Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Hey, don’t cry,” Lorenzo says, reaching out and wiping a tear from my cheek that I didn’t realize had fallen.
“I’ve never had a party before,” I whisper. “And this … it’s just beautiful, and after what I did to you …” I shake my head. “I don’t deserve this or you.”
I sniffle back a sob, and Lorenzo grips my chin, turning me to look at him.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You deserve this and so much more, and I’m going to spend every day for the rest of our lives showing you that.”
I want to argue, remind him that our time is limited, but several waiters come out, delivering us waters and handing us drink menus, and I decide to enjoy tonight instead of ruining it.
As we drink and eat the delicious five-course meal that Lorenzo had catered, I can’t help but feel like Cinderella—at midnight, I’ll turn back into the broke college student. But for right now, I revel in the conversation, laughter, and happiness that I feel.
23
Vanessa
“Where’s Leo?” I ask as I take a bite of my cake that was brought out while everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me.
“He’s at Dani’s with her nanny for the night,” Lorenzo says. “I knew if he was here, you’d want to check on him, and tonight is about you enjoying yourself.”
My heart melts at his thoughtfulness, but he’s wrong about one thing.
“Spending time with Leo is enjoyable,” I correct him. “But I appreciate the gesture.” I lean in and kiss the corner of his mouth. “And tonight, when everyone’s gone, I’ll properly thank you.”
I waggle my brows suggestively, and he groans.
“All right, night’s over,” he announces, standing. “The birthday girl is tired.”
“What?” I cough out a laugh.
“In other words, Russo is about to get some birthday sex,” Matteo says.
“I’m pretty sure birthday sex is on your birthday,” Dani notes.
“Nah, remember last week, on your birthday?” Matteo grins like a Cheshire cat. “I definitely got birthday sex.”
“And on that note …” Dominick stands. “It’s been real.” He helps his wife up and gives Lorenzo a hug. Then he turns to me. “Happy birthday, Vanessa.”
“Thank you.”
After saying good night to everyone, I go to start cleaning up when Lorenzo stops me.
“A cleaning team will be here in the morning. It’s still your birthday, and I have one more present for you.”
“I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s a gift for both of us,” I say, reaching over and palming his cock.
“Funny, but I wasn’t referring to that.”
He takes my hand and guides me down the hall and to the stairs that I didn’t know existed until recently. We pass the door to the terrace, the state-of-the-art gym, and the entertainment room he showed me the other day, and we stop at the last door.
“This room was supposed to be my office,” he says. “But I ended up using the guest room downstairs since it was more convenient than going upstairs. I thought about doing this in the other guest room downstairs, but the natural light in this room is better.”
“What are you going on about?” I ask, confused by where he’s going with this.
“I hope you like it,” he says, opening the door. “And if you don’t, we can change anything … or everything.”
We step inside, and he flicks on the light switch, illuminating the room, and I gasp in shock and awe. Because in front of me is the most amazing sewing room I’ve ever seen. Everything that was all over my bedroom has been moved in here and organized. But it’s not only my stuff that’s in here. There are bolts of fabric, spools of thread. There’s a beautiful wood table, where my sewing machine is sitting, and several mannequins for measuring. There are shelves and cabinets filled with sewing items.
“Lorenzo,” I whisper, “when did you do this?”
“It’s been in the works for a couple of weeks, but I made sure it was finished today.”
I whip my head around to look at him. “How?”
I never once saw anyone enter this condo.
“There’s an elevator that takes you up here.” He smirks. “I told them it was a surprise, so they wouldn’t let their presence be known.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper, stepping farther into the room.
“I believe in you,” he says, turning me to face him. “This is your passion, your career. And it should be done properly, not on the floor of your bedroom.”
His words cause me to choke up.
He believes in me …
When I told my mom my major, she laughed and said I’d better find a rich man if I wanted to make fashion my hobby because I’d never make a living from designing clothes.
But Lorenzo believes in me. So much so that he created an entire sewing room for me. This is literally my dream, and he made it come true.