Page 46 of Beneath the Dawn

She had walked out of the kitchen to head up the stairs when the front door opened. Marti’s heart leaped inside her chest when she saw Dante. The man she loved. Quickly crossing the room, she rushed into his open arms.

***

Dante exhaled heavily. It was over, and everything had gone according to plan. With that behind him, he needed to hold Marti, needing everything that was her. Last night, he’d seen a side of himself that he’d known was always in his DNA, but it had never had a reason to emerge. Taking a life wasn’t easy, but those vile human beings deserved to die. Especially when they had tried to harm the woman he loved.

The first three assumed he was there as retribution for what they had done to the children, and had been surprised when he mentioned Marti. The one named Sonny had had the nerve to call her a bitch. Dante had really struggled to keep his anger in check, so as not to leave bruise marks on the bastard.

“I handled it, Marti. It’s over. Now I need to make love to you.” Losing himself in her body always gave him a sense of total completeness, both mentally and physically.

Sweeping her into his arms, he headed for the stairs. They barely had a week left, and he would make sure they didn’t spend any of it looking back. Instead, he hoped they could make plans for next summer. But then, did he honestly believe he could wait that long to see her again?

No. So he would use his remaining days with her to lay it on thick, to convince her that there was a reason their ‘Things in Common’ list was so extensive, and why they enjoyed spending so much time together. More than anything, he wanted her to believe, as he did, that their destinies were entwined.

CHAPTER 19

“I’ve fallen in love with Dante.”

The words Marti had blurted out in the middle of the latest conversation she was having with her sister had gotten the intended effect. Silence.

Marti wasn’t bothered by the silence. She was enjoying standing at the window, watching Dante. They were alone again on Lasco Cove, since Rossi had left the day after Dante returned. Now it seemed the two of them were trying to stockpile as many happy memories of their time together in Wild Rose Point as they could. They would need them to sustain them when they parted ways.

“Don’t you have anything to say to what I said, Kara?”

Her sister finally broke the silence by saying, “I’m not surprised. I’m convinced I fell in love with Virgil the moment we danced on the night we met. My question to you is, what are you going to do about it? You’re coming home in two days, right?”

Her family still thought she was in London, and she would never tell them anything differently. Her stay in Wild Rose Point, the attempt on her life, and Dante’s role as her personal protector, fixer, and enforcer would forever be their secret. “Yes, I fly home in two days.”

“Then I suggest you take matters into your own hands. Do something. I hate to say this, but neither of you is getting any younger.”

“There’s a reason he doesn’t want to fall in love, Kara.”

“I’m sure there is. If you recall, Virgil and his godbrothers were so hell-bent against ever settling down that they considered themselves bachelors in demand and formed the Guarded Hearts Club. Now all five of them are happily married. If there was hope for them, then there’s hope for anyone.”

Kara paused and then added, “I recall you swearing that you would never fall in love again, either. Yet you did when the right person came along. Make Dante see that you are the right person for him, Marti.”

“And I’m supposed to accomplish that in two days, Kara?”

“I don’t see why not, big sister. You said he’s been keeping a list of things you two have in common. Convince him that there’s a reason for it.”

“He knows what’s on the list, so I need more than that.”

“Then speak from your heart and tell him how you truly feel.”

Kara’s words continued to ring in her ears when they ended the call. Her sister was right. Marti had fallen in love again when the right person had come along. And that person was Dante. As she watched him dry off, she thought about their nights together since he returned. Both of them had been trying to outdo the other in showing how much they had been missed.

And her mornings still began as usual, with her looking out the window to watch him in the ocean at sunrise. She intended to carry those images back to Billings with her and keep them close to her heart.

In the bedroom, he now called her Martina, determined to replace unhappy memories with new, happy ones of him calling her by her full name. And it was working. While making love, he called her ‘his Martina’. She doubted he knew how much she wished that were so.

In two days, she would leave Wild Rose Point, and she intended to make the most of her last days here with him. Tonight, they would have their final beach date night. She kept thinking about Kara’s suggestion that she speak from her heart and tell Dante how she really felt. Would it honestly matter if she did, if he could not love her? How would she handle the rejection? And that was the one thing she was too afraid to find out.

But why should she be afraid? Hadn’t he been the one to say that the best way to rid yourself of fear was to confront it head-on?

And suddenly, she knew that was exactly what she was going to do. Maybe it was time to see if he believed in his own theory.

***

Dante glanced up at his bedroom window and saw Marti watching him. Instead of waving as he usually did, he blew her a kiss and threw his head back with a huge smile. It felt comforting to know she was always there. She didn’t have to join him in the water before dawn. Just knowing she was looking on was all the encouragement he needed.