“So, you're not mad?”
“Mad?” He shakes his head. “How could I be mad?”
He kisses me softly. His hands cup my face. I smile at him, and somehow find that I'm crying.
“I love you,” he whispers, kissing my forehead. My heart melts and I feel perfectly happy despite everything terrible that happened today.
Dante Russo loves me. If everything else in the world fell apart, he loves me. I could survive anything with that knowledge.
“I love you, too.” I look up into his beautiful dark eyes and see the love reflected in them.
He smiles back at me.
“There is one small problem, though,” he says, a mock frown crossing his face.
“What?” I can tell he's teasing me, but I'm not sure about what.
“We're going to have to move the wedding up. You're aunt is going to be so disappointed. She just booked the hotel.”
I laugh, feeling my soul lighten. “I think she'll understand.”
He kisses me again, and the world no longer feels like it's spinning out of control.
“I will keep you and our child safe,” he says. His voice is full of hidden danger and love. “Tell me what your plan is.”
I nod and tell him exactly how I plan to destroy Norwood and keep our baby safe.
Chapter 27
I walk into Mrs. Romano's house like I own the place. My heels click with authority on the tile floors. I glide directly into Mrs. Romano's parlor and sit down in the chair facing her. I cross my legs and wait politely as she turns to greet me.
The first step to my plan is to take care of Mrs. Russo. I can't have her breathing down my neck and I don't need the distraction. Plus, it might provide some extra leverage.
“Cara Savio,” Mrs. Romano says, turning to face me. She's around Mrs. Russo's age, but heavyset. Her dark hair is clearly dyed and she wears bright red lipstick that clashes with her skin. However, her eyes are sharp and bright. She is a woman who has done the mafia family dance for decades. She is not to be underestimated.
“Thank you for meeting me, Mrs. Romano,” I say respectfully. “I appreciate it.”
She shrugs like it's nothing, but her eyes don't leave mine. “You said you have business to discuss?”
I nod. “I have recently learned that you are in possession of some rather embarrassing photographs of my soon to be mother in law.”
Her eyebrows raise slightly. “And you think, what? That I'll just give them to you?”
I smile and shake my head. “Of course not. They are valuable. They give you leverage. I'm willing to purchase them.”
“They aren't for sale,” she replies.
“Everything is for sale,” I tell her. “I know that you are using them to blackmail Mrs. Russo into giving you her son's hand in marriage. I'm going to tell you it won't work. Mrs. Russo doesn't have that kind of leverage over her son, no matter what she's told you.”
“A mother's desire for her child is not something that is easily removed,” Mrs. Romano tells me. She clearly thinks she still has a chance.
I decide to use my strongest weapon. “I can understand that. I'm about to be a mother myself.”
Mrs. Romano does a double take. She looks down at my stomach then back up at me.
“Yes. I'm pregnant. Dante Russo is the father,” I tell her. I smile and cock my head slightly to the side. “Do you really think that he's going to leave me, the mother of his child, because his mother says to?”
Mrs. Romano's face darkens. “I guess the photographs are for sale.”