Page 131 of Made to Sin

“That’s what you get for eating two whole servings,” I teased.

“I’m a growing girl!”

“Ah, I apologize if I implied you weren’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “Stop mocking me. Not everyone has the energy to work out every single morning.”

“You’re perfect the way you are, sweetheart.”

No matter how many times I complimented her, she blushed furiously. “Thank you.”

I excused myself to get a new bottle of wine but used the time to check that everything was set up. The captain gave me the go-ahead signal when we were at the exact coordinates I planned.

“Katarina, come here for a second.”

I took her hand in mine and led her to the deck railing, so we were both gazing out at the city lights. I pointed to the tallest skyscraper by the shore. “Do you see the building over there?”

“Wait, that’s your hotel, right?” She critiqued it with a slight tilt of the head, mesmerized by the lights. “Wow, it’s more impressive from this angle.”

“Yeah, it is,” I said, fully looking at her.

It was now or never.

Taking a deep breath of courage, I squeezed her hand and started my speech. “It was a fateful February night when you drunkenly ran into me, sweetheart. Little did you know, I already had my eye on you the minute I walked past the bar and saw you sitting there. From that look alone, I knew you would become a distraction. It was why I was rude— no distraction could be good anyway. Yet you didn’t even flinch, continuing your comments like it was your world, and everyone else was just living in it.”

She laughed at my comparison, but it wasn’t a joke. It really was her world, and she mercilessly yanked me into her orbit. Since that night, I revolved around her as the Earth revolved around the sun. All my hours, waking or asleep, were catered to her. She was a part of my daily routine as well as a part of my dreams.

“I’m saying what I see, sweetheart. You know, I thought I had screwed up my chances. Maybe it would have been better if I did, but, immaturely, I couldn’t stop poking at you to hear your voice.”

“Well, it led us here, didn’t it? I guess what people say is true, Luciano Beneveti gets exactly what he wants.”

I let out a small chuckle.

“That was my original plan for the charity auction, to keep pushing your buttons and mess with you. Until I discovered what Marco did to you. I saw red that night. Trust me, I would have killed him earlier if I could. Since it was too risky for a war, I worked with him to get him off your back instead. But just know, all those times, I could think about was how idiotic he was to let go of someone as beautiful and witty as yourself.”

“Don’t make me cry, I wore makeup tonight,” she half-heartedly complained, staring up at the stars to blink away her tears.

I had planned to keep going with the trip down memory lane, but, for her sake and my impatience, I decided to skip to the main event of the night. Tugging on our intertwined fingers, I turned her to me.

Her watery eyes darted between mine, slowly catching onto what I was about to do.

Not giving her a chance to start doubting, I executed the finale. Kneeling on one knee, I pulled out the ring I bought for her. “Katarina, will you do me the honors of becoming my wife?”

“Luciano…” Her voice broke. “Why are you doing this?”

My heart cracked as she took a step away from me. I knew there would be some protest, but to see it happen pained me more than I could have imagined.

I stood, still holding the ring between my fingers. I wasn’t going to let go until it was placed on her finger.

“Because I love you. I love you so much, my enemies will start to use you to hurt me. At least with my name behind yours, you’ll be protected by my men.”

Her voice turned sharp and vehement. “So this is purely for theCosa Nostra? You swore I didn’t have to be a mob wife anymore.”

Frustration clawed at my chest at her lack of concern for her safety, but I quelled it. Comforting her uneasy thoughts was more important right now. “No, that’s not what it means,sweetheart. You will never have to be a mob wife again if you don’t want to.”

“It’s impossible, Luciano. With your last name alone, the position is mandatory.”

“Maybe on paper, but like I said, you can do whatever you want. This marriage will solely be between you and me. I won’t force you to go to boring events, I won’t force you to have kids, I won’t force you into anything you aren’t ready for.”

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