Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
As soon as I was in the bathroom that could be in a fancy ad for pure luxury, I stood near the shower, trying to figure out how it worked. It took me a minute, but I managed to get the temperature right. Snagging a fluffy towel, I set it within reach and stepped inside. The warmth felt incredible on my skin, sliding over my sore, tired muscles. Elio was right; I needed this.
When I looked over at the shampoo, I had to do a double take. There were several bottles of shampoo and conditioner with different scents and types. All of them were unopened and made for long, thick hair. Although Elio had thick, Italian hair, it wasn’t that long. He only had length on the top. A knock on the door startled me. Elio didn’t enter all the way, but peeked from the partially open door. “It’s only me, Ana. I just wanted to say that we need to get moving, and we didn’t know which one you used, so I had them pick up several kinds. I hope you at least can manage with that.”
“It’ll work. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Good.” I hurried through my shower and then came out in the fluffy towels, one for my body which swallowed me whole and one for my hair which nearly caused me to tip over it was so large. Maybe I needed to see if he had some smaller ones.
He wasn’t in the room again, but I grabbed my suitcase and quickly dressed in the nicest outfit I had. When I was done, he came back into the room and I immediately looked around the corners for hidden cameras.
“What? What’s going on? Did you see a spider or something?” he asked.
“No, you just seem to know when to come into the room.”
“Bellissima, the right time to come in would have been when you were still wrapped up in your towel.” He ran his hand down between my cleavage and then licked his lips. “There are no cameras in our bedroom. I can’t make it any clearer to you that I’d kill someone for looking at you unclothed.”
“This is all so intense and new.”
“I’m a man of my word, so please trust me.”
“For what it’s worth, I do.”
“Do you really?”
“Yes, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it? You can tell me anything.”
“The men I mentioned yesterday.”
“Yes,” He nodded.
“Well, they left me a nasty, threatening text message.”
“May I listen to it?” I pulled it up and played it. His face tightened as he listened to Perez’s violent threats.
“You don’t have to worry about any of this. They aren’t getting you back and they aren’t harming anyone. Do you trust me to make sure of that?”
Although I couldn’t explain it, I was sure I could trust him to keep me and my family safe. I nodded. “Yes.”
“So on the brighter side of things, your uncle will be joining us while we go shopping today.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Now, let’s go, beautiful. I have to take you shopping and get you tied to me in every single way.”
Twenty minutes later, we were in the back of a luxurious SUV, and I was sitting beside two men whom I respected. In the front, Marco was driving and Gio was in the passenger seat. The air was a little stuffy with all of them when I truly wanted to be alone with Uncle Joey and Elio. There was a lot to say.
“Uncle Joey, thanks for coming with us today.”
“It’s my pleasure to see you married, sweetheart.” A scoff came from one of them in front, and I didn’t miss the sudden tension in Elio’s body beside me. Other than one of them being rude, which seemed to be Marco’s sense of humor, I didn’t see why he would be upset.
“Don’t piss Elio off. Remember what happened to Frankie when he insulted Miss Rose’s beauty,” Gio said.
“What happened to this Frankie person?” I asked.
“I stabbed him in the gut, and he deserved it. He survived, but he won’t be allowed around you because he can’t be trusted.” He gave them what I could only describe as a warning look. I wasn’t touching that conversation with a ten-foot pole.
“Frankly, you should have twisted the knife. It was barely a scratch. The doc was able to patch him up and give him some painkillers yesterday.”
“Damn it,” Uncle Joey grumbled.
“So where are we going?” I asked, wanting to change the heavy subject. Elio was a mobster, and I already knew that. Marco warned me the moment we met that Elio wouldn’t tolerate disrespect toward me, and he apparently meant it.
“You’ll see.” Elio held my hand the entire time, making tiny circles around my wrist. I was starting to get the feeling that my soon-to-be husband might actually be obsessed with me, and instead of terrifying me, I wanted more.