Page 130 of Ruthless Vow
“How is everyone handling it?” I ask. “About your father. What Gia found.”
His hand stills in my hair. A long exhale.
“Gia buries herself in Papa’s medical records, looking for anything else she might have missed. Renzo’s tracing the Benedetti timeline. Trying to figure out how long Romano was feeding them information.”
“And you?”
He pulls me closer. His arm tightens around my waist, and I go with him, pressing myself against his warmth.
“I’m holding onto the one thing that’s real.” He brushes my temple. “The one thing Romano couldn’t take.Tesoro mio.”
My hand presses harder against his sternum. I breathe him in. His arms close around me and I let them, let myself be held without calculating what I owe for the holding.
“I want the wedding soon.”
I lift my head. “What?”
His gaze meets mine. Dark and certain.
“I want it soon. I want everyone to see that my wife chose me.”
A week ago, I would have argued. Would have said he needed to rest, to recover, to focus on the family and the threat still circling.
But a week ago, I watched him come that close to gone.
And waiting is just another word for wasting time you might not have.
“Okay,” I say.
His eyebrows rise. “Okay? Just like that?”
“Were you expecting an argument?”
“From you? Always.”
I lean up and kiss him. Soft. Brief.
“I want everyone to see too,” I tell him. “I want them to know this was a choice. Both of us. Choosing each other.”
His palm cups my face. Thumb tracing my cheekbone.
“When?”
“When Giada clears you. Not before.”
“Cassia.”
“Non-negotiable.” I settle back against his chest. “You’ll survive the wait, husband.”
He laughs. Low and warm, rumbling through his chest and into my bones.
I let the sound wash over me. Press my palm flat against his heart and feel it beating.
Sixty-two. Sixty-three. Sixty-four.
Strong. Steady. Going nowhere.
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