Page 67 of The Proposal

“I agree. I’ll be watching him closely in the meantime.”

“Same.”

“The fact that he’s said nothing about the ransacking is shady as fuck.”

“Right,” I agree.

“You should’ve been the first person he contacted.”

“I know.”

I reach over and pick up another cornetti because my wife is the best fucking cook in the world.

We spent the next hour talking shop while we waited for the others to arrive. Once they do, we move into the dining room.

When Edoardo enters, my eyes flicker from him to Romeo, and when I find my underboss’s gaze is already firmly fixed on him, I use the time to greet my men, knowing he’s got that covered.

“I drove past your place yesterday,” Sammy says as heshakes Edoardo’s hand. “I saw a lot of tradesmen coming and going. Are you having some work done?”

I reach out and shake Leo’s hand as a distraction, but I’m all ears, eager to hear his answer.

“Yeah, I’m doing some renovations. The house has good bones but could use an update.”

Lying cunt.

“Oh, yeah?” Sammy replies. “What kind of renos?”

“The bathroom.”

“Damn, you should’ve said something. My brother has his own business. I could’ve gotten a family discount for you.”

“If I ever update the other one, I’ll keep him in mind.”

My gaze moves back to Romeo, and his scowl tells me he also heard the conversation. I hope we can get to the bottom of this soon; the unknown makes me uneasy.

The tears my wife is currently shedding as the limousine exits the airport’s carpark are reminiscent of the ones she cried the day she arrived here in Australia, and I fucking hate that. The more time I spend with this woman, the more she comes to mean to me, and those tears … they’re quickly becoming my damn weakness.

“Come here,Bellezza,” I say, undoing her seat belt and tugging her onto my lap.

She curls herself into a tight ball, pressing her face into the crook of my neck when I wrap her tightly in my arms. I can feel the weight of her concerns. There’s no denying she’ll miss Lucia. She was no problem during her stay and brought extra life to the house. She also helped keep Arabella company while I attended to business.

My wife’s greatest concern is what fate has in store for the youngest Rossi daughter at the hands of their father.

It’s only a matter of time before Stefano uses her for a business transaction, like he did with Arabella, and God only knows who that person may be.

From what I’ve been told but have yet to confirm, Arabella was set to marry my father before he passed, and he was forty-five years her senior.

Stefano won’t even consider whether the union is a fitting match for his youngest daughter. All he cares about is what he’ll gain from the marriage. Lucia’s a sweet kid who doesn’t deserve the horrors she will likely face.

Arabella may disagree, but she was lucky to be matched with me. I’d never intentionally hurt her. I can’t say the same will happen to her little sister.

If I could bring Lucia here for good, I wouldn’t think twice, but I know that’s impossible. Stefano already has the connections he needs with my family, so letting his youngest daughter move to Australia wouldn’t offer him any advantage.

“Change of plans,” I say to my driver, Dario. “Can you drop us off at the club?”

“No problem, boss,” he replies.

My request has Arabella drawing back and looking up at me with a confused expression. I vehemently dislike the sight of her tear-stained cheeks. The pads of my thumbs skim across her skin as I lean in and kiss each eyelid softly. Seeing my wife hurting like this makes me feel unsettled inside.

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