed in my face, telling me how childish and ridiculous it was.

This made the fact that I told Dominico so easily even more shocking. Johnathan's reactions no longer held me back from telling Dominico anything. I smile as the realization sinks in.

When I glance at Dominico again, he has his phone out. He must be messaging someone, as a notification ping sounds moments later.

"It is done. Davide will find the perfect property to buy, and then we will have designers come in and make it exactly as you envisioned."

If I weren't lying down, my jaw would be on the floor.

"What?" I eventually manage to get out, once the shock of his words has somewhat subsided.

Dominico looks at me, confused.

"The planty book shop," he says, slowly, as if that is what I need to understand.

I nearly fall off the hammock as I sit up, my feet landing on the ground to keep me stable.

"You are buying me a shop. So that I can open 'Lily's Coffee Nook.'"

"Well, yes, if that's what you want to call it. I like it." He is so casual about this that I struggle to understand if he is being serious or not.

"Are you being serious?"

His brow furrows, and he squints at me as if I am the crazy one.

"Deadly. Why? Don't you want it? I can always cancel."

"No," I almost shout, afraid he is taking what I am saying as ungratefulness. "I just can't believe you would do that."

He sits up, his rise much more elegant than mine was.

"And why not? You are my wife, are you not?" I nod, and he swipes his hand in the air dismissively. "So then, what's the issue?"

"It's just…no one has ever done something so nice for me. Ever." Tears well and I blink my eyes, hoping they retreat.

"Il mio fiorellino. This is how you should always have been treated. Like a fucking Queen. Unfortunately, you weren't, and everyone who has treated you any less than that will pay. However, it has provided me with the unique opportunity to be the first. Still not behavior that will earn those assholes any leniency, but an opportunity I will capitalize on on."

I almost laugh at how business-like it sounds. But this is Dominico. The hard and the soft all rolled into one. Compliments laced with veiled threats. Directed at others, of course.

"So, we're going ahead?" His thumb is poised over the screen, my answer so simple to him, while this is monumental to me.

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I tried.

"Great. Settled. We will look over it when we get home." The casual way he says 'home' broadens my smile. But at the same time, the threat of the future looms. I am now married. I am now Mrs. Sante, wife of the Mafia Don. What role am I expected to play in this new future that has just been created for me?

"I wish we could stay here forever." I shouldn't be surprised whenDominico reads me and senses my doubt. As usual, his speed astonishes me, and before I can even squeal, he has scooped me up and plopped us both back onto his hammock. The fact that we haven't fallen is astonishing. Instead, I lie comfortably on his chest, with the gentle sway of the hammock as the only indicator that we have moved.

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