I hesitated for the space of four heartbeats. “Yes?”
“Ti amo più della mia vita.”I love you more than my life.
“I know,” I whispered.
He held me tighter. “Don’t ever forget it.”
15
Scarlett
I love you more than my life.
How could I ever forget those words? That they were meant for me?
The next day as I strolled the property with Mia in her stroller, toward the group that had gathered, the words refused to leave my mind.
He didn’t meandon’t forgetin the figurative sense, but in theifI start behaving unlike myself, remember that I love you more than my life so don’t leave mesense.
Words slipped easily from the tongue for most people. Not Brando. He was a man wired to action, not words, so for him to even have to say,don’t ever forget it,told me a great deal.
Under his father’s eye, he could turn into something he never wanted to be. A legendary Fausti ruler. He knew that if the lines became blurred, I’d be the one to go to battle for him, swinging a sword to keep his demons at bay.
As it was, I had already picked it up, testing the weight in my hands to get comfortable with it.
“You still can’t stop looking at him.”
“Hm?” I turned to Juliette, who was walking next to me. My thoughts were slow to catch up, but I said the first person who came to mind. “Brando?”
Angelo sat up in his stroller, giving Mia the cool eye. Angelo had better hair than most adults. Mia kept scrunching her nose up at him, showing him her teeth.
“He’s the only one you ever stare at. For good reason. Did I ever tell you my Brando Fausti story?” She nudged me. “Most of the girls from back in the day have one—a time we encountered him out in the wild and never forgot it.”
I grinned. “No.”
“Ooh. Mine’s not juicy, but so embarrassing.” Her cheeks turned red, but she continued. “I had a job working at a hamburger place back home one summer. Looking for some extra cash. One night he came to my window. He was with Mitch. All I could manage was ‘ga ba ja ba ga.’ I think I was trying to say,‘Would you like fries with that?’ He made me so nervous. Still does. I had no idea how to even speak to someone that gorgeous. Thatintense. I wasn’t the only one either. Every girl I knew lusted after him but couldn’t utter a word in his presence.”
“Now you’re married to his brother,” I pointed out.
“To be fair, we didn’t do much talking the first night. He made me nervous too. So I just went to bed with him. You know, to make thingslessawkward.” She grinned. “And I figured, how often do you get to sleep with Adonis? Romeo is the kind of man who ranks first on a bucket listto do.”
For the first time since we arrived at Luca’s estate, I laughed. Really laughed. Juliette laughed too. Mia mimicked us, closing her eyes,ha ha ha!We laughed even harder.
We both sighed as we settled back into the walk. We followed a paved path that started at the castle and led to this section of the property. The day was full of gold-colored mist, the sun breaking through the atmosphere in a medley of strong beams that burst through heaven, illuminating the rolling hills in the distance.
Before the knolls, the property bordered the fringe of a forest. I wondered where it led to. It seemed like it was left wild on purpose. Perhaps to conceal the heart of this place, if thecastellowasn’t considered the most vital.
A strong gust of wind kicked up, stirring the chill and carrying it. The sweet scent of hay danced in the air with the tang of dead leaves, hinting at the oncoming frost.
“Catch up with us!” Rosaria shouted over her shoulder.
She and Carmen had walked ahead, side by side, each pushing a stroller. It still amazed me to see Rosaria pushing one, with an actual baby sitting inside of it and not piles and piles of designer clothing and shoes. Most of the time the au pair she and Rocco employed pushed Massimo around. Unless Rocco was there to do it. But Luca had rules here.
The less people (who were not sworn into this family) around to possibly complicate his plans, the better.
Rosaria was all too happy to comply with his laws, considering that she practically bowed to the man every time he walked into the room. I was waiting for the moment she attempted to kiss his diamond-encrusted signet ring.
As Juliette opened her mouth to respond, men applauded from the group ahead, cutting her off. We all looked toward the area where they had gathered, trucks idling.
