“And if next time he shows up it’s to shoot you in the head from across the street?”
I grimace. “Ew.”
He lifts his eyebrows pointedly. “It could happen.”
“So I should start wearing a bulletproof helmet?”
“No, you should let me kill this little asshole once and for all so we can resume our life together without having to worry about any of this shit.”
“I can’t believe that’s the only option. You always have a million plans. Can’t you think of something else? Murdering is so barbaric, so basic. Come up with some mastermind plan to keep him out of Chicago. Secretly install facial recognition software in all the red lights or something so you get a flashing red signal if he pops up in the city again.”
This seems to amuse him. “I hate to disappoint you, but I do not have access to facial recognition software, nor would I have the necessary connections to install it in traffic lights. That doesn’t even make sense. I know what you mean, but…”
“Well, step up your villain game, mister. I’m pretty sure Gru could pull it off.”
“Oh, well, if Gru could do it…”
Nodding solemnly, I say, “That’s what I’m saying. The bar has been set; it’s your job to live up to it.”
Mateo shakes his head. “You’ve gotta stop letting the kids pick every movie you watch.”
“That was actually Meg’s choice. None of the kids objected, but it was all Meg.”
Now he’s serious again, looking into my eyes. “We can’t keep letting him get away with everything, Mia.”
Sighing, I roll back over into his side, reaching out and dragging my fingers down his abdomen, creeping lower. “Aren’t there more fun things we could do than talk about this?”
“There are,” he replies, catching my wrist and rolling me onto my back, moving on top of me.
“Mm, yes, I approve of this,” I tell him.
“Yeah?” he asks, his palm covering my breast, squeezing.
“Oh yes.” My heart is already starting to race with excitement.
“Good,” he replies, with suspicious agreeableness. His hand skims my side now, moving in to drop between my legs. “Now tell me you’ll forgive me for killing Vince, and we can move onto the orgasm segment of tonight’s itinerary.”
Smiling helplessly, I tell him, “That’s pretty twisted incentive. I can’t agree to that. Does that mean no orgasms for me?”
Bending to take a hardened nipple into his mouth, he moves that skilled tongue of his around the peak, lightly biting down before flashing me a devilish grin. “Well, no. I’ve been thinking about eating your pussy all night long—but it would make my life a lot easier if you’d give in.”
My head falls back against the pillows as his fingers move inside me. “You know I live to make your life easier, but I just can’t on this. If he comes back again, if he tries to hurt either of us, that’s a different story. But—” I pause, gasping as he strokes my clit. My legs fall open, my hips rolling toward his touch. “Can we not talk about this right now?”
His mouth covers mine and I wrap my arms around his neck to keep him close, opening for his tongue to sweep into my mouth. God, I love tasting him. I love every movement of his tongue, every brush of his lips. I hope he doesn’t do anything awful to Vince, but more than that, I hope he doesn’t keep pushing the issue, because it’s incredibly difficult to deny Mateo anything.
Chapter Twenty Three
Mia
“Do you think this is the one?”
Sighing miserably, I stare at my reflection. All the right pieces and parts are there—I’m wearing a gorgeous white dress fit for a princess, it’s prettier than anything I ever imagined wearing, but I can’t quite pull the trigger. “I don’t know. Honestly, I still love all five of them.”
“Why don’t you get a ceremony gown and a reception gown?” Meg suggests, pushing out of her seat and walking over to the platform I’m standing on. Running her fingers down the huge, embellished skirt of the ball gown, she adds, “Like, this would be amazing for the ceremony. But it’s a little heavy for the reception.”
“That’s so greedy,” I say.
“Who cares?” she replies. “That trumpet one you like would be really great for the reception. It makes your body look ridiculous. Like, whoa.”
Covering my face with my hands, I say, “I just don’t know. I have to make this decision today. The dress should’ve been ordered already.”
Francesca stands now, approaching the consultant and lightly touching her elbow. “Get her a veil.”
The consultant nods and heads off to do her bidding. Francesca approaches, looking at me and smiling softly.
“You’re overthinking it, Mia,” she tells me.
“Mateo likes things to be perfect,” I reply.
“My brother thinks the woman in the dress is perfect, and that’s all that matters. He’s going to think you look absolutely stunning in any of these. You do look stunning in all of these.”