Page 94 of Enduring Caine

He nodded, shaggy black hair falling onto his forehead.

Before they could leave, Leonardo was at her side. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for snacks or a meal? Our chef is preparing a feast to celebrate.”

A feast sounded like Giovanni was expecting us to stay the night. A boom of thunder cracked overhead.

“You’re persistent, Leo, I’ll give you that.” Scarlett blinked slowly at him and patted his chest. “Maybe next time.”

Leo grinned at her, a hungry look coming over him. For all the barbs and insults, it was almost dizzying to think of this man as a human, but the lust in his eyes made it clear he was not a robot. “I’ll have to be sure we contract with your company again.”

“You do that,” she said with a wink. Without asking for permission, she and Rav left, two of the guards moving quickly to catch up with them.

A strong arm wrapped around my waist from behind and picked me up. “Can you believe this, bella? The Casa will be complete again!”

I settled on my feet once Antonio’s excitement was over, and I turned around in his grasp. “It’s unbelievable.”

“It’s a miracle.” His eyes slid closed and his head fell back.

“We’re still leaving tonight, though, right? It’s almost six o’clock already, so we’d be rolling in pretty late, but—”

“What?” said Cesca. “But Henri’s making a celebration meal. How can we celebrate the fresco or you guys if you leave?”

Antonio pulled close to me, his nose finding my ear, and his voice dropping so only I could hear him. “I’ll do whatever you want, amore. Stay, leave, go back to the airport and fly to Australia. I don’t care.”

“Australia?” I leaned back to look at him. “What’s in Australia?”

He shrugged, barely able to hold back his laughter. “Then Vegas?”

I smacked him, his excited energy invading my cells. “Stop with the Vegas.”

“I’ve always wanted to see Vegas,” said Cesca.

Cristian said, “When you’re twenty-one.”

A prickling at the back of my neck reminded me that everyone’s attention was on Antonio and me. He may have been fine being the center of everything, but I wasn’t. I stepped out of his grasp and he feigned a pout. “You want to stay, don’t you?”

He nodded. “We can leave tomorrow morning.”

“It’s settled!” Giovanni clapped his hands and turned to Daniel. “Dr. Weber, would you care to join us? There are plenty of guest rooms and food.”

“Yes, that’s very generous,” the slender man said as he finished packing up his spectrometer. “I’d appreciate some time with Dr. Ferraro.”

Antonio grabbed my waist again, but with only one good hand, I could have easily spun out of his grip. That would make more of a scene, so I stayed close. “Tonight, we dine, my love. For tomorrow, we return to the bakery for breakfast and head to Mario’s.”

Chapter 41

Antonio

“Andthenhesaid—”Cristian laughed, long and loud, slapping the dining table.

I finished with him, tears streaming down my cheeks. “—in case I get a hole in one!”

We raised our glasses and took another mouthful of wine.

Samantha sat stone-faced next to us.

“Bella, he was a golfer. Two pairs of pants. You know, what if he got a hole in—”

“Yeah, I understand,” she said with a yawn. “I just can’t believe you two are still going at this hour.”