Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
The soft breeze blew Gianna’s long hair into her face and I gathered it up, drawing it to one side of her neck. We were relaxing on a lounger just outside our bungalow, enjoying the evening breeze as it cooled our heated skin. After hours of lovemaking, we needed food and decided to order room service, then call Sophia and say goodnight.
We’d been on our honeymoon for five days and our trip had been amazing. Part of me never wanted to leave. But we both missed our little girl so much and couldn’t wait to hold her again.
Gianna leaned her head back and her green eyes twinkled in the moonlight. “I love you, Nic.”
I smiled with complete happiness and brushed my lips across her forehead. “I love you too, mia dolce moglie.” My sweet wife.
My cell phone rang, breaking the romantic atmosphere and Gianna glared at me. I’d agreed not to work on our honeymoon, but I’d surreptitiously brought along a cell phone that only one person had the number to. I pecked her lips and gave her my best puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry, bellissima. It’s Brandon.”
Her mouth formed a little O of surprise and she nodded, gesturing for me to take the call.
I picked it up and swiped to accept the call. “Brandon?”
“I found her.”
Relief flooded me. “Great, I’ll send—”
“No!” he snapped, cutting me off. “She’s mine.”
Extra Epilogue
ANNA
“Ican’t believe you talked me into letting that little punk take my precious baby girl out on a date, bellissima.” Nic’s arms tightened around me as we stared out the front window. My back was pressed against his chest while we waited for the only boy Sophia ever had a crush on to pick her up to take her to see a movie.
Nic had been dead set against the idea when Sophia had first asked. Not even her tears had swayed him, but they’d done a number on me. I hated to see any of our children cry, and I’d crumbled when Sophia had turned pleading eyes my way. It had taken me two weeks to get Nic to agree to this date, and it had come with plenty of rules. She was only allowed to go if the boy’s parents drove them, one of us picked them up, and they met friends at the theater. “You set it up so she won’t be alone with him except to walk in and out of the theater,” I reminded my gorgeous husband, wrapping my hand around his bicep and squeezing it.
“If his parents know what’s good for them, they’ll walk my daughter inside to make sure she’s safe with their boy,” he grumbled against the top of my head.
I tilted my head back to stare up at him. “You’ve known Stephen since he was seven years old. He’s been sweet on Sophia since they met in first grade. He hasn’t looked at another girl in all that time. Not even when he started playing on the varsity football team as a freshman and girls started throwing themselves at him. He waited until she turned sixteen to ask her out because he knew that’s when you’d told her she was allowed to go on dates.”
“It was a dumb ass thing for me to say,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “I should’ve gone with thirty instead.”
“I’d tell you to stop worrying, but I know I’d be wasting my breath.” I twisted around and rose on my toes to brush my lips against him before whispering, “But your protectiveness is one of the things I love most about you.”
His hands gripped my hips as he ground his hard length against me. “You sure about that, mia dolce?”
“I said one of the things, not the only thing.” I was about to drop my head against his chest when I spotted something through the window out of the corner of my eye. Turning back around and leaning forward, I found our nine-year-old son walking down the steps as Stephan’s dad’s car pulled up to the curb. “What is Niccolo doing out there?”
Nic shrugged, nudging me to the side a little so he could see out the window too. When our son stopped Stephen on the sidewalk, he laughed. “Looks to me like my son is feeling as protective of Sophia as I am.”
I cracked the window open as quietly as I could, so we could listen in on the lecture Niccolo was giving to his big sister’s date. “I get that you’re bigger than me, but I’m meaner. It’s in the DeLuca genes. Remember that if you’re tempted to hurt Sophia because I’ll figure out a way to make you pay for it.”
“No worries, little dude.” Stephen patted Niccolo’s shoulder. “I’d cut my arm off before I’d hurt your sister.”
“Aww,” I sniffled, tearing up a little. “Such a perfect answer.”