Page 48 of The Proposal

When I step in front of him, he leans in, pressing a soft kiss to each of my cheeks before taking my hand and brushing his lips over my knuckles.

“You may be smiling, Arabella, but your pretty eyes look downright murderous.”

I straighten my spine. “Maybe because inside, I’m seething.”

“All because I didn’t return your text? I looked back over our thread, and in my opinion, it didn’t exactly warrant a reply.”

I step away with a huff, heading towards the entrance of the quaint Italian restaurant. The truth is, I was already in a rotten mood before we even exchanged messages, and it’s unfair of me to take it out on him.

Dante quickly falls into step beside me, reaching for my hand again and lacing his fingers through mine.

“I trust you’ll be on your best behaviour tonight, Mrs Mancini.”

“Who are we dining with? A bunch of murderers and thugs, I presume.”

The only response I get in reply is a chuckle.

“The food better be nice.”

“I own this restaurant, so I can assure you they serve nothing but the best.”

“You do?”

“I own half of this town.”

I roll my eyes. “Of course you do.”

As we step inside, the staff greets us with warm smiles. “Mr and Mrs Mancini,” they say as we pass. I’ve never met any of them, so I can only assume Dante told them I’m his wife.

He leads us towards the back of the restaurant. “We’re dining in the private room tonight,” he informs me.

I don’t respond because if we’re dining with thugs and murderers, it makes perfect sense he’d want to keep us hidden from prying eyes.

He pulls back the black curtain and extends his arm. “After you.”

“Thank you,” I bite as I breeze past him.

I only take a few steps before I freeze, my feet suddenly glued to the floor.

“Bell-Bell!” my sister squeals as she jumps up from the table and rushes towards me.

“Lu-Lu!” I cry, pulling her into my arms. “What are you doing here?”

“Dante said you were upset about not being able to spend my birthday together, so he made arrangements with Papa for me to come visit.”

And now I feel like the world’s biggest bitch.

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” I tell my sister as I help her unpack her things.

“I know. And how cool is Australia?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say cool. The heat and humidity here are dreadful.”

“I meant cool, as in awesome, not cold.”

“I know,” I reply with a laugh. “I was just teasing you. Besides the airport and the restaurant where we had dinner, you haven’t even seen much of this country yet.”

“I spent the entire day with your husband and his underboss, Romeo, who’s a total babe, by the way.”

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