Watching Bianca like this, I realized this was the real her. The reserved woman, cautious with her smiles was gone, and in her place was the woman who loved her family with all her heart.
There were two little Barbie bikes laid in the middle of the driveway. A toy stroller with an overly large bear sat by the garage. On the other side of the property, there was a small beach, and I could tell they spent a lot of time there. A bucket of beach toys sat in the middle of the beach, right next to a mound of sand that resembled a sandcastle. On the lawn by the beach, there were two large wooden chairs and two small wooden chairs situated around the firepit. Not too far from it was a wooden swing with a pillow and throw blanket still sitting there. It was a warm and loving home.
The house sat on the corner of Gibson Island, on roughly two acres. It was a prime spot, with a beautiful house and a magnificent view, while the breeze swept off the bay. The estate wasn’t large nor was the house particularly capturing. I’d seen and owned palaces, castles, and penthouses on top of the world.
This place though… Bianca’s place screamed home.
Something I have always wanted. Something I promised Nicoletta and failed. Now, it was very probable I would ruin Bianca’s idea of a warm home. And her girls’.
I am an idiot.
It was the only plausible conclusion. With an irritating sense of acquiescence, I watched the little family in front of me. After Nicoletta’s death and discovering Bianca’s connection to Benito, I started planning my revenge. However, for the first time, I questioned what I was about to do.
Frustration clawed at my chest, warning me this couldn’t end well. Because my need for revenge blurred with my need for this woman. Instinctively, I knew Bianca would only ever give me her body. She didn’t need to say it, but I sensed it in every word and every touch we shared.
It wasn’t enough. For the briefest second, I contemplated ending the revenge plot. And if that didn’t make me the worst kind of traitor to my sister’s memory, I didn’t know what was.
Fuck, I needed to get this woman under me, fuck her hard, and this pull I felt towards her would diminish. Maybe we could have a few weeks, few months tops, of intense fucking, and I’d get my fascination with her under control. I had to.
She’d be my wife, give me heirs, but this obsession with her had to go. It wouldn’t bode well to care too much for her. It would cloud my judgment and make me weak. In order to protect her and her family against Benito, I had to think with my brain, not my dick.
Mary Carter’s eyes sought me out first. She frowned, and to say she wasn’t happy to see a man here was understatement.Too fucking bad!
Next Bianca’s little girls’ curious gazes searched me out. Unlike their mother’s soft brown eyes, the twins had deep blue eyes. They didn’t resemble their father’s eye color. There were very few pictures of Bianca’s mother since Benito kept her under a tight circle, but from those few pictures I’ve seen, I’d wager they had their grandmother’s eyes.
The twins left their mother and found their way over to me.
“Hi, I’m Hannah,” one said with a big smile, her little fingers pulling on my pants suit. “Who are you?”
“I’m Arianna,” the other chimed in, pulling on my other leg. Their faces were smeared with something sticky, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I kneeled down to their eye level.
“I’m Nico,” I introduced myself and reached out my hand. “Nice to meet you.” They each took turns shaking it with a wide grin on their small faces. “You two ladies have beautiful names.”
“I know,” Hannah announced, rolling her eyes like her mother. “Mom says she picked it.” She leaned closer and whispered. “She says Dad wanted to name us Number One and Two.”
I chuckled. “In that case, I think your mom picked perfect names.”
“I am so sorry,” Bianca found her way over to us. “Their hands and faces are a mess. Girls, let him go.”
“We are not a mess,” one of them objected, putting her little hands on her hips. I grinned. It was Hannah, and she had a little temper. She’d give us a run for our money when her teenage years came. “I washed my hands... twice.”
Bianca gently brushed her hand over her daughter's face. “But you forgot your face, lovebug.”
“My face is not dirty,” Hannah protested. “It’s beautiful.”
Bianca chuckled. “It sure is, but it is also sticky. Did Grandma give you a lollipop?”
Both of their expressions turned guilty as they shook their heads in a negative response.
“Yes, they both had one lollipop each,” Mary joined us.
“It’s not our fault Grandma gave us candy,” Arianna jumped in, then promptly turned her attention to me. These girls would be little troublemakers. “Want to go to the beach? Mommy will forget about candy later.”
I chuckled at her logic. Yes, definitely trouble.
“I would love to, but let’s save it for next time. I’ll make your mom forget about the candy,” I replied with a playful smile. “Deal?”