Luca’s eyes sharpened in warning. “My wife wants to meet you.”
I could hear that he definitely didn’t approve of the meeting.
Aria strode toward me, her long dress letting it look as if she was gliding over the floor without actually touching it. She extended a hand, and I didn’t miss how Luca took a step closer to us. What the hell did he think? That I’d attack Marcella’s mother right in his mansion? There were more pleasant ways to commit suicide.
“It’s nice to meet you, Maddox. Marcella told me a lot about you.”
I shook her slender hand and gave her my best son-in-law smile. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Vitiello.”
Her eyes seemed to see all the way into my soul. She wanted to see for herself who I was and if I deserved her daughter. And fuck it made me more nervous than Luca’s murderous glare ever had. I never cared for Luca’s approval. But I wanted Marcella’s mother to like me.
“Are you nervous about tonight?” Aria asked pleasantly. She was definitely warmer than Luca—which really didn’t say much—but she, too, was still wary of me.
“Not really, ma’am,” I said. “Everyone’s focus will be on Marcella, and mine too. All that matters for me is to make tonight a success for Marcella.”
“Everyone will be looking at you and her. It won’t go unnoticed that Marcella chose a former Tartarus biker as her company.”
Former Tartarus biker. It still sounded strange to my ears. Part of me was still a Tartarus biker and would always be.
I shook my head. “I’m not her company. She asked me to join her as a bodyguard.”
Aria gave me a look that suggested I couldn’t really believe that. “Luca’s bodyguards would have sufficed. She wants you by her side.”
“That may be, but as long as she isn’t comfortable to call me her company, I’m her bodyguard. Marcella makes the rules and I’ll follow her, if necessary, to the gates of Hades.”
Aria’s smile became warmer and she squeezed my forearm.
“Where is he?” a boy called, thundering down the steps like an avalanche.
“Valerio,” Luca growled.
But the boy didn’t seem to hear him as he stumbled to a halt beside his mother. He was tall and lanky, with blonde slightly curly hair and big gray eyes. “You are the biker who kidnapped Marci.”
“That’s a rude greeting,” Aria scolded him.
“But he’s right. I should own up to my sins,” I said. “And you are Marcella’s youngest brother.”
“When can I ride your bike?”
“Whenever you want,” I said but amended when Aria’s scolding glare hit me. “After you get your mother’s permission of course.”
Heavy steps sounded and Amo appeared up on the landing in a dark three-piece suit. He groaned when he spotted me before he sauntered down the staircase. “Now I have to see him in my own home too?”
“As long as I live, it’s my house,” Luca said.
“If you keep inviting enemies, that’s not going to be long.”
“Amo!” Aria shouted.
Valerio’s wide eyes slanted to his father whose face was stone. “Let that be my concern,” he said.
“What is your concern?” Marcella asked.
My head whirled around so fast I was surprised my neck didn’t break. Marcella stood on the top of the staircase, an apparition right out of my wildest dreams.
My breath lodged in my chest. She was dressed in a plum-colored silk dress that hugged her curves. Just thinking about how the soft material touched her smooth skin in all the places I burned to touch made me jealous of a piece of clothing. The silky material bundled in front of her chest in soft folds, creating an enticing dip between her breasts.
A diamond-studded earpiece covered her missing earlobe. She looked like a million dollars. She looked like all the money in the world wasn’t enough and would never be. I’d been looking for an earpiece for her as a gift for Christmas, but then I’d decided to give it to her today.
Nothing and no one had ever made me want to be a better man more than seeing this otherworldly woman. Every sinner would become a saint just to be granted absolution from her.
Marcella Vitiello was a woman who knew her worth, and fuck, she was worth so much more than I could ever afford. I had nothing to offer to her, except for my love, my devotion and my fucking life. I’d never considered telling a woman I love you but I had told Marcella and right then I wanted to scream it from the rooftops. Maybe it was hopeless infatuation, or mad obsession. Most definitely both. Fuck, but if this wasn’t love, I didn’t know what else could be.
When I finally blinked again after what felt like forever, I realized the entire Vitiello clan was watching me. I wasn’t easily embarrassed but even I felt caught, especially when Luca and Aria exchanged a meaningful look I couldn’t read and Amo shook his head with a disgusted look. Only Valerio seemed as clueless as I often felt these days.