Page 92 of Thorns of Desire

“Dai, andiamo!” Enzo finally called out. “Thisbaciowill starve us all. End it and let’s go eat.”

I never wanted to forget this.Cazzo, I never wanted to end this kiss. That’s how gone I was for my beautiful wife.

I slowly trailed my tongue over the corner of her mouth and gave her a final peck. I’d never wanted marriage or cared that it wasn’t in the cards for me, and I’d never been happier about being wrong.

I straightened and Athena leaned against me, bringing a hand to her swollen red lips.

“We have to break the glass first,” Enrico said, handing me a crystal wineglass.

“Two Italian weddings in the span of a few months,” Isla said, standing next to my wife as her bridesmaid. “We’ll be experts soon.”

Athena’s cheeks flushed pink and she whispered, “There better be many pieces, because there’s a baby involved now.”

The number of shards would signal the number of years we would be happily married.

We both held the delicate wineglass.

“Uno, due, tre,” I said, and we let it fall.

Shards flew everywhere, glittering on the stone courtyard.

Athena winked. “Looks like we’re stuck together.”

I looped my arm around her waist, scooped her up, and made my way over the threshold of our home as I spoke quietly in her ear. “Forever, Athena Marchetti.”

We proceeded through the decorated house to the dining room where we spent the next few hours. Dinner was intimate and the food plentiful, and I made a note to thank my staff for their efforts.

The formal dining room had been transformed with sheer fabric, white candles, and tiny lights, reflecting a soft glow off the walls and crystal chandelier. Fresh flowers decorated every corner of the room and soft music drifted through the air.

Athena sparkled, just like the diamonds and emeralds on her finger. While her mother wasn’t overly enthusiastic, she wasn’t ruining the mood either. I didn’t think anything could.

Enzo and Amadeo flirted shamelessly with Athena and Isla, and despite knowing it was harmless, it took all I had not to send my nephews flying onto the next continent. Then Amadeo had to take it a step too far, extending his hand in invitation to dance.

“Ragazzi,” I called out to both boys, their eyes instantly flying to me.

“Sì?”

“Want to keep your hands?” They nodded in unison. “Then keep them off my wife.”

Athena rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that going a bit too far?”

I flashed her a grin. “I don’t think so.”

“What if another woman touches you?” she asked, tilting her chin up in challenge.

I scoffed.

“There’ll be no other woman touching me,amorina. You can count on that.” Her mouth parted and her cheeks flushed deep red. “I’ll kill her myself.”

Let that be a message to her mother too.

Another roll of my young wife’s eyes and she shifted her attention back to a beaming Isla.

“Who would have ever thought, huh?” Enrico said, watching his wife as feverishly as I was watching mine.

“We must have done something right, old man,” I retorted wryly.

“Careful who you’re calling old,vecchio.” He chuckled. “Is she happy about the baby?” Enrico asked, suddenly serious.