Page 70 of Seduced By the Enemy

“I love you,” he added, for good measure, so she was nodding, and wriggling up the bed a little, to press a chaste kiss against his lips. But how could he leave it at that? He held herthere, moving his good hand to her cheek, tangling his fingers in her hair as his mouth claimed hers properly and all the sparks in the world exploded between them. As though fate and destiny had lit their own fireworks for Emilia and Salvatore, and the fact they’d finally recognized that they were in love.

“I love you, too,” she said against his mouth. “I was not fine without you, and never would have been. How could you think that, even for one second?”

He groaned as he pulled back, because despite his physical incapacity, he wanted her with the force of a thousand suns. That, though, would have to wait.

“What happens now?” she asked, gently.

“We get married.” There was no indecision, no doubt. Just a desperate need to cement this legally. To tell the world that while the Santoros and Valentinos might have been determined to carry on their ludicrous feud, Emilia and Salvatore were not.

“Yes,” she said, smiling that beautiful smile again. “And then what?”

“We live happily ever after.”

She rolled her eyes, but on a laugh. “Yes, but where?”

“Wherever you want, my darling.”

She bit her lip. “Anywhere you are.”

“Good answer,” he growled. “I did buy an amazing place here, in the middle of the rainforest. Private, secluded, and just about as far from our families as you can get…”

“Sounds like heaven,” she admitted, reaching down and lacing their fingers together. “But there’s something you should know.”

He could hardly think. The sensation of having her here was beyond perfection.

“Your family has actually been very good, these past few days.”

He shook his head. “Let’s not talk about them,” he said. “Whatever happens with the Santoros, or the Valentinos, should have no bearing on us. With or without them, we are our own family—you and me. And I couldn’t be happier.”

She sighed with obvious, blissful contentment. “Me neither.”

And she placed her head on his chest, snuggled to his side, as all the pain for their separation ebbed from his body, and hers, and finally, they were just as they were meant to be. Blissfully contented, and certain in the knowledge of having each found their perfect other half.

EPILOGUE

AND SO IT WAS, that three months later, Emilia Valentino married Salvatore Santoro. It was a quiet ceremony, at town hall, with their only witnesses being the couple scheduled to marry right after them. They returned the favour of then witnessing their ceremony, before going to—where else?—The Plaza for a private celebration lunch. Their honeymoon took them all over the world, and finished in Singapore, at the home Salvatore had bought whilst in the depths of depression and pain, at a time when he could never have imagined living this kind of happy future.

Having seen the absolute hell Salvatore had fallen into, without his beloved Emilia, the Santoros quickly realized there was nothing for it but to support their son in his decision. Of course, it wasn’t enough simply to support Salvatore: they had to build a bridge with Emilia, to hope and pray that they could eventually show their regret so that she would understand how wrong they’d been.

Suffice it to say, once the Santoros put their collective mind to something, it was almost impossible to resist. Each sibling and cousin was pushed into service, turning up unexpectedlywith food, or gifts, asking for advice, or just wanting to spend time with the couple. Invitations for the family pizza nights came thick and fast, though Salvatore approached the situation with hesitation. He appreciated their apologies, and their obvious desire to include Emilia and get to know her, but he found it impossible to forget the pain their initial rejection had caused.

It was Emilia who ended up being the more receptive of the peace overtures. She was as unwilling for Salvatore to lose his family as he had been in reverse. Besides, decades of conditioning towards her family made it easier to accept their love—family really was everything. What mattered most, in Emilia’s opinion, was their willingness to correct things.

Because of the closeness she’d once felt for her brothers and parents, Emilia found it hard to forgive them, even when they also tried to make amends. Once she and Salvatore were married, there was no escaping the permanence of this relationship. The Valentinos were faced with the reality of accepting Emilia’s decision, or losing her forever. They couldn’t bear the latter, and so they began trying.

Emilia, though, was wary. At the happiest point of her life, she couldn’t bear to be reminded of the worst. She didn’t want the bubble she and Salvatore shared to be burst by proximity to her family, who wouldn’t love him like she did. She kept them at bay for a long time, refusing to visit, to see even her parents. It broke her, in new and different ways, even when she was, at the same time, the happiest and most complete she’d ever been.

Strangely, it was Dante Santoro who broke through her barriers, once and for all. “I’ve been talking with Andie,” he said, one afternoon, on the terrace of the Santoro family property. Once upon a time, Emilia might have thought of this as ‘deep in enemy territory’, but only months after Salvatore’s hospitalisation, her view had completely changed.

“Andie?” she prompted, naturally confused.

“Your sister-in-law.”

She almost dropped her soda glass. “What?” She leaned closer. “Why?”

“She says your mother has been calling. That you don’t answer.”

She glanced away, her cheeks flushing pink. “I’m not ready.”

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