Page 33 of Down the Aisle
"W-well, too bad. You're stubborn with staying in my life and making a whole new routine for us, so I'm going to keep thanking you to show you how grateful I am for you butting into our lives," she stammered, her voice trailing out toward the end as she stuffed her face.
Biting my tongue, I kept my words at bay as I smiled at her tenderly. I didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but she’d said 'for us' just then. Perhaps she was coming to terms with things faster than I’d anticipated, which was a good thing. It would make the next step of my plan a whole lot easier, too.
Once I was done packing, I sat on the couch and watched Asher play with his toys. Thankfully, Eliza wasn't one to takeforever to get ready. So, it wasn't long until we were in my Lamborghini Urus and on the road.
Peaceful silence filled the car as I drove, with the occasional baby noise from Asher—who was entertained by a show on a tablet I'd jerry-rigged to the back seat. Obviously, I was busy driving, and Eliza kept to herself, staring out the window contently.
Honestly, it felt like a nice family trip. Hopefully, I'd be able to call her and Asher my family sooner rather than later. Thinking about the three of us being together always brought the happiest smile to my face from the sparking bliss that lit up every nerve ending in my body.
"Would you still want me if I were a criminal?"
That was one way to pump the brakes on my happy train. Her question came out of nowhere and blindsided me. Seriously, I almost hit the actual brakes to jar myself back to reality.
Was that what was up with her? Was she a criminal?
Snapping my head to the side, I took a quick glance at her before training my full attention back on the road. "I'm sorry. I think I might have misheard you," I mused with a wary chuckle. Maybe I did because I was so deep in my mind that her words didn't make sense.
The sound of her clearing her throat cracked at the tense air for a moment before the leather set creaked with her shuffling. "Would you still want me if I was a criminal?" she repeated herself loud and clear, making me feel like I'd been slapped in the face.
Unable to help it, I threw a question back at her rather than an actual answer, "Are you on the run?" She seemed calm and put together for someone on the run, and honestly, I couldn't see it, no matter how hard I tried to imagine it.
Granted, I shouldn't be one to judge people based on appearances and shit, but there was no way Eliza could be acriminal. My little rose could barely throw a decent punch, let alone hold a knife to stab someone enough to kill them. That, and she got so torn up over the littlest things. Forgot to pay for an item? She'd let her anxiety eat her up until she went back to either pay for the item or put it back. Someone bumped into her? She'd be the one apologizing.
My Eliza didn't have one bad or mean bone in her delicate body.
So, there was no way she could be a criminal.
"Uhh, that's not exactly an answer…" she drawled out awkwardly.
"Answer mine first, then I'll answer yours," I quickly bargained with an amused chuckle.
Huffing, Eliza grumbled something incoherent under her breath before replying, "No, I'm not, but why the heck did you even ask that question? Why is that the first question you ask?"
Playfully pretending to be taken aback, I leaned back slightly in mock disbelief. "Well, you're the one who asked the most random question out of nowhere. I mean, I get the whole 'would you love me if I was a worm' shit, but a criminal?" I kept my tone lighthearted and playful to prevent her from misunderstanding me and thinking I was accusing her of something. "But how else should I respond? I mean, I gotta know if you're in danger to plan and act accordingly."
Then, I remembered that I didn't answer her initial question, the one that threw a wrench into my running gears. "But to answer your previous question, yes. Yes, I would still want you if you were a criminal. Unless your crimes are heinous, then that might be an issue."
As if I was a saint myself. It'd be very hypocritical for me to judge her for being a criminal—if she was one—given the fact that I was a damn mafia boss. Yeah, I would be the last person to scold her for living a life of crime when I lived it 24/7, practically.
"Is there anything that would put you off from me?" She sounded curious but also a little defeated, as if her fate with me was starting to sink in.
Humming in thought, I pretended to think for a few seconds to tease her a little. "Besides very deplorable things like you being a serial child abuser or something that bad, nope." Honestly, she could be a full-blown serial killer, and I wouldn't be bothered one bit.
Reaching over, I blindly felt around her thighs until I found her hands. A little haphazardly, I wiggled our fingers around until our hands were intertwined with each other. Holding her tightly, I smiled to myself. "Mia rosa, there is nothing that will deter me from you, and sorry if this is going to sound…" Insane? Absurd? Downright deranged? So many words to choose from. "A little out there…" Yeah, sure, let's go with that rather than the other words. "But I am determined to make this work between us. Even if you decide to keep me in the friend zone after next week, I won't let you have any other man in your life."
I already had a whole list of murder plans for anyone who dared to come around Eliza with me in her life. If it ended up being the whole damn town, then so be it. There was no harm in having more bloody bodies under my feet. My hands were already bloodied, so I might as well drench them for a good cause for once.
Bringing her hand up to my lips, I inhaled her scent there and kissed it longingly. "I know you feel it too, little rose, this fire between us." Glancing at her with burning eyes full of desire and adoration, I smiled against her soft skin. "The undeniable chemistry. And if you try to deny any of it, then I'm going to have to call bullshit on it because I see the sneaky little looks from you when you think I'm not looking." That got her to freeze up and blush madly. "And I see the way your eyes light up at the sight of me, the calm that washes over you, the bliss, everything."
Yes, she was a little jumpy at times, but she'd improved quite a bit. Of course, I was more than mindful of any sudden movements around her, along with knives, particularly big ones. She actually scared me with her a panic attack the first—and only—time I turned around to face her while holding a kitchen knife.
It was a few nights back. Eliza came home a little early while I was in the middle of making dinner, and surprised me. My hands were covered in juice from the meat I was cutting up, so I merely pivoted towards her and offered a short, but sweet hello. Had I planned on greeting her properly, I would’ve put the knife down and washed my hands, but I didn’t want to stop what I was doing and have dinner be late.
Eliza had smiled back at me, but it only lasted a second before her face paled as if she'd seen a ghost. Even at a slight distance, I could see every inch of her body lock up as she turned into a statue. I could've sworn the sound of my heart cracking and shattering at her fearful whimpers when I stepped toward her could be heard for miles at that moment.
Of course, stupid me took too long to figure out what triggered her because it was a little hard to follow her trembling eyes to a specific object. I instantly discarded the knife onto the counter when the dots connected, though. I never did get an explanation that night when Eliza had calmed down, after I held and soothed her for a long while. She kind of went aloof to the whole thing, so I dropped it to discuss later.
Which, I guess, meant now because, hey, what else were we gonna talk about on an hour-and-a-half-long car ride? Well, maybe later will be a little later into the car ride because I didn't want to ruin our good little moment right now.
