A gorgeous rueful smile flitted across his face before he became more serious than ever.
‘The day you left you asked me to be honest, and at the time I couldn’t be.’ He huffed out a harsh breath. ‘Now I have to be. You were right. I’ve been a coward. I hurt you in the worst possible way. I hurt you by my silence. Because you have the capacity for the kind of love that terrifies me. The kind that is so huge, so deep, that you’d do almost anything for someone you love. The kind of love my parents had. The kind I’ve secretly always craved but never wanted to admit. The kind I have for you.’
A rushing noise in her ears muffled his words. She couldn’t tell if what she was hearing was... What had he said? The soaring sensation inside threatened to make her faint.
‘I love you, Katie. The best kind of all,’ he muttered. ‘It isn’t a game, dolcezza. It’s real. And it’s everything.’
She swayed and he caught her around the waist, pulling her flush against him.
The sigh she released was jagged and painful. ‘What did you say?’
‘I know it’s going to take a while for you to believe me. That’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Because I can’t be without you. I can’t believe I let you go. These days have been hell.’ Emotion shook not just his voice but his body, and he pressed her closer still. ‘You’re not walking out on me ever again and I’m never walking out on you.’
His kiss burned through the dizziness. He was here and he wanted her and what he’d said was real.
Katie gasped as his passion swept through her and she soared. There was so much emotion in his touch, in his broken apologies. He was so powerful, so possessive as he pulled her closer, his hands raking down her body as if he couldn’t quite believe she was there, melting into him.
But suddenly he pulled back.
‘What...?’ She couldn’t quite breathe enough to get the words out.
He too seemed breathless, his chest rising and falling fast as he reached into his pocket.
‘On the way up here I thought maybe we could have another wedding ceremony...one we put a little more thought into. We could invite Susan and our friends. I’d like to wear a decent suit. You could wear the dress of your dreams...’
Katie couldn’t move.
‘I need you to understand that I choose you, Katie. I love you and I want you alongside me always. So will you marry me all over again?’ He opened the box. ‘Will you mean it with me this time?’
He wanted to marry her again? He wanted to show his feelings for her to their world?
‘You don’t need to...’ Katie saw the ring and winced. ‘You’ve given me too much already.’
She didn’t want any more of his money. She didn’t want him to think he had to do these big things for her. She wanted only him.
‘Not everything Katie. Not yet. You’ve given me more.’ He took the ring from the box. ‘You’re everything to me. And I want to celebrate it. I want the world to know.’
‘Alessandro...’ Her heart burst—he wanted to publicly profess his feelings for her, claim her as his? A rush of warmth and pride and pleasure overwhelmed her.
‘It’s...’
He slid the ring down her finger. ‘A perfect fit.’
The diamond sparkled so brightly she had to blink again. Rapidly. ‘You didn’t have to—’
‘I wanted to. Accept the gift, Katie.’
He kept hold of her hand and smiled at her. It wasn’t the wicked, amused smile of always—it had something else in it as well. Something infinitely more.
‘If you need to find confidence in me you can look at this and remember. And I like seeing you adorned in my gifts. It gives me a sense of security. I figure it wards off other men.’
She couldn’t help a little chuckle, and then she shook her head to try to stop those tears from falling again. ‘What other men?’
‘You have no idea how beautiful you are,’ he teased gently, then tugged at her hand to pull her back into his arms. He caressed the length of her spine to pull her closer still. ‘So let me tell you.’
Her eyes filled, but he tilted her chin so she couldn’t hide her face again.
‘Listen, dolcezza—listen and believe. You need to know you’re more than gorgeous. Your hair shines, and so does your skin, and your eyes are truly bewitching...all those colours in them gleam. But you light up with this kind of magic.’ He angled his head. ‘There’s no one else with your vitality, your generosity—’
‘Alessandro—’
‘It’s true. And I know you won’t believe me yet, because you’ve never been told before, you’ve never really been shown. But I’ll tell you, and I’ll show you, every day for the rest of our lives. I love you, Katie, and I will never leave you.’
He knew just what she needed to hear. Because he knew her. He understood her. And he’d come for her. It meant everything.
She hugged him back tightly and instantly he cradled her closer.
‘I thought relationships weren’t worth it.’ He closed his eyes. ‘But you’re worth it. Being with you, having you, then losing you...’ He groaned. ‘Never leave me again, Katie. It was the absolute worst.’ He gazed deeply into her eyes. ‘Stay with me always. Love me always.’
His vulnerability broke her open. Because he’d been hurt in the past, he’d been lonely and so had she.
‘I’m yours,’ she admitted on a shaky sigh. ‘I’ll always be yours.’
‘I’ve missed you so much, dolcezza,’ he whispered.
He gave her what she needed—his touch, his kiss. She breathed him in and began truly to believe.
He didn’t hurry, instead undertaking the most tender rediscovery of her body. He murmured constantly—how much he’d missed her, how much he loved her—in English, in Italian, in his touch. And when he finally claimed his place in her body and soul she sobbed in sheer ecstasy.
It wasn’t a mere escape or a moment of pleasure. It was so much more. Their intimacy deepened as the last knot locking her heart away loosened. Joy surged within, like lightning that transcended the physical. He had all of her—but he held her with such care, such reverence. It was tenderness and passion and a promise of pure security.
She finally understood how much he cared. And it was a long, long time before either of them could speak again.
It was Alessandro who lifted his head fr
om where he’d been resting on her breast and sent her a teasing smile. ‘You smell delicious.’
She giggled. ‘I spent the afternoon baking cinnamon buns.’
Laughing, he lowered his head and nuzzled her neck, as if he couldn’t get enough of her taste. ‘Come home and make something for yourself.’
‘I’d like that. I think I’d like to start afresh. Not White Oaks, not Zetticci. Something completely new.’ She quivered a little inside at the excitement of the prospect. ‘Will you help me?’
‘Try and stop me.’ He nipped her skin with his teeth and tugged her closer to him again, pressing against her intimately. ‘We could build lots of things together. A company, a home, a family...’
‘You really want all that with me?’
‘More than I’ve ever wanted anything,’ he said simply.
She melted, welcoming him completely.
They were more than a match—they were a team.
‘Ti amo,’ she whispered shyly.
He stilled and she saw pure vulnerability flash in his eyes as he blinked rapidly. ‘Dolcezza—’
‘Accept the gift, Alessandro,’ she challenged softly.
He nodded. ‘If I have you I have everything,’ he said. ‘You are everything.’
She finally believed that she meant that much to him. He treasured her just as she treasured him.
He slowly traced a gentle path over her heart with the tips of his fingers. She’d never felt as close to anyone, never as safe, never as content.
She smiled past her own tears and kissed him again. Together they’d soften old scars. Together they’d create new joy.
And together they would always, always, love.
* * *
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