“No, I don’t want to wait to marry you. Anything can happen in life, and I don’t want to wait to make you my wife.”
A beautiful grin spreads across her face. “Okay, we don’t have to wait. But …”
She gnaws on her bottom lip, and I reach out and pull it out, then lift her so she’s sitting on my lap.
“Talk to me.”
“I know I’ve been married before …”
The growl that leaves my body has her widening her eyes.
“You were not married to that fucker,” I tell her. “It was annulled, which means it never happened.”
“I know,” she agrees. “But what I was trying to say was, when Enrique and I got married, it was so quick. When I mentioned wanting an actual wedding, he ignored me and pushed forward with the quickie wedding. Looking back, I know it was because of his master plan.
“But I don’t want that kind of wedding with you. I don’t have a lot of family or friends, but I’d like to wear a white dress and walk down the aisle with my brother. I’d like a pretty reception and a cake we cut into and feed each other. I want to dance with you, and at the end of the night, I’d like to go to a hotel, where we spend the evening consummating our marriage.”
She shrugs shyly, her gaze averting to over my shoulder, so I tilt her chin to look at me.
“You can have all that,” I tell her.
The only thing I care about is marrying her, but if she wants a wedding, she’ll have it, and I’ll be right there, in a tux, with my brother by my side.
“But I don’t want to wait. Hire someone or plan it yourself. I’ll do whatever you want. Two months, max,” I say, “and then you’re mine forever.”
A beautiful smile curves the corner of her lips. “Thank you.” She presses her lips to mine. “Now, feed me, fiancé. I’m starved.”
32
Matteo
“Enrique killed your parents.”
Lorenzo looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, so I explain, “Eddy combed through his laptop and found evidence indicating that after Enrique discovered Michael was your dad’s attorney, he found out everything there was to know about your parents, including their address.
“Eddy also came across a wire transfer to an offshore account. It took some digging, but he linked it back to a Chad Kennedy. He was one of the chefs at North Harbor Point Country Club, who had made one too many bad decisions and was in desperate need of some cash flow.
“Chad confirmed that Enrique had paid him to drug your parents the night they were killed, so when the house was set on fire, they wouldn’t wake up.”
Lorenzo’s jaw clenches. “And where is Chad now?”
“Dead,” I tell him.
I killed him last night, after he begged me to, the guilt getting to him. I considered keeping him alive so he could tell Lorenzo himself, but I didn’t want the blood on my best friend’s hands, so I handled it so he wouldn’t have to.
“All of this because my father had killed his?” Lorenzo surmises.
“His father and mother,” I tell him, making hiseyes go wide.
“Joseph had been having an affair for years, which resulted in Enrique. We can’t confirm what went down, but Enrique told Dani that both his mom and dad were killed, so Eddy did some digging and found a death certificate in the name of Silvia Morgan. Enrique must’ve legally changed his last name to Rothschild. Her death was dated the same day as Joseph’s, leading us to believe she was with him when your dad shot him.”
“Fuck,” Lorenzo sighs. “Wait … you said Morgan?”
“Yeah, Silvia Morgan.”
His brows furrow in contemplation. “I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.” He shakes his head. “Does Dani know?”
“Yeah. I told her last night.”
