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“Thank you.” My throat was strangely tight.
Friends were a rarity in my life. I’d always kept myself emotionally isolated because social situations were safer that way; I couldn’t be hurt by anyone’s indifference if I didn’t allow myself to become attached to them. George had been the one exception, and even then, I’d never allowed myself to rely on him. I’d supported him, not the other way around. It hadn’t been reciprocal.
A whole new world was opening up before me, and it was all because of Massimo. He’d stormed into my life and shown me that I could be vulnerable. He’d proven to me that he would protect me in every way, including shielding my heart.
Carmen said her goodbye to Massimo too, and then she swept out of the suite, giving us privacy.
“Pick out what clothes you want to take with you,” Massimo encouraged, guiding me toward the bedroom. “We can buy more when you get to Naples. I’ll take you shopping.”
My brows lifted. “You’d go shopping with me?”
His lips curved in a wicked smirk. “I insist. I want to see you try everything on. I like buying pretty things for you.”
My cheeks heated, and I barely managed to shrug off my budding lust. “What you’ve bought for me while we’ve been staying here in Mexico City is more than enough. I’ll just pack it all.”
His dark brows drew together in warning. “I thought we had agreed that you would let me spoil you.”
Unease stirred in my belly, an echo of lifelong distrust. “When did I agree to that? I love the beautiful clothes that you’ve bought for me, and I’m grateful for them, but I don’t need more. I’m usually very reserved in my style choices, Massimo. This isn’t me.”
His jaw firmed, and he tipped his chin back in challenge. “Why not? Why can’t it be you? Silks and jewels suit you, farfallina. My woman deserves the finer things in life. You will have every pretty little thing you desire. Nothing is out of reach for us.”
Us. My heart tugged toward his, as though we were connected by an invisible tether.
I closed the short distance between us and wrapped my arms around him, tucking my body close to his. He immediately returned my embrace, both of us craving constant contact.
“Is this still about your stepfather?” he rumbled, a slight edge to the question. I knew the anger was directed at the cruel, callous man who’d raised me. “You said he made you feel like you owed him for providing you with necessities. I will never treat you that way. I swear.”
“I know,” I promised. I didn’t want him to think I doubted his goodness and sincerity. “But it’s more than that.” The confession was drawn from a place so deep in my soul that I hadn’t even consciously known it was lurking at the core of me. “I told you about how my real dad left when I was four,” I began. “I should hate him for that, but the few memories I have of him are good.
“One day—about six months before he left—I said I was sick because I wanted to spend time with him. He must’ve known I wasn’t actually sick, but he called out from work and spent the day with me. He took me out for pancakes, and then we went to the zoo. He bought me a stuffed giraffe. I slept with it until I was twelve. My mom found out that I’d kept something he’d given to me, and she threw it away. I felt like she was destroying a part of me, even though I’d thought about burning the thing myself a thousand times.”
I shook my head, as though I could toss away the pain of the memories. “Before he abandoned us, I thought he loved me. He doted on me and made me feel special. Like I was the center of his world.”
I realized that deep down, I felt unworthy of Massimo’s lavish affections because I feared that they wouldn’t last. I was terrified of trusting in him only to be abandoned again.
Massimo’s big hand cradled my nape, his thick fingers sliding into my hair to hold me firmly. His silver eyes flashed with a fervent light as he stared down at me, as though he was peering straight into my damaged soul.
“I will never abandon you, Evelyn.”
The promise pierced my heart, a painfully sweet pledge. Believing him hurt because I had to rip down a lifetime of boundaries, walls I’d put up to protect myself.
But for him, I would make myself vulnerable. I chose to trust in him.
A giddy sensation soared through me, like I’d just jumped off a cliff and was in freefall. I felt wild and a bit reckless, but I knew Massimo would keep me safe from harm. The burden of holding up those walls for so many years dropped away, and I felt almost weightless.
I bracketed his beautiful face with both hands, holding him like he was my own personal treasure. “Thank you.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. I’m keeping you because I’m a selfish bastard, and I refuse to let you go. If I were a good man, I’d send you back to America. But it’s too late for that now. There’s no going back.”
He said it like it was something ominous, but I wasn’t afraid. And I would prove that to him every day.
“You’re my good man,” I purred, going up onto my toes to press a tender kiss against the grim slash of his lips. “I can’t wait to start our lives together in Naples. I can’t wait to make it my home too.”
I’d been searching for a sense of home ever since my dad had walked out on me, and my simple childhood sense of security had been shattered. I certainly hadn’t felt at home in my stepfather’s house, and I’d only known further, more insidious torment during my years with George.
I’d never been to Italy, and I barely knew the language, but I felt sure that as long as I was with Massimo, I would find a home. We would make one together.
He looked at me with reverence, his eyes shining with awe. “You are too good for me, dolcezza. So sweet and perfect.”
