We sit on a bench. I don't crowd her, but I don't retreat either. Close enough that she feels me.
"I fucked up," I say, cutting straight to it. "Not telling those women that things had changed. Keeping them around when I should have sent them packing immediately. That was on me."
She sips her tea, staring at the roses. "Why didn't you? You seem so calculated all the time, knowing exactly what to do, when to do it. Even what to say to make a girl fall for you in the craziest of situations." Her confession makes me smile.
"Honestly?" I turn to face her fully. "Because I wasn't sure what I was feeling yet. I knew I wanted you, but I didn't know how much. Didn't realize you'd become..." I pause, choosing my words carefully. "Essential."
"And now?"
"Now I know exactly what I want." I reach over and tilt her chin toward me with two fingers. "You. In my bed. In my life. No one else. I don't want convenient anymore, Valentina. I want real. I want… what we have."
She holds my gaze for a long moment before looking away.
"Lindsay asked me what I wanted. Not what you want, not what the contract says. What I actually want."
"And what did you tell her?"
"That I want to write. That I want to finish my book and go back to work and feel like I have control over my own life."
Each word lands like a challenge. I let the silence stretch, then nod slowly.
"After the wedding," I start, but she cuts me off.
"You keep saying that. Like you're dangling carrots."
"You're right." I turn to face her fully. "That changes now."
She looks at me then. "What are you saying?"
"The car's already ordered. Black Mercedes, fully loaded, arrives tomorrow. It's yours, title in your name. And if you want to go back to the library, you go back."
Her eyes widen. "You're serious."
"Yes." I lean back, draping my arm along the back of the bench behind her. Not touching, but claiming the space.
"And I'll have my assistant find you an agent. Though if he's half as sleazy as the last guy, I reserve the right to break his hands."
That gets a real smile. Small, but real.
"You can't just hurt everyone who annoys me, Salvatore."
"Watch me." I let my hand drop to her shoulder, thumb brushing the side of her neck. "Anyone who disrespects you disrespects me. I don't tolerate that."
She shakes her head, but she's still smiling. We sit in silence for a while, watching the breeze move through the rose bushes. I feel her gradually relax against me.
"The tea was a good move," she says eventually.
"I'm full of good moves. You'll learn that."
She huffs a small laugh. "I want to know everything too. About your family. Your brothers. What it was like growing up. All the things you don't talk about."
"That's going to take a while."
"I've got time."
She finishes her drink and sets the empty glass on the bench. I take it from her and place it on the ground, then pull her closer. She doesn't resist.
"I'm still angry," she says quietly. "And hurt. And I don't trust you completely yet."
