Romeo liked her.
It was strange for his boss to really like his woman, and he certainly wouldn’t complain about it. If Romeo liked Ellie, it meant she would be forever protected so long as she remained loyal to the Giavanni name.
She didn’t even know what it all meant yet. There was so much he had to teach her. She wasn’t graceful like the other women who were present at the party. She hadn’t spent her entire life being trained on how to treat a man or speak to him. Even now, looking around the large ballroom, she stood out like a beautiful siren. She leaned in close to Romeo, laughed at whatever joke he told her, and then they were dancing.
Any other man, he’d be jealous. Ellie was his woman, but he knew Romeo was happy with his choice. His boss was giving him his seal of approval in the choice of woman he had made.
He loved Ellie. Putting his ring on her finger felt good. She wasn’t going to get away. He wouldn’t allow her to leave. She would belong to him. His wedding wouldn’t be as big of an affair as Raphael’s and it would happen sooner than his friend’s.
“Wow, you didn’t even ask for her hand? Damn, you’re going to get your balls kicked later,” Raphael said, laughing. “I would hate to be you right now.”
“Why? My woman can hold her head high and stare each man in the eye without being afraid. She knows this life is dangerous but she hasn’t had fear installed in her like a part of her soul. She’s stronger than most of these women, and this life, it needs a strong woman willing to fight at my side.”
“Yeah, yeah, rub it in, why don’t you? You’ve got the best kind of deal.” Raphael stopped talking. His gaze drifted across the ballroom and Antonio followed where he was looking.
The slave girl. The one with the mark of ownership.
“If you keep being obvious, your father will send her away.”
“She doesn’t even know I exist,” Raphael said. All the happiness of moments ago drained away. He put down the glass of whiskey he held, as though he’d lost interest.
Antonio didn’t want to see his friend hurting. “I’m going to go and save my woman from more dancing with strange men.” He walked across the dance floor to where Romeo was. They were talking to a couple of the capos. Ellie looked bored.
“Mind if I cut in?” Antonio said.
“Nah, I’m boring her, I’m sure. It’s a pleasure, Ellie,” Romeo said, but his interest was already gone and down to business.
“This is our engagement party and seeing as I’m one of the women who is engaged, shouldn’t I have known?” she asked.
“Would you have turned me down?”
“You know I wouldn’t.” She sighed. “A woman likes to be asked, you know. They like to know that men care about the answer.”
“You were going to say yes.” He placed his hand at the curve of her back, right next to her ass.
“Being asked would have been nice regardless of the answer.” She looked past his shoulder and he stroked her ass, drawing her attention back to him.
“I do know that. I thought you would’ve been pleased. I get to keep you all to myself,” he said. “Are you telling me you had a different kind of proposal in mind?”
She glared at him. “You’re mocking me.”
He was, a little. “No, I’m curious. Tell me where I went wrong.”
She pressed her lips together and he found her anger so cute. “You know, I’ll never learn unless you teach me.”
“Fine, you want a teachable moment? First, you don’t lie to a girl about who you are. The moment you realize there could be something more, you tell them the truth. Instead, I find out when I was working. It sucked. Now, against all the odds, you propose. I didn’t have any kind of fantasy proposal. I guess I would love to know how the man I’m supposed to be married to for life felt. I don’t know what you think. I know you enjoy screwing me, but it doesn’t tell me what our marriage is going to be like.”
He smiled, leaning in close so his lips were next to his ear. “I love you.”
She pulled away. “Is this a joke?”
“No joke. I don’t kid around, Ellie. You know this.”
“You’re telling me you love me?”
“I’ve never wanted to make a girl my own, but you’re not just any girl. You’re mine. I love you. I want you. You belong to me, and I’m not going to give you up.”
She had stopped dancing and just stared at him. “I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s not a lot to say. You’re going to be my wife and it might not have been the proposal you want. You’re going to have to get used to me doing a whole lot of things you don’t want. I’m not like the men of the world who will plan big, elaborate dinners or romantic evenings. I will take care of you. I will love you. I will devote my life to you. That’s all I can offer.”