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Her eyes softened. “I wouldn’t have said yes. We were too new. Too involved. It couldn’t have been just a business arrangement between us.” She kissed my shoulder. “When I say ‘I do’ to you, I want it to be forever.”
God, I didn’t know you could love like this. I held her for a little longer, soaking in the warmth of her soft body. I wanted to freeze this moment, live in it forever. “I love you so much, Tal.”
She raised her face, and I took a minute to soak in her features: those green eyes that ensnared me like a trap, the little upturn of her nose, the light freckles across her cheeks. She was so fucking beautiful that she stole my breath every damn day.
I kissed her softly, but she deepened it. “Maybe a little break would help rejuvenate your packing ability?” she murmured, her hands starting to wander down under my t-shirt to the waistband of my jeans.
Unfortunately, at that moment, the baby let out a cry, which made the dog bark as he scrambled around the house, searching for someone to help his tiny charge. I groaned, but kissed her lips softly once more, then pulled away.
“Norton really is the best dog,” Tally laughed as she uncurled from my body. “Who needs a baby monitor?” She stood, looking down at me. “I love you too, you know that right? This”—she gestured at her obnoxiously large ring—“doesn’t mean I love you any less.”
I rolled myself into a sitting position, so I could pull her between my thighs and hug her close. “I know, sweetheart.” I slapped that delicious ass. “Now, we better get moving. Hayes wants us there by dinner time, in case the media get hold of the story.”
Why they’d even care was beyond me, but apparently, Rocco was a big enough deal in Europe that him being off the marriage market made headline news.
I’d thought Hayes was being paranoid, but when we rolled through the brand-new gated community that I’d only ever read about, I was surprised to see a photographer standing by his car, snapping pictures of people going past. A security guy was yelling at him, but the photographer seemed unperturbed by his aggression.
“Is he some kind of European prince, and we don’t know it?” I asked Hayes, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. Tally and the baby were in the back of the SUV, and I gave the photographer the stink eye on the way past.
Another security guard stopped our car. “Name?”
“Hayes Davis, Jesse Banks and Tally Pal—Passero,” Hayes answered, and the guy looked down at his tablet and nodded.
“New residents. Welcome to the neighborhood.” He waved us in, and Hayes pulled past the gates. There were only two streets in this community, bracketed by the ocean on one side and a large fence on the other. Less “exclusive” than the other gated communities in the city—which were reserved for politicians and generational wealth—this area still reeked of money and privilege.
Rocco’s mansion was spread across sprawling grounds, and it was hard to believe this was so close to the city. The whole community had once been the grounds of an eighteen-hole golf course, but clearly, there was more money in real estate than golf.
The manicured yards and tall fences between properties definitely said the area was coveted more for the gated aspect than the community side of things. I could understand that; when your life was on display, privacy was paramount.
Rocco had given Tally a key fob, and the gate automatically opened as we rolled up. “Fancy,” Hayes breathed.
Norton whined from the back seat, totally fed up with being jammed tight with the bags. “It’s all good, buddy. We’re almost there. Look at all this lawn you can shit on.”
Tally laughed. “Basically doggy heaven.”
It was human heaven too. There was no way Tally would ever want to go back to my crappy split-level after this.
We pulled up at the front steps, Hayes parking the car. The door immediately swung open, and Rocco was there, a small smile on his face. He moved down the stairs, his eyes tracking us as we unloaded ourselves from the car
Reaching out, he shook my hand. “Welcome home.” I couldn’t get a read on this guy. Still, when Hayes let Norton out of the back seat, I caught a smile on his face. “Who’s this?”
It was Tally that answered. “This is Norton. He’s Jesse’s dog, but I think he might have changed allegiance to Bobbi-June.” She gave an awkward chuckle, the kind you give when you’re the first person at a party, or you’re meeting strangers you’ve never met.
Norton wandered over to Rocco cautiously, sussing out if he was a safe human for his people. Rocco sat down on the steps, placing a hand out, which Norton sniffed tentatively. Happy that Rocco didn’t smell like the human equivalent of a rabid hound, he gave it a quick lick and bounded away to sniff out the perimeter.
“It’s okay he’s here, right?” There was a challenge in Hayes’s voice, despite the pep talk I’d given him earlier about not fucking this up.
Rocco shrugged. “I like dogs better than humans. Plus, the estate is fenced. He can run where he likes.” He stepped toward Tally, kissing both of her cheeks. “Welcome, Stellina.”
I’d Googled what Stellina meant, and it meant little star. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about him calling her that before they were even… whatever the hell they were now.
He grabbed one of the suitcases from Hayes, while I grabbed another two from the car. There was a removalist coming to the house tomorrow to collect the rest of the stuff we’d need to make this place our home—for a few years, at least.
The foyer had polished concrete floors, with staircases going up either side. Parking the suitcases at the base of the stairs, Rocco tipped his chin for us to follow him. “I’ll give you the tour.” He walked straight through, under the balcony landing and down into an open-plan kitchen and living room that was as big as my whole house.
“This is the main living area. The kitchen has the basics, but the main kitchen is in the butler’s pantry over here.” He opened what I’d thought was a cabinet door, but was really a hidden path to a second, full-sized kitchen. Hell, it might actually be industrial-sized. “Everything you could need is in here. Help yourself to anything. I get food sent in, but if you like to cook, don’t be shy to use any of the appliances you find. Don’t ask me how they work, though, because I have no idea about most of them.”
He led us back out, then through giant glass doors that led onto a patio. A step below that was an infinity pool that looked out over the wide expanse of lawn. It had clear glass fencing, which would be good once Junie started walking. I was beginning to call her Junie because Bobbi-June was a mouthful, and her mama hadn’t protested it yet.
