Page 39 of Single Malt Drama
“Thanks.” I followed her to the door, but went in the opposite direction when we reached the hall.
Tara-freaking Cole, what have you gotten yourself into?My folks had warned me and my brothers about getting too close to outsiders. So much so, we’d mostly kept to ourselves in school. That had ended when we discovered girls, but I for one, was always wary of trusting anyone with our family secrets.
I racked my brain for anything I might have said to Tara that she could have told the Abruzzos. While I didn’t think I slipped up, I couldn’t be entirely sure.
Why the hell did I stay in contact with her?Because I’d trusted her. She was Enzo’s employee. She was a mom, for crying out loud.
I opened the bedroom door and stopped in my tracks.
Nico had stretched out in the center of the bed, wearing a pair of itty-bity pajama shorts and a tank top. She laid on her stomach reading a book with her knees bent and feet in the air.
Cute wasn’t a word I normally used to describe Nico Lazio, but in that moment, she was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
She glanced up from the page and flashed me her Cover Girl smile. “Marco! Did you get it?”
I nodded unable to form a simple word.
Nico sat upright and tilted her head. “You were gone so long, I was worried.”
Call me selfish or foolish or any number of other -ishes, but I didn’t want to tell her about the woman downstairs or Abruzzo’s men or that I’d bribed a priest to fake marry us. I’d missed the way her eyes lit when she smiled and meant it. I couldn’t bring myself to ruin her mood.
“Everything’s great. I should have called. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Kicking my shoes off as I went, I made my way to the bed and plopped down with my head next to her legs.
She ran her fingers through my hair. “Are you all right?”
“As long as you keep doing that, I’m golden.” Meeting her gaze, I said, “This time tomorrow we will be married.”
Her fingers stopped moving. “You spoke to a priest?”
“Yep. He’s meeting us in a small parish church outside the city tomorrow night at ten.” I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and moved her hand back and forth over my scalp.
She tugged my hair, laughed, and resumed the caresses. “Do we need to bring anything?”
Everything that had happened after she’d said yes had gone by in a blur of nerves and frustration. I’d focused solely on the legalities and logistics and hadn’t given any thought to the ceremony itself. “You’ll need a dress, and flowers, and a cake.”
I’d stood beside Gabe when he’d married the love of his life, Maggie, not three weeks ago, but I came up blank with what else went into a wedding.
“I don’t need any of those things, Marco.” She stretched out beside me.
Turning my head in her direction, I said, “Maybe I do. Maybe I want to see you walking toward me in a white dress.”
Where the hell had that come from?
“There isn’t time for that. Brides order their gowns months in advance.” She rolled to her side and rested her hand on my chest. “But there is one thing I would like.”
Lying there with her, staring into each other’s eyes, felt like the most natural thing in the world. I could get used to this. For a while anyway. “Name it.”
Nico whispered, “I would rather our first kiss not be in a church in front of a priest.”
“Did you forget? We’ve kissed before. We were in fifth grade. You had a boyfriend. You were worried he would try to kiss you, and you didn’t know how.”
She leaned closer. “I didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“You tricked me into kissing you?” Inching toward her face, I couldn’t help but grin.
“I didn’t want you to say no.”
“I could never say no to you, Piccolina.” I brushed my lips across hers, once, twice, three times before delving deeper. She tasted like warm blueberry syrup and promises whispered under the blankets. She tasted like my past and my future.