Valentina headed toward her husband and whispered something in his ear before she slipped out. Dante’s expression was absolutely unreadable.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Dante said as he stepped into the room. “Give me a moment with your son.”
Dad didn’t budge. I’d never seen him refuse a direct order from his Capo. I touched his arm. “Grab a coffee. You look like hell.”
Dad rose from his chair but still didn’t leave.
Dante didn’t say anything, but his jaw tightened.
“Dad, I’ll be fine.”
Dad stepped back and slowly walked toward the door. Dante nodded at him, then said, “I’m a man of honor, Enzo. I have no intention of harming your son.”
Some of the tension left Dad, and after another glance at me, he finally left.
“The last few weeks were enlightening. And the last few days in particular so.”
I had to stifle a grin. I really wished I’d witnessed Anna saying no in church. That was my biggest regret right now.
Dante narrowed his eyes as if he could see my excitement.
“How long has this been going on?” Dante asked in a voice I’d heard during interrogations before. I was treading on thin ice, but I had no intention to deny my feelings for his daughter.
“I never touched her before she was of age.”
“So you waited for her birthday to touch her?”
“No, I never intended to extend our relationship past professional but Paris changed things.”
If I had to die for this love, then I’d do even that. I wanted Anna. I’d downplayed my feelings for this woman for too long. I’d taken several bullets for her and I didn’t regret a single one, nor would I ever regret a single moment with her. I’d dreamed of them while I’d been in a coma, if you could call it dreaming or hallucinations, and those precious moments had helped me pull through. I’d wanted to add more memories with her to my life.
“I’d like to know what happened. No more lies, and I should tell you that I already talked to Anna.”
He was trying to put me in a corner, and make me worry about what Anna might have shared. Anna could keep a secret, if she deemed it safer to do so, but her mind worked quite different from mine. She might very well have decided that sharing everything would be the safer option for me.
I looked Dante in the eye. “I won’t share intimate details with you.”
“And I’ll thank you for that,” Dante drawled, but I didn’t miss the threatening undertone. I couldn’t blame him. If Anna were my daughter and I had found out about her bodyguard doing the deed with her, I would probably have smashed his face in. I was lucky Dante was controlled, though this might only mean a later but harsher punishment for me.
“Anna and I share a special bond. She’s a woman that doesn’t take shit. She doesn’t shy back from telling me a harsh truth or telling me that I’m full of shit.”
“I’m sure she’s had plenty of opportunities to do so.”
I wasn’t sure if Dante had meant it as a joke. His voice had been hard and dry but for some reason I thought he’d actually been a tad ironic.
“Plenty,” I agreed with a grin, remembering all the times Anna had given me fire for something I’d done. She’d never backed down. “She made me realize what my life had been missing. I needed a woman with a spine of steel and confidence and goals of her own. A woman who wouldn’t take shit from me. I know Anna won’t ever let me treat her badly and I’d never do it. She’s a woman that makes me want to worship her and that’s truly a new experience for me. I can’t imagine being with anyone else, and I haven’t been since we set foot in Paris. Anna is the only woman I want to be with. I want her to be mine, truly and openly. I want everyone in the Outfit to know she belongs to me.”
Dante walked over to the window, a contemplative look on his face. “You realize that would equal marriage.”
I smiled. “Oh yes.” I couldn’t wait to finally bang a married woman I was actually supposed to bang. I didn’t voice my very inappropriate thoughts and decided to keep them for Anna on our wedding night. I couldn’t wait for her surely fiery reaction and the amazing sex afterward. “I want to marry her.”
Dante’s expression didn’t look very forthcoming. This was probably a bit too soon, and definitely too much for him to stomach considering Anna’s wedding to Clifford had failed only today.
“Our family is based on trust. You realize you aren’t off to a great start if you intend to become part of it. You’ve been lying to me and my wife for years.”