Our tongues tangled, fighting possession over the other. Dante held me like he feared I would disappear if he let go. When our lips finally parted, I gazed into his eyes, breathing hard. Dante stared at me as if seeing me for the first time and brushed the pad of his thumb across my cheek.
He whispered, "Mia brava ragazza."
My good girl.
* * *
After the ceremony, we returned to Portofino to prepare for the wedding reception. It still didn't feel real that I married Dante Luciano, of all people.
He dressed in a black tuxedo that molded to his muscular body, paired with a black bowtie. I stood in front of the mirror on the dining room wall and fixed my hair into place, glancing at him in the mirror.
Dante looked good enough to eat.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his eyes moving over each curve of my body. "Are you done fussing over yourself, Mrs. Luciano? We can't be late for our party."
I smiled at him in the mirror. "I'm still not used to that."
His eyebrows rose. "What?"
"My married name."
“You’ll get used to it, Mrs. Luciano.”
Dante extended his hand and then led me out of the apartment.
"What about your brothers?"
He hit the button on the wall to call the elevator. "They're meeting us downstairs." Once inside the car, he said, "For appearances, we have to maintain the illusion it's just you and I in this relationship."
"Sure, makes sense."
"No one can know that I share you with my brothers."
I leaned into his arm and glanced up at my delicious husband. "Of course not."
"Not even your friend."
"She already knows," I admitted. "I told her everything after the first time you touched me."
His jaw clenched, a disapproving look spreading across his face. "She's marrying Pete Morelli and knows better than to speak about our family. But no one else can know."
"I would never say anything," I shot back. "Not like I have any other friends. Why are you so worried about someone finding out?"
"We have a lot of enemies." He pressed his lips together, eyes on the doors as they opened onto the ground floor. "We can never be too careful."
"You forget I was born into this life, Dante."
My husband grabbed my hand and power walked down the long hallway, headed toward the casino as if he were on a mission. The reception didn't start for another hour. Our guests were having cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.
He pulled open the door to the ballroom, putting his hand on my lower back as he ushered me inside the massive room. Dozens of people were already here, with several hundred more expected within the hour.
Dante swiped champagne flutes from a server's tray and handed one to me. He dipped his head down, and his lips brushed my earlobe. "Don't leave my side tonight."
"I remember the days when you pretended to hate me. That wasn't that long ago." I smiled up at him. “Now, look at you. So protective of your wife."
"I never hated you, Ava." He clutched my chin with those golden-brown eyes searing through me. "I love you. If anyone were to touch you, I'd lose my fucking mind."
My eyebrows rose at his confession. "You love me?"
