A Ruthless Proposition
Page 32
He was holding her hand as they walked into the chaotic living room. Cal and Luc were still arguing good-humoredly, Adam was screeching at the top of his lungs, Kyle had abandoned the magic tricks and was chasing an excited and squealing three-year-old around the room. Titan, their two-year-old Chihuahua, was chasing after both of them and yapping at the top of his lungs, while Enrique futilely tried to call the tiny dog to heel. Titan and Dante had been inseparable since the dog had been just two months old. It was ridiculous to see them together. And all of them, down to little Adam, were wearing white. Even Titan was wearing a little white T-shirt. The scene filled Cleo with great love while simultaneously making her want to run screeching in the opposite direction.
None of them spotted Dante and Cleo, who paused in the doorway.
“Want to make a run for it?” he whispered in her ear, and she looked at him and grinned.
They quietly backed away from the crazy room and, by unspoken agreement, walked to the kitchen of the beautiful two-story beach house that she and Dante had chosen together. It was situated close to Luc and Blue’s home. They made their way into the sprawling backyard, wandered to the bench in Zach’s garden, and sat down together. Cleo rested her head on his shoulder, and they kept their fingers entwined as they sat quietly together, enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon in silence.
“Still love me?” he asked, and she angled her eyes up to look into his face. He was looking down at the forget-me-nots, which were in full bloom, and the smile flirting around the edges of his lips told her he wasn’t particularly concerned about her answer.
“Yeah, I suppose I love you,” she said casually, and watched as the smile blossomed on his lips.
“That’s one,” he counted.
“Who’s counting?” she murmured. This had become one of their favorite little daily rituals. “I love you, I love you, I love you. So much.”
He tilted his head toward her.
“I love you too, dulzura.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Maritza for being such a patient Spanish tutor.
And thanks, Nicola, for the dance chats.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo courtesy of the author
Natasha Anders was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She spent nine years working as an assistant English teacher in Niigata, Japan, where she became a legendary karaoke diva. Natasha currently lives in Cape Town with her opinionated budgie, Sir Oliver Spencer, and her temperamental Chihuahua, Maia. Please feel free to contact her, Oliver, or Maia on Twitter at @satyne1; on Facebook; or on her website, www.natashaanders.com. They would all love to hear from you.