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The unsure smile on her face had me cupping her jaw tighter.

“Sandro?”

In case she didn’t know how I felt because I was the dumbass who had never told her, that ended now.

“I love you.” The words scraped against my throat because they were words that had never made it past my mouth in all my thirty-two years. Raw emotions churned inside me. “I’m so fucking in love with you, baby. Sitting out here, I’ve never felt more exposed in my life, but I hardly give a damn because I’m with you.” Her eyes filled with tears and they simply slayed me. It was acceptance, love, and happiness all rolled into one. I didn’t know how I knew that. I just knew. “I should have told you sooner…”

“We’ve always known we loved each other,” she whispered. “I knew you loved me differently from how I loved you when I was twelve. But what I felt for you before pales in comparisonto what I’m feeling now. It’s deeper. More profound and fierce. Back then, I loved the idea of you, but now…it’s everything about you. The good and the bad...”

I remembered her tears earlier, and the way they kicked me in the gut returned. “When I saw you cry because I couldn’t simply give in to something as simple as a picnic, I felt ashamed. Like I didn’t deserve you again.”

“Oh, Sandro…don’t, baby.” She cupped my jaw in return.

I gave her a self-deprecating chuckle. “And I’m telling you now, if something means so much to you and I’m behaving like an oblivious dick, call me out on it.”

She sat back on her heels and grinned mischievously, gathering her hands primly on her lap. “Or I can simply sayplease.”

“Fuck,” I groaned. “You’re making me hard.”

She laughed and I lunged at her. We fell back on the blanket, nearly flattening her breakfast.

“I don’t know if I should give you more ammunition, but when the wordpleasepasses your mouth, I want to offer you my goddamned soul.” I searched her eyes deeply and said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she replied.

I gave her a quick kiss because any lingering ones involving tongue would lead to a very uncomfortable time in the park. Bianca was breathless when I yanked her back into a sitting position.

“Breakfast is getting cold,” I clipped.

“Well, something else is getting hot,” she replied, pretending to fan herself.

“You’re such a temptress,” I muttered. I didn’t stand a chance. She grinned at me as she dug into her bacon and eggs.

“Want some of this creamed beef?” I asked.

Bianca shot her signature looks that drove me crazy. “Always.”

It seemed every interaction with her from here on out devolved into lewd thoughts. We managed to get through breakfast. It took a while for my hard-on to go down. Afterward, we strolled through Central Park.

It wasn’t an experience I would do on my own. The only time I went through this area was when I wanted to run a loop. I didn’t mosey. I didn’t stop to watch the mimes or listen to buskers. But doing this with Bianca by my side was everything.

Because it made her happy. It made the smile on her face reach her eyes, and it was worth every step in this park.

Just as she was supporting me in my role as the Rossi boss, carving moments out in my time to spend with her was precious and a priority.

Because Bianca is my priority.

I became boss because that was the only way I could keep her. And I would annihilate anyone who got in our way.

Chapter

Thirty-Six

Bianca

I grabbed my newest strappy heels before I headed out to the living room where Sandro was waiting for me. It had been two weeks since girls’ night out and our weekend in Central Park. Our weekend of discovery, of talking about our hopes and dreams outside the crime family, of being honest with our emotions.

A turning point in our marriage.