Page 73 of The Empress
I went all out with my makeup, and as I look at my reflection in the mirror, I worry it’s too much. Just as I grab a tissue to try to wipe off the red tint on my lips, there’s a knock at the door.
My heartbeat sets off at a crazy pace, and my stomach dips and sours as if it’s taking flying lessons.
I walk to the door, and when I open it, Leo’s head snaps back. Placing his hand over his heart, surprise tightens his features.
“Gesù Cristo, sei Bellissima.”
I recognize ‘Jesus Christ’ and ‘beautiful’ as Leo looks at me in awe.
Dressed in a black silk shirt and suit pants, he looks drop-dead handsome as always.
He lets out a heavy breath. “Cazzo, Haven. Are you even human?”
I let out a chuckle. “Enough. You’re making me feel self-conscious.”
He shakes his head. “You better get used to me giving you compliments.”
Taking a step closer to me, he lifts his hands and places them on my shoulders. His eyes fill with a serious look before he leans down and kisses my left cheek. “Thank you for going out on this date with me.”
When he pulls back, I’m hit with a wave of emotion, and my eyes mist up. “Why couldn’t you have been this great when we met instead of kidnapping me? I would’ve fallen in love with you.”
His thumbs brush over my skin. “I like doing things the hard way.”
A chuckle burst over my lips. “God, you’re impossible.”
Leo holds out his arm, and when I hook mine through his, he leads me to the stairs.
He keeps his pace slow, and as I walk beside him, my stomach flutters as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies has been set loose inside me.
When we walk out of the front door, I see the helicopter I heard earlier standing in the middle of the yard. Edoardo nodsat me, then he stays in front of us as we make our way to the aircraft.
The anticipation in me keeps growing, and I’m a trembling mess by the time Leo helps me into the helicopter.
“Did you take the travel sickness pill?” he asks as he sits down beside me on the cream leather seat.
“Yes.”
I watch as the guards board, then Leo hands me a set of headphones.
I put them on, then hear him say, “We’re ready for take off.”
The pilot starts the engine, and when we begin to lift into the air, I grin so hard my cheeks hurt.
Leo wraps his arm around my shoulders and leans into me. “Look out the window.”
I turn my head and see as the entire mansion and property come into view.
“Wow,” I whisper before looking at Leo, whose eyes are glued to me. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere I can have you all to myself.”
When we fly over the ocean and head away from land, I start to think we’re going to an island, but then minutes later, a massive yacht comes into view.
The pilot sets the helicopter down on a designated spot, and when Edoardo opens the door, a cool wind hits me.
Leo instantly shrugs off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders.
After the guards get out, we follow. As we walk toward a set of steps that leads down the side of the yacht, Leo says, “Don’t worry. We’re eating inside where it’s warm.”
