Page 15 of Saint Of Envy
I recognize them instantly. They’re friends of Alonzo. Good, that means that word will spread quickly that Valentina and I are a couple and that she is not only under my protection but is my woman to protect. I can only imagine how enraged that will make Leonardo. I try to put thoughts of him out of my head and enjoy this evening out with the beautiful mother of my unborn child.
“Do you have any idea how much I’m in love with you, Valentina?” I ask, hoping that she does.
“No,” she says with a subtle smirk. “I think maybe you should tell me.”
“I love you more than the moon loves the night,” I say, trying my best to be poetic and hoping that I don’t sound ridiculous. “More than a camera loves the perfect view.”
“Oh, that’s a good one,” she grins.
We both share a small laugh, but I’m so in love with her I would give anything to see Valentina happy and content.
“You have always been important to me,” I say as I reach across the table to hold her hand between my palms. “Ever since the first moment I laid eyes on you, and within the spaces of eachtime we saw each other. When I came to see you at the Conti estate, it wasn’t just because I wanted to. It was because I needed to. I think that perhaps you and I have been meant to be together this whole time. And now that we are, I intend never to let you go.”
After I say it, I feel the need to clarify to make sure that she knows she will always be free with me.
“Unless, of course, you want to go. I will never hold you hostage, Valentina. Your happiness means the world to me.”
She smiles and lifts my hand to her lips, kissing the top of my knuckles as she stares across the table into my eyes. “There is no place that I would ever want to go other than at your side.”
The waiter comes to clear our plates and offer dessert. Valentina eyes the dessert menu eagerly, and I tell the waiter to bring a taste of all the offerings. She is eating for two, after all. And if she can no longer enjoy a sip of wine, then there must be some sort of decadence to replace the indulgence of things.
“Luciano,” she says, carefully using my full name, which I automatically assume means that what she’s about to ask me is important. “Are you truly happy about this pregnancy? Are you sure that it’s not something that you’re worried about? Others, like Vincent, will eventually notice and learn about it, which I imagine will lead to entirely new discussions about your position in his hierarchy.”
“I absolutely cannot wait to start a family with you,” I assure her. “I will remain Vincent’s consigliere, and he will accept the choices that I make. Just because I serve as his advisor doesn’t mean that he controls my life. You can trust me when I tell you that you and our unborn child are the most important things inmy life now. There is nothing I want more and nothing that I will guard and protect more fiercely. And one day, I will be the one waiting for you at the altar. If, of course, you will want to marry me.”
She giggles and tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Well now, it’s not like I would run away from my wedding ceremony again—because if I did, who would be there to pick me up like you did the last time?”
Her playful banter makes me grin, and for the first time in my entire life, I feel complete and want nothing more.
CHAPTER 9
VALENTINA
It’s almost hard to go back to a day alone in the hotel suite after spending such an enjoyable night out in the city with Luc. It appeased a bit of my desire to get out, but now it feels anticlimactic to spend the day inside the suite when I would rather be out doing anything.
Luc and I struck a happy medium, a negotiation of sorts. I agreed to give things a bit more time to blow over as long as he agreed to keep taking me out so that I don’t go stir-crazy in the meantime. It seemed like a fair deal to strike. And honestly, the way he protects me has increased and intensified because of my pregnancy makes me feel surprisingly good instead of stifled. With Luc, it feels more like we are partners, each looking out for the other. He’s trying to keep me physically safe, while I’m trying to help him embrace his more vulnerable, empathetic side, an emotional openness that comes from building a true, intimate connection. I think we might save each other by embracing the flaws we thought we had. Instead of envy, Luc now has love to fill his life. And instead of being controlled, I now feel worshipped. We solidified our once forbidden connection into something unbreakable—a genuine connection transcendingphysical longing, forging a nearly unbreakable emotional bond between us.
I’m lost in thought all morning about Luc and our unborn child as I stare out the window and let all sorts of fantasies play out in my head. I almost don’t even notice when someone comes in.
“Valentina? Miss?” Maria’s voice interrupts my daydreaming.
I turn to see her standing there in her maid uniform with a cleaning bucket in one hand and a vacuum in the other.
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting?”
“Oh no, not at all,” I say as I get up to greet her. I’m actually grateful to the company and happy to see her again. When she brought me my dress yesterday, she didn’t linger. But now that she’s here to clean the hotel suite, that means she’ll stay and chat for a while.
Aside from talking with Isla on the phone a few times, during which she’s done her best to act like a sister to me and offer me advice and solidarity from afar, I haven’t really had another female friend to talk with.
“Did you have a nice evening last night?” She asks as she wipes down the counters. “Your dress was lovely.”
“Yes, I did, thank you,” I smile as I watch her subtly graceful movements while she cleans.
“And did you get the answer you were hoping for?”
For a second, I’m not sure what she’s referring to. But then I remember the pregnancy test, and that she left before I found out the results.
“Well, it was an unexpected answer,” I laugh a little. “But I think that being pregnant has turned out to be a good thing.”
