“I’ll tell that on our first date we went out for waffles.”
“Will you also tell them how I thought you were someone else and I was on the run from you?”
“I’ll tell them the whole sordid truth if you want.”
“No,” Noemi said hurriedly. “My dad would die if that story came out. Seriously. You can’t.”
He grinned. “So you agree to the waffles then?”
Noemi shifted off the lounger. She sauntered over to him, her beautiful form on full display. He couldn’t tear his eyes from the sway of her hips when she walked or the way that damn bikini top pushed her breasts up, basically right into his face.
He was mighty tempted to give the neighbors an X-rated show, but he knew Noemi would protest to that. They might not be able to keep their hands off each other in every square inch of the house, the car, any random hotel rooms they might be in for business, and other private places, but she liked where they lived. She’d chosen the house. She’d picked out everything and he’d gone along with it just to make her happy.
It didn’t matter that he’d never imagined himself actually living in Italy. Sicily was beautiful. Her dad had a house just down the street. He came over almost every single day for dinner. Every single day he also asked when they were getting married. Every single day they told him soon. Tonight, they’d have something different to tell him. That they’d set a date. That it was also literally going to be one of those shotgun weddings, because Noemi just happened to be almost three months pregnant and really wanted to get the whole wedding thing done so they could just focus on enjoying becoming parents.
“I don’t know. You want waffles, let’s have waffles. I don’t care. Just as long as you’re there and it’s you I’m marrying.”
Byron shook his head. He was a lucky bastard and he knew it. For some reason, beautiful, kind, sweet, amazing Noemi decided to give him another chance. He’d taken her out for waffles. She’d enjoyed them. She wanted to go out again. And again. And okay, maybe there was a little bit of illicit activity in between waffle dates.
Somehow, for some reason that he still didn’t quite fathom, she liked him. She more than liked him.
She loved him.
And he loved her more than his own life.
“It better be me you’re marrying,” he scoffed.
“I just mean if we’re doing this wedding for real, you better show up on time. You’re always late.”
“I wasn’t late that day I found you in the coffee shop. I was there first. Waiting for you.”
“That does not count.” Noemi couldn’t hold her frown in place.
“I’ll make the calls to everyone, if you’re sure that you just want a little ceremony. Just your dad and our close friends. I’ll get it done. Waffles and all. I’ll even pick out a dress for you, though it might not be at all appropriate.”
“I’ll pick out the dress,” she corrected, a soft smile curling over her lips. “You can worry about how to take it off later. We’ll make the calls together. Let’s get it done.”
“Your dad will be so happy we’re no longer living in sin.”
Noemi threw back her head and laughed. “He doesn’t think that.”
“Why does he ask about a wedding every single day then?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess it’s become almost a family joke. He’s excited. He likes having you as a son. He wants to make it official. That’s all.”
“I think that he really wants to know when we’re going to give him grandkids.”
Noemi’s hand rubbed absently at her almost flat stomach. “Yeah. You’re probably right. That’s his code for asking without asking.”
“Next week? Tomorrow? When? Here? At the house? Do you know a good catering company who is willing to make waffles on short order?”
“I don’t care when or where or what we eat. Like I said, the only detail I care about is you. I decided a long time ago that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, horrible as you are.” She winked at him and laughed again.
He joined her. “And I decided that I wanted to spend my life with you, even though you’re a pain in my ass and a constant temptation to do dirty things at all hours of the day with.”
“Hmm. Never heard you complain about that before.”
Byron twined his hand through hers, but she was the one to lead him away from the pool, into the coolness of the house. She shut the patio door behind her and closed the blinds before she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling with playful desire. He was instantly so hard he was pretty sure he could karate chop that deck chair out by the pool completely in half.