Page 109 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

“I’m sorry for whatever it was that Constantino said to you,” Gian said. “He has no business putting his opinions in where they’re neither wanted, nor warranted. And trust that he absolutely knows that, now.”

Cara nodded. “Sure.”

“You don’t sound sure, sweetheart.”

She looked up at him, sadness coloring her blue eyes. “Did he have a point, though?”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Really? Because if he feels the need to say that running around with you looks bad on me, and if my uncle felt the need to warn me away from you, then why not think something is wrong with it? And what is it that’s so wrong? I don’t understand. I’m not doing anything wrong, am I?”

“No,” Gian rushed to say. “There’s nothing wrong with this—with us. There never has been. Some people have their opinions because they’re stuck in a different time, with different rules. Women should do as they’re told, as they’re expected to do, and not what they want to do. I’m not of that mindset, Cara.”

She frowned.

Her sadness hurt him as badly as her silence.

“And who the fuck cares about those people, anyway?” Gian asked. “I sure as hell don’t. I only concern myself with what you think and feel, not them. They get no say in this or us. None at all.”

“Then why did I let what someone else thought bother me so fucking much?”

“Because you’re allowed to have feelings, Cara. You’re allowed to demand respect from other human beings. No one has any right to make you feel less than them, especially when they don’t know who you are in your heart. They don’t know you. Not like I do.”

“You really do know the right things to say.”

“I say the truth, love.”

Gian stepped forward, opening his arms to test the waters. Cara gave him one of her small, sweet smiles before letting him wrap her in his embrace. Slowly, he walked her backward enough that he could kick the door closed behind him. Tangling his hand into her soft curls, he tilted her head back far enough to steal a kiss from her pretty mouth.

“Anyone who even thinks to breathe a bad word about you in my direction deserves every fucking thing they get,” Gian told her, his calm voice belying his inner rage that had finally simmered a bit. “You’re mine, Cara. I love you. Nothing else matters.”

It was shocking to him in that moment how savage and brutal his love could be. That, without care or consideration, he would willingly and happily hurt someone he thought of as a friend simply because they had hurt her. The possessiveness that nearly always filled him whenever Cara was too far away was suddenly settled when she was in his arms, and his restlessness finally drifted away when he could touch her again.

This wasn’t wrong.

He wasn’t going to let her, or anyone else, say otherwise.

“Fuck,” Gian snarled, pulling his mouth away from Cara’s as she laughed. “I’m going to kill whoever that is.”

“No, you won’t.”

The persistent knocking on her apartment door had effectively cock-blocked him in the worst way. He had just gotten her out of bed, and ready to sit down and eat something—a feat in itself, where Cara and mornings were concerned. He thought a nice fuck on the kitchen table would be a reward for his good deed before breakfast, but apparently, that wasn’t going to be the case.

Cara pushed Gian away, and jumped off the table, pulling the over-sized shirt down her thighs a bit more. “It’s probably Chris.”

Gian’s gaze narrowed. “You don’t know that.”

“No one else visits me. And I know he’s trailing me again. You’re not as smooth as you think, Gian.”

“Never mind, you.” He swatted her ass with a firm pat, sending her flying into the living room with a giggle. “Cover up with something. You’re indecent.”

“You pulled me out of bed this way!”

“Yes, for me. Not for the neighbors.”

Cara stuck her tongue out at him, but still pulled an afghan blanket over her lower half as Gian headed for the door. A quick check through the peephole confirmed Cara’s theory. Chris waited behind the door, his gaze trained on something down the hall.

Gian pulled it open with a scowl. “Do you not know how to use a fucking phone, or what?”