Page 89 of Matteo
“Of course not, Daddy.”
Fucking busted. Everyone knew that whenever these girls used Daddy, they were up to something. I glanced around for the familiar red curls, and after not seeing them anywhere, I turned my attention to the youngest Morrelli sibling.
“Speaking of trouble, where is my sister?” I asked her curiously. The two usually teamed up during these kinds of events.
She waved her hand noncommittally. “With your mom.”
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, and just as I opened my mouth to ask the follow-up question, my parents joined in.
“Ah, this is where the party’s hopping, huh?” Pa drawled, shaking his old friend’s hand. “What did we miss?”
“Daddy, please don’t use slang. It just doesn’t sound right.” Francesca approached from behind me, grinning like a fool. It didn’t escape me she called our pa “daddy” too, which definitely meant she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to.
“Where have you been, sweetie?” Mom asked in a soft voice. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Gianna and Francesca are like slippery fish,” Mrs. Morrelli said.
“Why? What happened?” My own mom inched closer to her, her soft features creasing with curiosity. “Tell me what you know, because my daughter has been avoiding me all day.”
Gianna’s eyes darted to me, smiling guiltily while I glared at her.
“Excuse me,” Gianna muttered, sharing a glance with my sister. “I have places to be.”
“Umm, I have to go too,” Francesca claimed. “Got people to see.”
Those little shits.
“But you just got here,” Mom protested.
But neither were listening as they bolted away without so much as a backward glance. I had no doubt that she and Francesca were up to something, and I made a mental note to find out what.
Hannah soon followed, and our parents got wrapped into a discussion, leaving Arianna and me alone again.
“I thought they’d never leave,” I murmured, fighting the urge to kiss her.Soon, I reminded myself. Instead, I extended my hand. “Dance with me?”
She glanced around us before sliding her hand into mine and I tugged her onto the dance floor, where a number of people were already dancing. Just as we started swaying, one song ended and a new one started.
The soft melody drifted through the air, its jazzy tones setting a romantic tone to the evening.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Hannah standing with her uncle Kyran and Francesca and Gianna cornering poor Gabriel, but none of it mattered to me with my woman in my arms.
Pulling her flush against my chest, I put my hands on the small of her back as we moved as one. I spun her around, only for her to return into my arms. Her soft body molded to mine, and I imagined how her nipples must have hardened beneath the fabric. I wanted so badly to trail the flush from her neck down her chest with my mouth and taste her skin.
“Matteo,” she panted, her eyes shimmering like blue diamonds.
“Sei mia,”I murmured, our lips inches apart.“Promettimi.” You’re mine. Promise me.
This hunger for her was an insatiable beast.
She opened her mouth, but before a word was uttered, the music stopped. Everyone ceased dancing, and I glanced at Arianna, wanting to tell her what was about to happen.
“I’m so happy to have everyone present here today.” My father’s booming voice traveled through the room and terrace and I held Arianna’s hand as we turned to face him. “It’s a special day for many reasons, but one stands out. Please welcome me in congratulating Hannah and Matteo’s nuptials and impending merge of the Vitale and Morrelli families.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it.
Wait.What?
The words—Hannah and Matteo—finally sunk in.
