Page 49 of The Proposal

“Don’t let Papa hear you talking like that; you’ll be on the first plane back to Italy.”

“I don’t want to go back there. It’s been hell without you. I wish I could live here with you forever.”

“I wish that too, Lucia. You have no idea how much.”

“Are you happy here, Bell-Bell?”

I lift one shoulder. “Apart from missing you, yes … I think I am. Dante’s nothing like I expected.”

“He’s awesome … the complete opposite of Papa.”

“He’s been good to me.”

“He likes you, Arabella … likelike, likesyou. He gets this goofy smile on his face every time he looks at you.”

“He does not,” I say, laughing.

“He does. I think you like him too,” she replies, nudging me with her elbow.

I lift one shoulder. “Maybe.”

“How is he in the sack? I bet he knows how to use that salami stick between his legs.”

“Lucia Gabriella Rossi!”

“What! With some men, you can tell they’ve got it going on. Dante Mancini is one of them. He has an air of confidence about him, don’t you think?”

“How do you even know that a penis resembles a stick of salami?”

“I’ve seen one before.”

I gasp. “When?”

“One of Papa’s guards relieved himself up the side of the house once … I watched him through the window. But he was more of apiccola salsiccia(Small sausage). A tiny little thing,” she says, pinching her forefinger and thumb about an inch apart, and we both burst into laughter.

“Dante and I haven’t gone all the way yet. Technically, I still have my virginity.”

“What? How? I saw the blood on the sheets … Papa made me wash them after he showed them off to the entire town.”

Those words make me inwardly cringe. “It wasn’t my blood.”

“Whose blood was it?”

“Dante’s.”

“Did you stab him for trying to put hissalsiccia grande(Large sausage)inside you?”

“No, I didn’t stab him,” I say with a laugh.

“How did the sheets get massacred then?”

“It was hardly a massacre,” I state.

My sister has always been a bit of a drama queen. We are like chalk and cheese, but maybe that’s why we get on so well. She’s wild and unpredictable, and I’m the complete opposite. Meek, boring, or frightened into being submissive may be a better explanation. Despite our differences, Lucia is not only my sibling; she’s my best friend.

“He didn’t even try to have sex with me on our wedding night. He brought a vial of blood with him to fool Papa. Like me, he thought the ritual was barbaric.”

“Holy crap. That’s awesome. I knew he was a good guy.”

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