Page 59 of Redemption

I freeze at her words and wonder if my feelings are that transparent. If Magda can see it then surely Dante or Giancarlo will notice something is going on with me.

“Mama, are you in love?” Aria asks as she quits paying attention to her television show and kneels on the couch to look at me.

I shake my head at her. “Nope. Just a date.”

Magda shoots me another look.

“Magda, please stop. There are no fairy tales here. It’s a date.”

I really should have hired a teenager to babysit so I didn’t get the third degree from Magda. I look at my phone and see it’s just about five when Kilian told me to be ready. I wait for a text to let me know my ride is here when I hear a knock at the door.

Shit.

He can’t really be stupid enough to come to the door and pick me up.

Magda brushes past me and opens the door before I can stop her. A man stands there I don’t recognize.

“Hello, I am here on behalf of Mr. Oliver to pick up Ms. Di Masio,” the man says. I smirk at the name Oliver.

Magda throws a glance my way and I shrug.

I give Aria a kiss on the cheek and head to the door. “I’ll be back by eleven,” I tell Magda as I pass.

“Mira.” The authority in her voice is enough to make me stop on the threshold of the door. “Enjoy your night. But be safe.”

She has a look in her eye, almost like a warning. I just nod and follow the man to the waiting Bentley outside.

He holds the door open for me and I thank him as I slide into the luxury car. I half expect Kilian to be inside, the windows tinted so dark no one would know he was in here, but he isn’t.

I settle into the soft leather seat and watch the town pass as we drive along the coastline. The driver lets me know we are headed just outside Palermo. I sit quietly in the car for the forty-five-minute drive. My stomach is in knots and my heart is beating a million beats a second.

I didn’t realize until now that this is the first time I have ever been on a date with Kilian. Besides dinner at the hotel in Malta but I don’t count that. This is the first time I’ve dressed up with the intention of meeting him for a date. I’m thirty-one years old, you think I would be able to handle this but a swarm of butterflies has taken over my stomach.

They only get worse when we pull up to a marina. The driver stops next to a pier then gets out and opens the door for me.

“This way.” He gestures and I follow him down the dock.

We get to a boat lit up with Edison lights on the deck and I see Kilian standing in one of his classic three-piece bespoke suits waiting for me.

“Enjoy your evening, Ms. Di Masio,” the driver tells me before walking away.

Kilian takes my hand as I step onto the small yacht. “Good evening, Ms. Di Masio,” he says into my neck as he wraps his arms around my waist. “You smell divine and you look gorgeous.”

I blush as he pulls his face from my neck, his hands squeezing my ass. “But maybe I should have bought you a different dress because all I want to do is take you to bed and fuck you.”

I pat his cheek as I step out of his embrace. “You’ll need to feed me first.” He makes a face that tells me exactly what he is thinking of feeding me. “Real food, Kil.”

He presses a kiss to my cheek. “Of course.”

I sit on a bench and slip my heels off before taking Kilian’s hand as he guides me to a small sitting area near the front of the boat. A bottle of Redbreast sits on the table with two glasses.

He sits down on the small sofa and I cuddle into his side. Needing to be as close to this man as possible with whatever time we can steal with each other. My stomach is still full of butterflies as we sit in silence. The boat starts to move as we move out to sea. Kilian pours us each a glass of whiskey. Then he sits back on the couch, his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

“I know this isn’t a date like at a restaurant. But I wanted to give you something more than I’ve ever given you,” he says softly into the air.

I look up at him. “Kilian, this is perfect.”

“I didn’t want to risk anything. And the weather is nice enough for a sunset dinner.”

---