Page 65 of Luca
The third chant was forgotten as Luca slipped a ring on my finger. A diamond and blue sapphire band. Before I could panic, I was handed his wedding ring.
When I searched his face, he murmured low so only I could hear him. “Nonno’s ring.”
My eyes flicked to Nonno grinning in the front pew. He looked the happiest I’d seen him. His grin was wide. His dark eyes shone, reminding me of stars against the night. Luca was right. This wedding was doing him good.
I nodded in a silent thank you for everything he’d done for me. Not just today, but from the moment we met.
As the priest said the final words, pronouncing us husband and wife, Luca leaned in, bending his head and his lips touched mine, sealing our deal.
His mouth pressed against mine, roughly, yet gently. Devouring and enthralling. The taste of him, cinnamon and spicy, reminded me of something but my brain was too hazy to remember. Instead, I soaked up the taste of him. His tongue tangled with mine and all the thoughts evaporated out of my mind. I just felt him, letting him consume me.
His hand on my waist and his mouth on my lips felt like an ice cube melting on bare heated skin on a hot summer day. I couldn’t quite decide whether it was healthy or not. Rough waves washed over my skin.
He is a drug.
If I wasn’t careful, he’d become my drug of choice.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
MARGARET
Colorful flower arrangements decorated the entire back yard of Nonno’s villa. The orange and lemon trees fragranced the air. And birds chirped their excitement singing along with the soft music in the background.
Luca and I moved on the dance floor that was set up in the large yard of his grandfather’s villa with magnificent views of the sea and mountains.
People watched us dancing our first dance as husband and wife. The atmosphere was almost surreal. A small wedding turned out to be not so small after all. Nonno had way too many associates that would feel offended if he hadn’t invited them. So here we were, a hundred guests, give or take.
This was a solution for both Luca and I. A sort of an arranged marriage that we both agreed to. It was kind of fake. Right?
Except if all this was fake, why did it feel so real? The way Luca watched me, his eyes steady on me, made it feel real. Too real.
We moved as one to the tune of some old Italian song. We didn’t have a song and the first song we met under certainly wasn’t appropriate. I could only imagine how this traditional audience would react to the song “Fuckboy” as our first dance. It was what I’d called him the first time we crossed paths. The timing of the song was opportune and coincidently appropriate back then.
Yet, I couldn’t have been more wrong about him.
“This view is breathtaking,” I admired, my eyes soaking in the dreamlike landscape.
He twirled me out before pulling me back, so I came back into his body. He was a smooth dancer, but then I already knew that. I’d seen him dance before with other women.
“It’s the most beautiful view I have ever seen,” he agreed.
His grin came slow, his eyes never wavering from me and watching me with an unreadable expression.
“Thank you for bringing my brothers.” God, when he watched me like that, I could melt into a puddle and give in to him. But I wouldn’t. Because this was fake. F.A.K.E. “How did you convince them?”
Luca chuckled. “They thought I was forcing you to marry me. So like a pack of wolves they rushed to ensure you were safe.”
I shook my head. “Stop taunting them.”
He gave me an innocent look, barely containing his smile. God, he could be mischievously handsome when he wanted to. It was becoming too hard to keep him at arm’s length.
Forgetting that this was a mutually beneficial arrangement would be a mistake. I’d have to keep reminding myself of that. Somehow Luca King, correction, DiMauro, had quickly become a man that I liked, instead of a man I despised. Truthfully, I didn’t think I ever truly hated him. Either way, I didn’t despise him any longer. Maybe hormones had something to do with that too.
He raised his hand to others to have them join the dance. The guests didn’t need another nudge. They quickly swarmed the dance floor.
“I know you’re close with them,” Luca replied. “I wanted you to have at least that. I’m sorry I didn’t bring your mother.”
I shook my head. “It’s better you didn’t.” He nodded in understanding. “So you know all these people?” I asked, changing subjects.
