Page 66 of Wicked Sinner

"Especially when you argue with me."

Bridget laughs, turning her head to kiss my palm. "Good, because I have no intention of becoming a docile wife."

"I wouldn't want you to."

We fall quiet again, content to just hold each other. But my mind is already working, already planning how to handle the conversation with Konstantin, how to secure our future together.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand, and I reluctantly reach for it with my good arm. The message is from Tristan: Need to talk. Can you meet tomorrow?

I show the text to Bridget, who frowns. "What do you think he wants?"

"Only one way to find out." She leans up, kissing me, and every other thought flies out of my head as my cock starts to harden despite the blood loss.

There’s no other woman on earth who can turn me on like Bridget does. No one else who can make me feel like this.

And now I have her forever.

—

The next morning, I meet Tristan at a small café in South Beach, far from the usual haunts of Miami's criminal elite. He's already there when I arrive, with a cup of black coffee in front of him.

"How's the shoulder?" he asks as I sit down across from him.

"It'll heal." I study his face, trying to read his mood. "What did you want to talk about?"

Tristan’s face is expressionless. "Your marriage."

My blood runs cold, and I instantly tense. "What about it?"

Tristan chuckles at my expression. "I had a conversation with Konstantin yesterday. He's… pleased that the Slakov situation has been resolved, but he's still not pleased with your choice of wife. He still questions whether she’s more of a liability than an asset.”

This is what I was afraid of. My jaw tightens. "And?"

"And I told him it would be a mistake to interfere in your personal life.

" Tristan leans back in his chair, his expression serious.

"I saw how you fought to get to her, Caesar.

I saw how desperate you were when you thought you might lose her.

That's not just about rebellion or about an heir—that's love. "

I frown, startled at the show of support, and suspicious of it. "Why do you care? Why would you suggest to Konstantin that he let it go?”

“Because I saw what you feel for her. I love my wife, Caesar. I know you don’t know much about me, but what Simone and I have is real.

I thought you married Bridget out of sheer stubbornness, just to give a middle finger to Konstantin and me, but I saw that wasn’t the case.

Nothing will be gained by forcing you to divorce.

” He looks at me for a moment. “And I think you’d leave to be with her.

Which, as much as I’d like your father’s money and businesses, won’t serve anything in the long run.

The Genovese name should be carried on by a Genovese if there’s one to inherit who’s worthy of a leadership position in our world.

And you are, Caesar. I saw that. And I told Konstantin the same. ”

It takes me a moment to speak. Of everything that I thought this meeting might bring, it wasn’t this. I’m oddly touched. I hadn’t expected a friendship with Tristan O’Malley, but this feels like the beginning of one. "What did he say?"

Tristan chuckles. "He's agreed to let the marriage stand, with one condition."

My stomach tightens. "Which is?"

"A proper ceremony. Something public, something that makes it clear this isn't just a quick, secret marriage to get one over on him. He wants to see that you're both committed to this choice. And he wants everyone else to see it, too."

Relief floods through me. A ceremony—I can do that. Hell, I want to do that. I’d already planned to ask Bridget to marry me again.

"Thank you.” I look at Tristan, sincerity in my voice. "For talking to Konstantin, for… everything."

He grins. "Don't thank me yet. We still have to work together, and I still don't trust you completely."

"Fair enough. I don’t trust you completely, either.” I smirk at him, and he laughs.

"At least we're honest about it. That's progress."

The drive home gives me time to think, to plan. Bridget wants to stay married to me, Konstantin has agreed to let it happen, and now I have the chance to do this right. To give her the proposal she deserves, the wedding she wants, the choice I should have given her from the beginning.

By the time I reach the penthouse, I know exactly what I'm going to do.

I find Bridget in the kitchen, heating up leftover takeout and humming softly to herself. She looks up when I enter, and her face lights up with a smile that makes my chest feel tight with an emotion that I’ve never felt before.

"How did it go?" she asks.

"Better than expected." I wrap my good arm around her waist and pull her close. "Konstantin has agreed to let our marriage stand."

"Really?" The relief in her voice is obvious. "Just like that?"

I pause. "Not exactly. He wants us to have a proper ceremony, something public that makes it clear we're choosing each other."

She studies my face. "And how do you feel about that?"

Instead of answering with words, I drop to one knee right there in the kitchen. Her eyes go wide, and she covers her mouth with her hands.

"Bridget," I begin carefully, "I know we're already married. I know we've been through hell together, and I know the way our story started was far from perfect. But I want to do this right."

"I love you," I continue, looking up into her beautiful hazel eyes.

"I love your strength and your stubbornness and the way you challenge me to be better.

I love that you chose me, not because you had to, but because you wanted to.

Will you marry me again, Bridget? Will you be my wife, not because of any reason other than that we love each other? "

Her eyes are bright with tears, but she's smiling as she nods. "Yes," she whispers. "Yes, I'll marry you again."

I’m on my feet faster than I thought possible, reaching for her to kiss her. She throws her arms around my neck, careful of my injured shoulder, and kisses me like her life depends on it.

"I love you, Caesar Genovese," she whispers against my lips.

"I love you too, Mrs. Lewis-Genovese."

We're going to have challenges ahead. There will always be dangers in this life, always threats to navigate and enemies to face. But we'll face them together, as partners, as equals, as two people who chose each other against all odds.

And that makes us stronger than any force that could ever try to tear us apart.