“Yeah, I sensed that about her.” She sighed. “Was she that way with you?”
“Depends.”
“On whether you gave her her way or not, right?”
“Right.”
“I know there’s no reason to be, but thinking of you with her makes me so fucking jealous. It’s not normal. I might get vicious withher.”
I had no fucking clue why that made my chest feel weird, but it did. I pulled her onto the bed with me, and she gasped as my lips moved toward hers. “The opposite wouldn’t be fucking normal.” I claimed her mouth, my hands roving over her body, still warm from the sun and smelling like salt and lemons.
We were an hour late arriving in Maranello.
CHAPTER20
Mrs. Big
Soon,I’d be wearing a lot of white. Or shades of it. So, I decided to go in a different direction for the dress for Rocco’s party. Georgia and Lidia had been with me when I’d gone shopping for it. It was a wine-red stunner with a deep v neckline, off-the-shoulder sleeves, and a mermaid train with a slide slit. The satin material sat against me like skin. Lidia had said all women could wear red, but it took confidence.
I didn’t know if I had enough of it at first to pull it off, but…I’d bought it.
The woman Lidia had hired to do my hair and makeup for the trips had slicked back my hair into a chic chignon and kept the makeup simple—winged liner and a lip to match the color of the dress. Big had gifted me jewelry to wear: a simple necklace with a few dripping diamonds at my throat. A diamond bracelet. And a pair of diamond filigree teardrop earrings. I didn’t even want to know how much the set cost. I almost felt like telling him to buy me fakes and leave the real stuff in the casino’s safe, but I knew what he was going to say.
“That’s what insurance is for.”
Big couldn’t take his eyes off me. The entire flight from Portofino to Maranello, to the chauffeured car ride to Rocco’s Italian mansion, he kept staring at me.
I had enough confidence to wear the dress on my own, but knowing he felt I lookedthatgood in it…I was ready to take on this crowd with him. My eyes flicked to him for the umpteenth time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him either. He wore a custom-made tux that made him look like he was straight out of a James Bond movie. His dark hair was parted to the side, and he smelled like his usual: bourbon, suede, and cigar smoke. I held tighter to his arm as we made our way toward the entrance of Rocco’s home to let every woman who kept glancing at him know he was taken.
My husband was a mixture of Italian and Greek perfection.
And he was all mine.
“Wow,” I whispered as we walked arm in arm toward Rocco’s door. “This place is something you find on a pamphlet to see while you’re in Italy.”
We were following behind a line of people. Even though I couldn’t see past the doors lit with shimmering light from behind, the villa was grand enough to host an event where black tie was required. I’d heard the Fausti family had money, but damn…the place was ornate.
One glance at it and there was no doubt it belonged to Italian royalty of some kind. Big had told me Rocco’s grandfather had married into a luxury car and racing family, and Rocco’s grandmother had been a movie star who belonged to the family. This place fit that bill.
Georgia’s voice came at me from the other side of Big in a whisper. “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” We both had an arm, she on his left and me on his right.
I breathed out a laugh and Big grinned, kissing my hand. Georgia had decided to fly in earlier and had arrived at the hotel in Portofino while we’d been out doing wedding errands. Big invited her to Rocco’s party, and she jumped at the chance. She was interested in seeing all of this, but I thought she was more interested in seeing Abree. Or getting between the two of us if Abree decided to start something.
I’d have to come up with a different weapon of choice. There was no way I was throwing a drink in this place. If I ended up ruining some ancient family heirloom…I thought jail was the least of my worries.
As we made our way up the steps toward the open doors, opera music floated down to greet us. The light was buttery, maybe from all the candles, and an exotic scent permeated the warm air. I couldn’t place it, but like Big had said, rich, rich,rich. It was a perfume that had the power to transport me back to that exact moment if I ever smelled it again.
“Is this the entire racing team?” Georgia asked as we both declined champagne from a server. “How does that work?”
Big asked for a water with lemon, and the server rushed off to grab it. “The Fausti team has four drivers. The rest of the guests probably work for the team or are people Rocco had a reason to invite.”
“Four racers,” I said, squeezing Big’s arm. “Not very good odds when you’re looking for a racing job. You were one of four—and one of the best, if all my research on you is correct, which I do believe it is.”
“I’m good with odds.” Big grinned.
Georgia peeked around him. “Your man is talented, Leo. Still not good enough for you, but…I’m somewhat impressed.”
“Finally, a fucking crumb,” Big said, taking the water from the waiter.
