And she holds out her hand for me, waiting for me to make my way up to her. The simple action makes me lose my mind and I’m scooping her up, kissing her cheeks as I make my way up the beach with her in my arms.
I’m well aware at this point that I’m falling in love with my fiancé and there is nothing that can stop it.
19ILARIA
My eyes were on Dante, who was sitting with my friends as they ate the early dinner he had gotten delivered for everyone. He was so relaxed around them, as if he knew them already and don’t have to worry about any surprises.
And my friends were laughing at him, trying to get him to squirm with all their questions but were having no luck.
They liked him.
“Okay, are we going out tonight or are we playing 21 questions here?” I broke up their interrogations, plopping down on the couch beside Sammie.
Dante gave me a look from his chair and I know he would rather we stay here but this is my girl’s trip, no matter how he tries to crash it we’re here to party, with or without him.
“I’m flying back to Boston tomorrow morning,” He is throwing a big party for the Fourth of July at Inferno and I think about how I should offer to go with him, to be there for the big event but I’m feeling selfish and want to stay with my friends.
“What Dante is saying is he is an old man and can’t hang.”
I’m teasing him and his eyes glint with something dangerous.
For some reason I want him to come out with us.
I want to dance with him and feel him against me as I move to the music. I want to lose control and know I’m going to get home safe. I’ve been the mom friend of our group for so long, keeping everyone safe that I want someone to keep me safe.
And I trust Dante to do that.
“What are you doing at Inferno for Fourth of July?” Maddie is making conversation and having Dante’s eyes tear off of me as he looks at her giving a polite smile to my friend.
If Dante wasn’t going to take over the Boston family I would say he would be a great politician.
“We have fireworks that people can view from the roof and a guest DJ coming from Las Vegas.” Dante looks so proud, as he should, about the work he put in and I started feeling guilty running away on his opening weekend.
This is important to him and I want to support him.
“We should go back tonight. If we head back we could get dinner at Inferno and go dancing. Plus Dante will comp our drinks, right D?” Tessa looks at us and I wanted to tell her to stop trying to push us together but my friends had made up their mind about Dante and I could see the traitorous bitches thinking and coming up with plans.
“Did you know fireworks make Ilaria cry?” I was going to strangle Sammie. But for now I settled on taking the pillow and slamming it in her face as she made a ‘oof’ sound falling back off the couch
But the damage was done.
“You cry during fireworks?”
Fucking Sammie.
“Are we going back to Boston tonight, staying in, or going out?” I
needed to change the subject.
I wasn’t going to let them get off track though they all seemed to be biting at the bit to tell Dante some other unhinged part about me. I didn’t need their crazy energy polluting him. I had enough of that to provide him with.
My mind was reeling and they were all making me freak out. I should have never allowed any pictures to be posted. I should have changed the wifi. I should have-
“We’re going to take Ilaria to Vegas for her Bachelorette party slash her birthday. We could do a Jack and Jill. You bring your friends and we can all celebrate. I mean she’s going to be turning 24 and that feels like-”
“Let’s go back to Boston. I’m going to grab my bag.” I was standing up as they laughed at my interruption of Maddie’s comment but Dante wasn’t budging and that was making me annoyed.
I glared at them from behind him and they all smiled wider.
At that moment I had no friends. Just a wild pack of hyenas who were ready to ravage the corpse and any shred of my life that was left.
Bitches.
“That sounds perfect. I’ll have Fransisco reach out and set everything up.” Dante was standing, looking at me with a smirk in his eyes as he moved towards me, a hand reaching for my lower back as we moved towards the room that I had been sleeping in.
We had napped earlier, after I had showered, listening vaguely to phone calls that he was having about his business. My eyes heavy from the orgasm he gave me.
I wanted to ask him about the family, what his role was in it right now. Did he want to do more legit business or was he going to be like his father and just have this facade of being a businessman?
I knew his father owned a ton of real estate. Properties that he kept men that worked for him in and empty places he stored the drugs that he moved around the city.
On paper he looked like a kid from the North End who changed the career path from mobster to legit but I knew that the truth was that he was better at hiding it.
Was Dante good at hiding things as well?
“Will you fly back with your friends? I have to make some calls for-”
