Page 81 of Thorns of Desire

“Because I love you.” My heart expanded in my chest. “I think I fell for you the first moment I saw you.”

“You don’t mean that,” I breathed.

Love hurts. Love is painful.My mother’s words rang in my ears. I’d felt nothing but giddiness and butterflies andwantsince meeting Manuel. I felt… comfortable with him. My heart made funny little flips, but it was always a welcome feeling.

But my experiences, let alone my mother’s, had taught me to question love at every turn. Not sex, because when it was all said and done, that was a physical act. Butlove… That was something entirely different. I’d seen my mother and her men fall in and out of love too easily and it made me question the sincerity of it all.

I wanted to believe that Manuel loved me, but fear and doubt were stronger.

We stared at each other, silence and vehemence in his eyes consuming me.

“Nobody falls that fast,” I rasped.

“I did.” The tenderness in those two words brought a rush of tears to my eyes. I’d written this very scene countless times, never expecting it might happen to me in real life one day. “I know you’re scared of being disappointed, but I promise to never let you down. I’ll always make you laugh, and you’ll have my unquestionable loyalty, because you deserve it all. You deserve a love that calms your heart, mind, and soul—a love that will never hurt you or disappoint you.” My chest trembled at his words. It was too perfect; it couldn’t be true. And yet… I found myself leaning into him, into the future he was painting for us.

“I—I don’t know,” I murmured.

“I vow to you,amorina, I’ll make you love me too.”

Maybe… maybe I’d fallen for him too? Except, shouldn’t I care about him to the point of pain? That was all I’d ever known—with my mother, my girlfriends.

My heart dipped and squeezed in disappointment. I wanted to love him so desperately that I ached. The thing I was most afraid of and wished for more than anything was staring back at me. Would it be bad to snatch it for myself?

“Be mine, for better or for worse,” he repeated. “Mine alone.”

I reached out and gripped his hand, deciding on this day, under the heat of the Italian sun, with a new life growing inside of me, that I would take a leap of faith. That I would throw caution to the wind and hope I didn’t fall. “Okay,” I whispered, smiling softly. “Let’s do it. I want to marry you.” He wasted no time slipping the ring onto my finger, his own grin threatening to take over his entire handsome face. “But if we do this, you’ll be my property too,paparino.”

His coal-dark eyes were alight with steady conviction: he would make me love him.

But what if I wasn’t capable of it?

THIRTY-THREE

ATHENA

The ride back to Manuel’s place was quiet, bags of jewelry crowding the space in the back seat of the SUV. He relented in the end, after much insistence on my part, and agreed to leave two pieces of jewelry forSignoreGioiello’s other customers. Besides, I had exactly what I wanted sitting pretty around my ring finger.

Once the car came to a stop, we exited together and he took my hand. The late afternoon’s rays lowered over the citrus orchard and vineyards, the early-winter aromas permeating the air.

We walked up a slight hill toward the castle, the unobstructed view stealing my breath.

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured, stopping to take it all in.

“I’m happy you like it,” he drawled. “This is where I want to raise our baby. I want you to be happy here.” My chest squeezed, excitement and nerves at war inside me. “Now come, I have a surprise for you.”

Manuel’s driver rushed inside, his hands filled with bags while he issued orders to others who quickly joined him in helping unload.

Instead of asking about the surprise, I closed my eyes and voiced my most pressing concern. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

He stopped abruptly, turning me around so we were facing each other. He stared down at me, his brows pulled together.

“Do what?”

“Get pregnant,” I mumbled. “And it kind of looks like I’m trapping you, but?—”

His lips twisted into that familiar, panty-melting smile as he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I trapped you?” he asked. I shook my head, frowning. “Neither one of us used protection, Athena. That’s not on you alone.” The air left my lungs as he continued. “Besides, it works in my favor because now I get to keep you, even though my declarations of love make you want to run.”