“I know you will,” I whispered.

***

When my alarm woke me the next morning, I was alone in bed. I sat up and pressed the button that let the curtains glide open. Blinding light greeted me and I quickly squeezed my eyes shut. When I’d finally grown used to the brightness I looked around in my room for a sign of Romero’s sleepover but there was nothing. It might as well have been a dream. For a heart-stopping moment I considered just that. I pressed my nose into the pillow and caught his scent. Not a dream. I slipped out of bed. Of course he didn’t stay until the morning. Romero was cautious, one of us had to be. If one of my sisters walked in without knocking, which had happened before, then we could have been in huge trouble. Still it felt like a small rejection that he had left me alone without a word.

Get a grip, Lily.

We had to be careful or I’d be sent home and then we wouldn’t get to spend any time at all together. This was a good beginning.

A beginning for what? I wasn’t that naïve to believe that my father would accept Romero as a potential candidate for marriage. I wasn’t even sure if Romero considered me as someone he’d want to marry. But I was getting ahead of myself. I wanted to take risks, enjoy life and be happy. This night with Romero was a step in the right direction.

I rushed through my shower but took extra care with my make-up and hair. Then I headed downstairs. I could hear my sisters already laughing in the kitchen and followed the sound. They stood at the kitchen counter, coffee cups in their hands. Nobody else was there but the big wooden table was set for six people, so the men would hopefully join us later. Trying to hide my disappointment that Romero wasn’t there yet, I walked toward them. Aria poured me a cup of coffee and handed it to me with a worried look. “Didn’t you sleep again last night?”

I paused with the cup against my lips, my pulse quickening. Had they seen Romero walking into my room? Or maybe even leaving it in the morning? “Why?” I asked hesitantly.

Gianna snorted. “Because you look fucking tired. There are dark shadows under your eyes.”

I thought I’d put enough concealer on it. Damn it. “I’m fine. I dreamed of Mother, but it wasn’t bad.”

Aria wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Still about what she said to you?”

“Yeah,” I said evasively. “I can’t get her words out of my head.”

“Don’t take everything she said too much to heart. She was sick. It’s not your job to undo her mistakes. She was unhappy at the end but it was her own fault,” Gianna said.

“Gianna,” Aria said in warning.

“It’s not like Mother tried to guilt me into anything. She only wanted me to be happy.”

“And you’re going to be happy. We’ll make sure of it,” Aria said, squeezing my shoulder lightly before stepping back. “Let’s start to eat. Who knows when the men will show up. They had something to discuss.”

“Oh?” I asked nervously as we went over to the table and sat down. “Business?” If I was already a nervous wreck when Romero and I hadn’t even really done anything yet, how much worse would it be once there really was something going on?

Aria gave me an odd look. “I suppose. It’s all they ever talk about.”

“You’re acting kind of odd,” Gianna said as she grabbed a Danish from the bread basket. She scanned my face. “Did anything happen?”

“No,” I said too quickly. I grabbed a bowl and some cereal and milk. Luckily the men arrived at that time. I froze as my eyes settled on Romero. His gaze barely brushed me as he, Luca and Matteo headed for the table. Despite knowing that we had to act normal and not draw any suspicions toward us, his blatant refusal to look my way sent a stab of worry through me. I grabbed my spoon and started eating my cereal. I could feel my sisters’ eyes on me. They knew me too well but I wouldn’t give them a chance to suspect anything. I didn’t want them to have to keep a secret from their husbands, especially not that kind of secret. The rest of breakfast I made sure to keep my eyes away from Romero and instead talked to my sisters.

After breakfast, Aria and Gianna decided to head to the pool again. I went to my bedroom to change into a bikini, a cute pink thing with white dots. When I stepped out, I almost bumped into a hard chest. I gasped, not having expected someone to be in front of my door. “God, you startled me,” I said with a small laugh.

Romero didn’t say anything. His eyes roamed my body. “You look breathtaking.”

I couldn’t hold back a jibe. “You didn’t seem to notice at breakfast.”

Romero met my gaze. “I did notice, believe me. It’s impossible not to,” he said quietly. We were alone in the corridor and standing close enough that I could smell his aftershave. “I didn’t want to ignore you, but we don’t have a choice. This has to stay a secret.”

“This?” I asked. “What exactly is this?” We had hardly done anything yet. We’d kissed three times but that was it.

“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. But I want you Lily. I can’t get you out of my head. No matter what I do there’s always you.”

I exhaled. It felt as if a huge rock had dropped off my shoulders. So it wasn’t just me. “I want you too. So what are we going to do now?” I took a step closer. Romero’s eyes travelled the length of my body again and it made me tingle all over. How would it feel if he touched every spot his eyes had wandered?

Romero moved closer and I dipped my head back to stare up into his face. He didn’t touch me, even though I wanted him to. “What I want to do is take you into your bedroom and rip off your bikini, then taste every inch of your skin. I know you’ll taste absolutely perfect.”

“Why don’t you find out?” I whispered.

“Damn,” Romero muttered. He cupped the back of my head and tilted it to the side, then he bent down and pressed an open-mouthed kiss over my pulse-point before he traced my jugular with his tongue. I let out an embarrassing moan as my core tightened with arousal. I tipped my head further to the side, giving him better access, but he had moved on from my throat and kissed my lips. I pressed myself against him. His shirt felt cool against my naked skin. A noise from somewhere in the house made us jump apart. There was no one in the corridor but it was a good reminder that we needed to be careful. After another glance down the corridor, Romero cupped my cheek again. “You do taste as perfect as I thought.”

I smiled. “You haven’t even tasted all of me.” My cheeks flamed when I realized what I’d said and how Romero would understand it.

Romero’s eyes darkened with what I suspected was desire. “I intend to, trust me.”

I shivered. “You do?”

“God yes.” He sighed, then took a step back. “But we need to be careful. This is a dangerous path we’re on.”

“I know but I don’t care. I want this.”

Romero kissed me again. He shook his head. “I don’t know how you did it but I can’t get you out of my fucking mind. And now this.” He gestured at my bikini. “You’re lucky you can’t read my mind, you’d be shocked.”

“Not as shocked as you, if you could read my mind,” I said with what I hoped was a seductive smile. I turned around and walked away, making sure I swung my hips.