Page 112 of Isabella

With a shrug, Nicco says, “It wasn’t too bad. I kept busy working. It helped pass the time. Then there was Leo and Dante. They came to visit quite a few times.”

“I always thought about what you were doing there. I was so mad at you, but you consumed my mind for a bit after you left. Then, eventually, it was out of sight, out of mind. But now I have you back again.” I shake my head. “I just can’t believe how far we’ve come, Nicco.”

“I know. It killed me leaving you, Isabella, but I knew I’d be back for you.”

I give him a small smile. “Well, as much as I would love to make gelato with you, Ihaveto go in. I’ve neglected Liana for far too long now.”

He nods. “I have some things I need to work on before my dad gets back, so how about I make you that gelato while you’re at work, and it’ll be ready for you by the time you get home?”

Home.

Nicco and I haven’t talked about his penthouse becoming my home. I’ve been here every night since coming clean to my brother, but the topic hasn’t come up until now.

“You didn’t think that once everyone knew about us that I’d let you out of my sights again, did you? I expect you in my bed every night moving forward, Isabella.”

As I sit here and process the idea of moving in with Nicco, I get giddy over his words. It’s exactly what I want. Falling asleep in the love of my life’s arms and waking up in them. Who wouldn’t want that?

“So, is this you officially asking me to move in?” I ask before clicking my tongue. “I have to admit, I thought you’d be a bit more… grand about asking me.”

“Oh, baby, I wasn’t asking. This was your home the second I signed my name on the dotted line and purchased it. But, if it’s a grand gesture you’re looking for, don’t you worry, my sweet Isabella, I have something in mind for the future.”

Excitement radiates through my body at Nicco’s words. Is he talking about…

“And don’t even think about trying to get what I have planned for you out of me. You’ll have to wait for the surprise.”

“Nicco, come on, you know I hate surprises. I only like giving them, not receiving them. I’m impatient and nosy,” I whine.

He laughs as he sits back in his seat and shakes his head. “Absolutely not. There’s no way in hell I’m going to ruin this for the both of us. You’re going to have to learn to be patient.”

“Ugh, I don’twantto be patient, Nicco.”

“Too bad,” he says, leaning in to kiss my pouty lips.

Nicco pushes himself up to a stand, collects our dirty dishes from the table, and walks them over to the kitchen sink. I follow him with our empty wineglasses in hand.

“Okay, but back to this home thing,” I say, planting the glasses down on the counter.

“What about it?” he says with a lift of his lip as he pours us each another glass of my favorite rosé.

“You really want me to move in?”

“Of course I do. We practically lived with each other at CU, and we’ve fallen into the same routine now that your brothers know.” He sets the wine bottle down and lifts a brow at me. “Which, speaking of, how did you end up getting Matteo to let you stay here this past week?”

“Oh, I just told him I’ve been sneaking out to see you and if he didn’t allow me to stay at your place, I would just figure out a way to sneak out and do it anyway. He figured at that point it was best to just have a guard drop me off instead of figuring it out on my own.”

Nicco shakes with laughter.

“But also, I’ve realized my brother isn’t completely unreasonable. I know the whole moving in together before marriage thing is against what people in our world typically do, but… I don’t know. Matteo runs things differently. Our lives are… different ever since we lost our parents.”

The sullen look on Nicco’s face immediately has me feeling bad, and I nearly jump into action, trying to take back bringing up their deaths.

“Don’t do that,” he says. “Don’t feel bad about bringing them up because of me.I’mthe one who should feel bad. I wish I could’ve been there for you. I wish I could’ve stopped any of that from happening in the first place. They didn’t deserve to die, and I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t able to change the course of their lives.” He pauses before adding, “I should’ve been here.”

“I know, I know, Nicco. But it’s okay. I might’ve lost them, but I still have an amazing family. I have my brothers, Lux, Liana… and most importantly, I have you. Life is about to get a whole lot better. I can feel it.”

He brings his lips down to mine and kisses me so passionately I feel like I’ve been swept away into a perfect world where nothing else exists except the two of us. But I quickly get pulled back to reality where everything isn’t perfect. Not yet at least. Not until Giuseppe Silvestri is taken care of.

64

---