Page 137 of Carnal

I tug her into my arms. "Everything will be okay. I'm not letting anything happen to you."

She hugs me tightly. "I'm sorry about earlier. Don't hate me."

"I don't hate you."

She tilts her head up. Her eyes fill with tears. "I don't know why I'm doing this."

"Then stop doing it."

A tear drips down her cheek. She squeezes her eyes shut, whispering, "How?"

I palm her cheek. "Go to the wedding with me. We'll tell Dante and Bridget. It'll be fine."

"I don't want to ruin his big day," she claims.

"You won't. Just trust me."

She hesitates.

I state in a firm voice, "Pina, if you love me, you have to trust me on this."

She slowly nods. "Okay."

My heart stops. "Okay, as in, you'll go to the wedding with me, and we can come clean to everyone?"

More tears fall as she keeps nodding.

"I need to hear you say yes," I demand.

She locks her eyes on mine. "I love you. So, yes."

22

Pina

My eyes flutter open,taking in the darkness. I don't know what time it is, and I couldn't have been asleep very long, but I strangely don't feel tired. Maybe it's the reality that we're finally going to make peace with the Dante situation. I'm still uncertain how he'll react, but at least Tristano and I will be free.

His warm body curls around my back. He kisses my neck, murmuring, "You know what we should do?"

I spin into him. "What's that?"

He grins. "Take a shower, then go for a ride during sunrise."

"On your bike?"

"Yep."

My mother's warning about motorcycles being dangerous flies into my head. I admit, "I've never been on one."

Tristano gapes. "For real?"

"Yeah. My mom isn't a fan. She drilled the danger into my brain," I confess.

"But you want to know what it's like, right?"

I bite on my lip, cocking my head.

"Am I wrong?"

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