Page 49 of Reaching His Heart (The Sartoris 3)

“Why?” She looked down at herself. The dress still looked good to her eyes, not even as daring as she’d seen Bambi go. It wasn’t so wild that it clashed with her conservative nature. Maybe he was embarrassed. At their first meeting, he’d said she wasn’t attractive. Was he ashamed because she looked like she was trying too hard?

“I just want it to be me and you, and it’s going to get busy.” He grumbled and looked over her head with a frown.

A lump formed in her throat, and her chest tightened. She hated feeling this way. Knowing Cason loved her had made her bolder, but it backfired. “If I embarrass you, Cason, it’s all right. We can go home. I’ll change into something else, and we can grab something at a chain restaurant or whatever.”

He looked struck again and this time grabbed her hand and almost dragged her down a short hall off the restaurant entrance. She stumbled along until he stopped and pressed her against the wall with his hands on her shoulders. Solette saw the frustration in his eyes but couldn’t figure out what caused it.

He kissed her long and roughly, snatching her chin up and delving into her mouth with his tongue. Then something seemed to occur to him, and he wrenched himself away and backed up several feet.

“Cason, what’s wrong?”

He pushed fingers into his hair. “I want to make love to you right now.”

She blinked and then saw the evidence. Warmth stole over her body.

“You look good enough to feast on,” he growled in anger. “Trust me when I tell you, you’ve teased me beyond my limit dressed that way, especially since I know it’s my beautiful little mouse being extra sexy for me.”

“Oh.” She was breathless. “But why is it making you mad?”

“Because—”

“Are you coming or not?” Ezio snapped from the end of the hall, and Solette gasped. Cason’s brother stood there just an instant before a hand Solette was sure belonged to Shakarri snatched him away.

She looked at Cason. “What’s going on?”

He groaned and put his hand out. She laid hers in his, trusting him. They walked back to the restaurant entrance, and that’s when Solette finally noticed. The place was full of family, including Cason’s mom, his Aunt Livia, her son Joseph, the other kids, and close family friends.

“What in the world?” she breathed.

“Mom,” Joseph shouted and ran over to her. “Did we fool you?”

“Oh, you fooled me all right.” Her head was still spinning. “I thought I left you at home playing with Catarina.”

Ezio’s daughter popped out from behind Joseph and spread her hands to the sides. “Surprise, Aunt Solette. I’m here.”

“I see.” She spun to face Cason. “I thought we were having dinner alone.”

He reached to touch her face and then withdrew after only a gentle caress. “Trust me. I wish I never had the brilliant idea for this party just this afternoon.”

“This afternoon? So when you said you made reservations, you meant you took over a top rated restaurant on short notice?”

He grinned. “What a Sartori wants, a Sartori gets.”

Someone tapped a fork to a glass, capturing everyone’s attention. Solette looked over to see that it was Sonya, Romy’s wife. She set the glass down and pointed the fork at Solette and Cason. “If you two don’t get up here to the head of the table, Ezio is going to have a cow.”

Ezio flared his nostrils and glared at her. His wife touched his arm, and he pretended he didn’t care one way or another. Solette loved how Shakarri could influence him at all times. She gazed at Cason as he led the way to their spot, and she realized they were just the same. One word from her, and Cason did so much. He could be stubborn, and some lines he wouldn’t cross, like telling her when he was in pain. But all she had to do was ask, and he would move the earth for her. She had never imagined a man—or anyone for that matter—loving her that deeply.

Solette sat down shaking at the head of the table when Cason remained standing at her side. He took her hand and kissed it, his eyes filled with so much love it took her breath away. She knew what was coming now, and she couldn’t believe he chose to tell her how he felt in front of his whole family. Then again, she shouldn’t be surprised. Family was everything to Cason, even when he pushed them away during his recovery. He would have been lost if they had actually backed off.

“Solette,” he began, and everyone quieted down. “You were there when I went through my worst nightmare. Even when I treated you like crap and said some things I wish I could take back, you were patient with me.”

She lowered her lashes and blinked a few times, but it didn’t stop the tears from falling. “I was doing my job,” she whispered, lying. That was how it was in the beginning, but very quickly she fell for him.

When she looked up at Cason again, she saw that he knew the truth. “You love me, little mouse. Don’t deny it.”

She blushed.

“But if you need me to say it first, I will.” He leaned down and kissed her. Whoops of delight rose over the crowd. He moved to her ear and murmured with more gentleness than she had ever experienced. “I love you more than life, Solette.”

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