A reluctant huff escapes her. "No."
"Then trust me again," I say, voice dropping. "I want you there, Valentina. I want you sitting at their table with me, not shunned from my family while everyone else decides who you are. And once they meet you, they'll love you as much as I do."
Tension explodes.
Did I just say I loved her?
It's just a phrase.
Do I?
I quickly add, "I'll be over after I finish working. See you then." I hang up before I get myself into more trouble.
Why did I say that?
I try to push it out of my mind and return to my office. I swivel my chair away from the monitors and stare at the city through thewindow. Traffic crawls. Clouds stack low. The apartment suddenly feels smaller than it did ten minutes ago.
"Fuck it," I mumble, get up, and go over to Valentina's, surprising her when I walk in unannounced.
She's in her closet, fretting over clothes. Her black satin robe's tied tight around her waist.
I ask, "What are you doing?"
She jumps, then spins like she's ready to assassinate me.
"Easy," I tease, holding up my hands.
"What are you doing here?"
I wiggle my eyebrows. "Missed my wife." I close the gap between us and kiss her long and hard. She whimpers against my mouth, clutching my shoulders, and then I retreat, repeating, "So what's going on in here?"'
She scrunches her face. "I don't know what to wear tonight."
"Something hot," I say with a grin.
She laughs and slaps my arm with the back of her hand. "I can't be too sexy."
"Minx, it doesn't matter what you wear. You're going to look sexy."
Her face heats.
I shuffle through her clothes, then pull out a red dress. It's not too fancy but still a showstopper. "Wear this. You look great in red."
"I do?"
"Duh."
She bites her lip.
My grin falls. "What's wrong?"
She doesn't respond for a second, then her tone softens. "What if they hate me?"
"They won't. They have to get to know you."
"You don't know that."
"I know Brenna. She'll be nervous and blunt and probably overshare, and by the end of the night, she'll probably hug you. But she understands you're mine, and I am not giving you up."
