Page 142 of Never Say Never

Paolo continued to smile as confusion colored his gaze. He blinked, opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it again. I gave him a moment until he collected himself.

"I'm sorry, I'm hallucinating. What did you say?"

"I love you," I said. "And I'm sorry. I treated you like shit and I probably shouldn't have. Even if you did betray me." I glared.

"For how long?"

"What?" I asked.

"How long have you loved me?"

"Longer than I'd like to admit," I muttered.

Paolo's face stretched into a smile so wide, I thought he'd hurt himself. He reached out, pushed his hand against my cheek, and cupped the back of my neck. I leaned down, kissing him softly until both of us had to unwind to breathe and calm ourselves down.

"Then that's all that matters. I'm sorry I hurt you in the first place, and I love you too," Paolo whispered against my lips. "For a long ass time. That's never going to change."

I actually believed him. Every word. I'd seen the way he stood up for and protected us. No one who was just doing it for pretend could last this long, right? Maybe I was naive and I only wanted to see what I wanted to see. But no, I didn't think so. I could see right through Paolo now. He cared about us more than he did his own life.

"How is this going to work?" Paolo asked. "You're not going to quit anytime soon."

"No," I said.

"Then how?" he reiterated, a desperate look in his eyes that made me hold his hand even tighter.

"I don't know. I don't have answers right now. All I know is I'm not letting you go. I refuse to do that."

"That's all I need to hear."

The sound of the toilet flushing and water running made both our heads snap in the direction of the bathroom. Standing there, washing his hands, was Giancarlo with a huge grin on his face.

"Yo," he said. "Don't mean to interrupt this really sweet moment but I might have clogged your toilet."

I groaned. "Goddamnit."

"Get out, Gin!" Paolo laughed so hard he started coughing. "Fuck, that hurts."

I glared at Paolo's twin after making sure he was okay. "Ash!"

The fluffy haired man ran in and grabbed his fiance’s arm. "Sorry, sorry. Whatever he did, I'm sure it was dumb, but he can't help it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gin asked as he was pulled away. "Hey, are you calling me dumb?"

I shook my head as the door closed behind them. When I turned back to Paolo, he was still trying to catch his breath.

"You really want to deal with my crazy ass family?" he asked.

I groaned so hard my throat hurt. "Do I have a choice?"

"Not a chance in hell, sweet cheeks. Kiss me again."

I melted against him and did just that.

I twisted left and right, stretching, testing out my range of motion. Three weeks of healing could do a number on a man. It was three hellish weeks of blue balls.

Winter was in full swing in New York, snow and ice lined the streets creating a muddy slush that seemed to get into everything. The girls were home for the holiday break and loving every minute of it. Life was good.

"Don't go overboard," Melony said, packing up her bag. Her bubble gum pink hair was pulled back into two braids. She'd stayed in the building the entire time while I recovered. My bill was going to be astronomical, but she was worth every penny and then some.