Provoked
Page 29
“Jealous much?”
“Me? Never.”
I grinned, eying her for a moment before turning back to the road.
“How was your day?”
“If you call dealing with buyers all day fun, then my day was fine.”
One surprise James, the twins and I had was Zach gifting us all the shares to his company. We were now the major shareholders of Bensons. The four of us were working towards restoring the brand’s name in the wake of our family scandal. It’d taken us eight months, but things were looking up now.
“Was it really that bad?”
“No, fashion types are just… over dramatic.”
She snorted.
“No, really?”
I ruffled her hair and she shoved me off.
“Pay attention to the road.”
I rolled my eyes. We were waiting at traffic lights so it wasn’t exactly like I was endangering anyone.
I’d let most of my staff go, including my driver. Mostly because Liora and I wanted the house to ourselves. Brent still lived in the basement and we had a maid who came a couple of times a week.
When I pulled up outside the house, Liora looked like she was dead on her feet as she got out the car. I wrapped an arm around her as we walked up the steps.
“Too tired to celebrate?” I asked.
“No… Wait, we’re celebrating?”
“Mmmhmm.”
I let go of her to unlock the door and pulled her inside. After she kicked off her shoes, I brought her through the kitchen into the conservatory.
“Surprise!”
Brent, James, Fi, Jen, Avery, Aiden, Declan and Liora’s parents were all gathered in the room. I’d been planning this for weeks. Getting her brother to agree to come down was a pain, but he’d finally relented after Heather had told him he had to support his sister. He didn’t like me, but Liora didn’t really give a shit what he thought. And to be honest, neither did I.
We’d had Avery and Aiden around to dinner several times with James. I’d missed her. I would always see her as my little sister. Even though her husband was sort of intense, he and I got along okay.
Liora’s eyes bugged out and she looked up at me.
“What’s this?”
I dug my hand into my pocket before taking one of hers.
“Well… they’re here because I wanted to ask you a very important question.”
Her expression went from confused to shocked in a matter of seconds. I took the opportunity to drop to one knee.
“Liora, I love you. You’re beautiful, smart and you keep me on my toes. I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. Will you marry me?”
I dropped my hand so I could open the box. There sat a platinum band with an oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds. She told me once she loved the colour of my eyes.
“Dante,” she whispered. “Are you crazy?”
I shook my head, smiling up at her. She put her hand out to me. I took the ring out and slipped it on her finger. She tugged me off the floor and stared up at me.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
I leant down and kissed her. She squirmed away from me after a moment, her cheeks going red. She gave me a shy smile before running over to her parents and hugging them. Everyone else came forward to congratulate us. Before I knew it, an hour had gone by and I hadn’t had two moments alone with Liora. I was standing with Avery and Aiden after she’d cornered me.
“So, marriage, eh?” she said.
“What? It’s been over a year, not like you two tying the knot after, what was it, six months?”
She stuck her tongue out at me, curling her hand around Aiden’s waist.
“You know why that was.”
I nodded slowly. She’d told me a while back a lot of the real story behind the scandal involving her family. We’d swapped stories. What with Avery growing up with us, she already knew enough about Zach as it was. I suppose I had something in common with her husband having both grown up with abuse surrounding us. In that respect, Aiden and I had an understanding. A past marred by violence except we’d dealt with it in very different ways.
“Besides, everything worked out for the best, didn’t it?” she continued. “Say, James will kill me for telling you this, but he’s seeing someone.”
“He is?”
“Mmmhmm, her name is Cassie.”
Hold on, she’s not talking about Cassie from Accounting? She’s way out of his league.
“And does Cassie happen to work with us?”
Avery grinned and gave me a wink. I looked over at my brother who was deep in conversation with my sisters.
“Well, who’d have thought. My brother, the dark horse.”
She laughed, shaking her head when I turned back to the two of them.
“Don’t you go telling him I told you.”
I put my hands up.
“Your secrets are safe with me. Anyway… have you two come up with a name yet?”
Avery looked up at Aiden who reached out and put his hand on her small bump. She’d only just started showing.
“No, but we have decided her middle name.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“If I had my way, she’d be called Afie Elizabeth Lockhart,” Aiden said.
“And you don’t agree?” I said, nodding at Avery.
“Someone is taking the A theme too far,” she replied, grinning up at her husband.
“Well I like Afie, but I suppose you’ll have to see when she arrives.”
“See, it is a good name,” Aiden said, rubbing her stomach.
“If you’re going to start with the PDA, then I’m backing away.”
Avery gave me a sharp look, but she knew I was only teasing. The two of them were still all over each other when they thought no one was looking. It was cute but a little sickening how in love they were. Even I wasn’t that bad with Liora, which reminded me, I should check on her.
I looked around and found her talking to Brent. Giving Avery and Aiden a nod, I went over to her and took her hand. Winking at Brent who rolled his eyes, I pulled her away into the kitchen. She looked so radiant. Her green eyes were shining with happiness. Cupping her face, I smiled.
“Are you sure you want to marry me?”
“I love you, Dante. I’ve told you a million times, you’re the one. And this ring is so beautiful. I can’t believe you got me a sapphire. Honestly, I didn’t think you were paying attention when I said they remind me of your eyes.”
“You wound me. I always pay attention when you’re talking to me.”
She grinned, going up on her tiptoes so she could kiss me.
“How long is everyone staying?”
“Well, your family is staying here, but I don’t know about everyone else. I was going to order an Indian in a minute. Why?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, rubbing her nose against mine.
“I was wondering if anyone would notice if we slipped away upstairs.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I thought you were tired.”
“That was before you asked me to become your wife. I want to celebrate with you in private.”
I looked over at our guests. No one had noticed we’d left the room. I pulled her arms down and took her hand.
“If we sneak away now, I think we have half an hour tops before someone comes looking for us.”
“Well, we better make the most of it then.”
She tugged my hand, checking the conservatory before we hurried out of the kitchen. I looked down at her as we ran up the stairs. Liora had just agreed to become my wife. I couldn’t think of any better way for us to celebrate than in the playroom.
As I stared down at her after we’d made love, I knew I’d never be happier than when I was with her.
“Liora, you’re my one too.”
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed wr
iting it. If you did, I would greatly appreciate a short review on Amazon or your favourite book website. Reviews are crucial for any author, and even just a line or two can make a huge difference.
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Acknowledgements
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book. Where do I even start with these two? The journey to tell Dante and Liora’s story has been a long one for me. I started their book when I was writing Sacrifice for Aiden and Avery. I wanted to tell the Benson’s story having had Avery and James drop clues throughout the Corrupt Empire trilogy. So when Dante started talking to me, I dived right in so I could learn more about him and his love interest. This helped me shape James’ background whilst I was writing Sacrifice and Revenge. And gave me scope to give a glimpse into Avery and Aiden’s future together as well.
This story took me on an unexpected journey and I wouldn’t say it was easy to write these two characters at all. Dante was such a complex character for me. All he wanted was to protect those he loved even if it cost him everything. His backstory blindsided me and ultimately writing it was absolutely heart breaking.
I’m firstly going to thank all my readers for joining me on this journey with these characters. Thank you for sticking with me and taking a chance on my books.
Thank you to my Twitter family (Sean, Jordan, Gil, Katie, Kenny, Paul and Corry) and everyone who supports me across my Social Media platforms. You guys make every day easier and remind me of what I’m working towards. This has been a really tough road for me so having that support is appreciated.
A hugely special shout out to my Twitter ladies – Elle Linder, Rebecca Hefner, Carmen Adams, Jess Shaut, Brittany Kelley, Marla Machado, J.C. Paulson, Mikki Noble, Lotte R. James, Jennifer Nichole and so many more (sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but you are loved). You all give me life!
Huge enormous thank you to my Savage Slytherin Sister – Sabrina. You encouraged me to write this story and breathe life into Dante and Liora. I can’t do without you in my life!
And last but not least, thank you to my husband for putting up with me writing all the time. You made this all possible and words cannot express my gratitude.
About The Author
Born and raised in Sussex, UK near the Ashdown Forest where she grew up climbing trees and building Lego towns with her younger brother. Sarah fell in love with novels when she was a teenager reading her aunt’s historical regency romances. She has always loved the supernatural and exploring the darker side of romance and fantasy novels.
Sarah currently resides in the Scottish Highlands with her husband. Music is one of her biggest inspirations and she always has something on in the background whilst writing. She is an avid gamer and is often found hogging her husband’s Xbox.
You can find more about Sarah Bailey in the following ways:
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