Laying my head on his shoulder, I close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing and slowing my heart rate. It’s pumping so fast and hard that it feels like it’s pounding against my chest, trying to break free.
The room is almost silent other than our gasping for air and the beating of our hearts. Tracing the edge of his pecs with my fingernail, I watch the steady rise and fall of his chest with each breath.
I stare down the length of his body and take in his beauty. I knew from the moment he stripped before me that his body was something that could cause women to drop to their knees and worship him, but not until the last week did I realize that the man is so much more complicated and beautiful than his exterior.
I’m falling for Antonio and falling hard. Being here with his family has only amplified every feeling and made it completely undeniable. The love, admiration, and lust that I had before are cemented to my being.
“Antonio,” I whisper against his skin.
He moans as his lips find the top of my hair, and his soft palm grazes my arm.
“I love you,” I admit with true conviction. I’ve held the declaration inside, sitting on the tip of my tongue all week, but I never had the guts to say it.
I don’t know if it’s everything I’ve been through or maybe it was speaking with his mother, but the words just come out. I mean them too. I’ve never felt this way about someone so quickly. His love of his family along with his work makes him the complete package.
I don’t even think I ever muttered the words when I dated Trent. Something always stopped me from saying it. Maybe my mind knew that my heart was wrong for having any feelings toward him and blocked me. He forced me to say it in the cabin, but I didn’t mean a word of it.
Antonio’s hand stills against my skin, and he pulls himself into a seated position, taking me with him. I sit next to him with my feet tucked underneath me and wait. He doesn’t speak as he gazes at me, but I can read the emotion on his face.
“I love you,” I repeat, wondering how I stunned him into silence. He’s never quiet and always has some quick reply.
He cups my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs against my cheeks. “I love you too,” he says before a giant smile spreads across his face. “I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words.”
“They’ve been on the tip of my tongue since you rescued me, but I wasn’t ready to say them before now.”
“What changed?”
I gaze into his blue eyes and feel every bit of apprehension I’d felt about him evaporate. “Being around your family and taking this trip have made me realize there’s no one else for me. I said I didn’t believe in fate, but everything in the universe is driving us together.”
“I can’t explain how happy it makes me to hear you say those words. I know it’s hard. I’ve never spoken them to another woman.”
My eyes widen as my head jerks back. “Never?”
I don’t know why it shocks me, but it does. Since the moment I first met him, I knew he was a playboy. But sleeping with women doesn’t involve professing love. Hell, I slept with him too. I’m sure many women have slept with Antonio in hopes they’d be the one he’d fall madly in love with. Sadly, none of them achieved what they’d set out to do. I wasn’t even trying, and the man suckered me into falling in love with him.
“Never. It’s not a word I toss around easily, Lauren.”
“This is so screwed up.” I laugh at the insanity of the last few weeks. If someone would have told me three months ago that I’d fall madly in love with Antonio Forte, I would’ve told them they had a screw loose.
In all honesty, if I hadn’t slept with him that night after a few too many martinis, we probably wouldn’t be sitting on the bed naked right now. But it’s hard to deny the connection and mutual respect we have for each other. What started out as sex has turned into so much more.
I’m verging on tears because of the way he’s looking at me. His eyes are filled with so much love and hope that I want to believe that everything will be okay. But there’s so much we need to learn about each other in the coming months, and the merger of our companies will inevitably push us to the brink.
“Nothing worthwhile comes without sacrifice. We’ve been through too much in such a short time for us to screw it up now.”
“What are we going to do? We have to face everyone eventually. We’re not going to be able to hide our relationship forever.”
“For now, we keep it quiet. Once the merger is done and you’re sitting at the helm, we’ll ease them into it.”
I slide my hand up his thigh, letting the coarse hair dotting his leg tickle my palm. “How long until we have to go back?”
“Two days until we have to return to the States.”
“Thank you,” I say and lean forward, resting my forehead against his. “Thank you for bringing me here and introducing me to your family.”
He pulls me down on the bed, settling on his back as I curl into his arm. “I knew they’d love you.”
“I adore them. You’re a lucky man to have them in your life, Antonio.”
“My mother is quite taken with you.” His fingertips trace circular patterns across the back of my arms as he speaks. “I hope she wasn’t too harsh with you.”
“Harsh?” I laugh, making the same drawing on his chest as he does on my arm. “She’s a lovely woman. She makes me miss my mother so much.”
“Tell me about her, about your mother,” he says softly.
“I was so young when she died.” I pause and give myself a moment to let the familiar pang of sorrow slice through me before I continue. “My memories of her come in flashes like a high-speed slideshow strung together in chunks.”
“I’m sorry.”
Nuzzling my face into his chest, I close my eyes and think back to the day she died. It’s the most vivid memory I have of her. “The last memory I have of her before she died was the day before my world changed. She took me to the park downtown near the Field Museum. We lay in the grass for hours enjoying the unseasonably warm spring day. I curled into her side, much like I am with you right now.”
“Days like that are always the best memories. I don’t remember much of what we had when I was a kid, but I remember the times I spent alone with my dad just being together.”
“It’s so true. I can’t remember my favorite doll that was probably sitting on my bed at that age, but I remember the time I spent alone with my parents doing the simple things like just being together in the park. We spent hours underneath the sunshine, and she told me stories about when she was a little girl. My mom was a gifted storyteller and could captivate an entire audience with her ability. She told me stories about the constellations and how they came to be. And she told me that my daddy would be going up there soon to touch the heavens and that we needed to support him. I remember being so torn about him going so far away.”
Antonio pulls me closer and rests his lips against my forehead.
“I promised her that day that I’d let my dad go to reach his dreams. She said he’d make us proud and that we had to sacrifice our time with him for the good of science. I didn’t really understand everything she was saying to me. I was just happy to be spending time curled in my mother’s arms. After that conversation, it’s more like flashes for the next few hours between the park and when she put me to bed. She kissed me goodnight and waited at my side until I fell asleep. She was dressed in the most beautiful red dress I’d ever seen because she and my father were going to a gala at the Museum of Science and Industry to benefit the growing space program that evening. The last memory I have of her is her beautiful face as she stared down at me until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.”
“I’m sorry, Lauren,” Antonio whispers.
“It’s not your fault. I never saw her again, and more than anything, I wish I’d told her I loved her before she left.”
“I’m sure she knew.”
“I hope she did. My world ended that night. When I woke up in the morn
ing, I ran into my parents’ room, but their bed was empty. My grandmother was waiting downstairs in the kitchen, sobbing. I knew something horrible had happened, but I didn’t understand the infiniteness of death.”
“We all learn in time. You just learned sooner than most.”
“Yeah.” I lay my hand against his chest and close my eyes. “With my mother gone, my father and I became a team. He was my world, and I wanted more than anything to make him proud.”
“You have.”
Before my dad died, he left no words unspoken. There wasn’t a day that passed when he didn’t tell me he loved me. Not a week went by where he didn’t make sure he told me he was the lucky one because I was his daughter. Even though he couldn’t follow his dream, he never made me feel guilty because he chose me over his work. Losing someone puts everything into perspective. The superhero complex most of us have, thinking we’re invincible, quickly disappears after we lose someone so close to our heart. Even though I didn’t have them in my life for long, I was blessed to have such wonderful, caring parents to bring me into the world.
“Although I wasn’t excited about our merger, I think, in the long run, it’ll allow us to go even further and do things we haven’t even begun to think are possible,” I say, knowing I’d have my parents’ blessing on Antonio and the new company.
“I have full faith you’ll push us into the next century, going further than any human before. Who knows, maybe because of us, humans will step foot on Mars before we die.”
“Mercury can make it a reality.”
“You can make it possible.”
I believe his words. As we fall asleep, I no longer want to walk blindly through my life buried in my work and forgetting to appreciate the wonders of the world around me.
Antonio makes me want more than the corner office with an amazing view. I no longer want to watch others live their lives. I want to do things I hadn’t let myself achieve because I hadn’t allowed myself to dream bigger.
Chapter Thirteen
ANTONIO
I can barely breathe as Lauren descends the grand staircase in the foyer of my sister’s house just before the guests arrive. The black dress I had hand-delivered from Versace this afternoon looks like it was made for her. The silk hugs her body, draping into a pool near her feet. Her hand glides down the railing as she takes the steps slowly and keeps her eyes on me without breaking contact.
“You’re one lucky bastard,” Stefano says at my side.
“I know,” I tell him as she reaches the bottom of the stairs, and I step away from him.
She places her hand in mine and smiles. “This dress is beautiful.”
“The dress is only beautiful because of how you wear it.”
She can make anything look spectacular. Even when she wears my oversized dress shirts, she could stop traffic with her beauty.
“Would you like a drink?” I ask, ushering her toward the dining room just as the first guests arrive.
“Please.” She dips her head in a small curtsy.
“The event is formal, but I most certainly am not. This night is to celebrate my mother, but I assure you there will be more fun than seriousness.”
When we enter the dining room, Enzo and Catarina are already standing near the bar, pouring drinks.
“What can I get you two?” Enzo asks.
“Dirty martini for Lauren, and I’ll take whatever you’re having.”
“Whiskey?”
“Works for me.”
Catarina walks toward Lauren, eyeing her dress. “God, that dress is a showstopper.” She grabs Lauren’s arms and helps her spin around. “Gucci?”
“Versace.” Lauren laughs, twirling around again like a princess.
“Aren’t his dresses divine?”
“The best. Yours is so beautiful too.”
Catarina touches the bodice of her pearl-beaded gown and sighs. “It’s beautiful, but breathing in it is almost impossible.”
“Where are Vi and Flavia?” Stefano asks as he joins us.
“Still getting ready,” I tell him as I reach for the glass of whiskey Enzo has poured.
My sisters, all three of them, have always been high-maintenance. Not one of them can get ready in a hurry. They spend hours painting on their faces with gobs of too much makeup and even more time doing their hair. I could never be a woman. So much of their lives are wasted. Lauren is the direct opposite of my sisters. She makes looking beautiful seem effortless.
“Those two are impossible,” he mumbles and grabs a glass and the Cognac, pouring himself a glass.
“Will Marcus be here?” Stefano asks Catarina.
“He’s away on business. He couldn’t get out of it even though he tried.”
Marcus, Catarina’s husband, is an architect at one of the biggest firms in Italy. He’s been working on a project in Dubai for nearly a year, and once it’s complete, the building will be the tallest in the world.
Although Marcus wasn’t my first choice to be my sister’s husband, he’s always treated her with kindness and respect. He could’ve sat on his ass, using her trust fund instead of working to make a name for himself in his line of work.
“Is the project almost done?” Stefano asks.
“What does he do?” Lauren asks quietly at my side as Catarina answers Stefano’s question.
“He’s an architect.”
Violetta and Flavia enter the room, arm in arm and laughing like schoolgirls. Being the youngest children, their behavior was always excused as youth. I miss the days of laughing over the most frivolous things. With age comes complication, but Lauren seems to be changing that quickly.
Flavia clears her throat and tries to regain her composure. “Are you two up to no good?” I ask.
“Angelo just walked in the door and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Vi’s dress.”
“Angelo is…?” Lauren asks.
“Angelo is my ex-boyfriend,” Violetta says as she walks toward the bar, probably needing a drink as much as the rest of us. “Our parents have been lifelong friends.”
“Vi broke his heart.” Flavia hands Vi a glass before grabbing a bottle of champagne. “He’s a pompous ass too. So, don’t anyone say poor Angelo.”
Vi has never brought home a man who wasn’t a pompous ass. Each one is a bigger dick than the last. I fear for my sister’s future. She’ll never settle down if she doesn’t start picking her mates better, but she assures me her main goal in life is fun and not marriage.
With her traveling the world with her band, she’s fully immersed herself in the punk-rocker lifestyle. The little girl with the bows in her hair who would sit in front of the piano is gone and has been replaced by a fierce female and bandleader for one of the biggest indie punk bands in Europe.
“Do not sleep with him tonight,” Flavia warns Vi with an icy glare. “It wouldn’t be nice.”
Vi admires her nails and gives Flavia a devilish grin. “Who said anything about sleeping?”
Stefano sets his glass down on the bar and raises his hands in defeat. “I can’t listen to this.”
“Stop being so old-fashioned, Stefano.” Vi slides in front of him before he has a chance to storm out and places her hands on his chest. “If I were a man talking this way about a woman, you’d be perfectly okay with it.”
Stefano’s eyes narrow as he gazes down at our little sister. I can see the storm raging inside of him as she taunts him.
“Why don’t you praise me for my forward-thinking?” She grins.
“You still have the Forte name, Vi. You represent our family and shouldn’t be whoring yourself around.”
Vi staggers backward. Oh, shit. I don’t know if I’m more scared for her or Stefano. Someone isn’t getting out of this unscathed.
The shock of his words doesn’t last long as she lunges forward and pokes him square in the chest. “Listen, big brother,” she says quietly as the storm inside her grows. “At least I don’t kill people.”
I pull Lauren to my side a
s I take a few steps away. I’ve been in the middle of their fights, and typically more than one piece of pottery resting nearby ends up hurtling through the air.
“Did she just say that?” Lauren whispers in my ear, watching them in horror.
Stefano’s eyes widen, but he stands his ground. “I have never killed anyone, little sister.”
Technically, he’s not lying. From everything Stefano has told me, he’s never killed someone with his bare hands. Through the years, he has issued orders to his underlings that have led to the deaths of more than a dozen people that I know of, but I’m sure there are even more that I don’t know about.
Vi’s face scrunches up as she moves closer, getting in Stefano’s face. “Maybe you haven’t, but your men did.”
Gone is the picture-perfect family that Lauren has seen for the last day, and now the ugly side of the Forte family has reared its head.
“You’re the one who brings shame upon this family. Almost every day there’s an article about some illegal activity with your name somewhere in the text. Who’s the one who brings more shame to Papa’s name?”
“Don’t believe everything you read in the papers. I’ve broken no laws.”
When Vi was younger, she believed his lies. She used to follow him around like a lost puppy, wanting his attention. That was until the kids at school started calling her a killer and left clippings from articles with Stefano’s name on her desk.
“Neither have I. And for the record…” She gets closer, more in his face. “If we compare notches, I’m sure yours still beat mine. You’re a whore too, Stefano, and a criminal.”
Mamma clears her throat, standing in the doorway of the dining room looking nothing less than murderous.
“Oh, shit,” Lauren whispers and grabs my hand.
Oh, shit, indeed. It has been a long time since my mother has witnessed a showdown between these two and doing it on her birthday in front of guests is a no-no. There is going to be hell to pay, but for once, I’m not the center of attention.
LAUREN
“Let’s step out on the veranda. Shall we?” Antonio says, moving toward the guests standing at his mother’s side. “Who would like a drink?”
Merger: Takeover Duet #2 Page 10
