by Mona Risk
“I’m glad you cleared the air with him.”
“And I asked some crucial questions. For a change, he told me the truth.” Memories assaulted her and clenched her heart. “I learned that my mother never left me behind. It’s my father who threw her out and didn’t let her see me again.”
“I’m sorry for your mother, and for you, growing up without her.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “As my nonna would say, your mom has probably been watching over you when we were fighting yesterday and before in the ocean.”
Alexa nodded. She’d thought the same. “We fought and survived and won.”
Things were falling in the right place for him. As for her... She released a heavy sigh.
His eyes captured hers. “Alexa, you don’t have enemies at the Blue Waves anymore. Do you still want to go away?”
Really, she didn’t have to go away. Especially when she loved Fort Lauderdale and its gorgeous beach so much, the view of the ocean on one side and that of the Intracoastal on the other. And she loved Dante. Her gaze traced his chiseled features and lingered on his sensuous mouth.
But if she stayed, she’d fall into his arms every time he beckoned, and she’d become dependent again, waiting for him to call or stop by her apartment.
Reason and desire battled in her heart. “I have to go.”
Trying to raise himself on the pillows to better observe her, Dante squirmed and winced with pain.
“What’s wrong?” Alexa jumped to her feet, ready to help him, just after she’d announced she was leaving him.
“I’m trying to raise myself. I’ll call the nurse.”
“No, I’ll help you. Here hold onto me.”
He suppressed a grin, held her shoulder for support, and kept stroking her back while she arranged the pillows. “Now, I’ll pull you up. Is it better?”
“Much better.” He didn’t release her. He kissed her. His tongue careened in between her parted lips with confidence and waltzed a happy dance with hers. When she cradled his head, he moaned. “You see how much I need you.”
“You don’t really need me, Dante. And I can survive on my own now.”
“Of course, you can. Let’s not talk about need. There are more important feelings to dwell on. I don’t want to lose you, cara mia. You’re very precious to me.”
“Oh, don’t worry. We’ll still be friends.”
Who cares about friendship? Dante wanted much more than a friendly relationship with Alexa. Damn it why did he have to be stuck in this bed? He glared at his bandaged arm and growled.
“Are you in pain?”
“Yes. Very much in pain. Here.” He pointed to his heart. “Darling, a hospital bed is the last place I’d ever imagine for a romantic interlude. I had hoped to be on the beach or on your balcony, anywhere but here to tell you I love you. I can’t live without you, my love.” His good hand caressed her cheek. “Ti amo tanto, amore mio.”
“Oh Dante.” Her eyes opened huge, so green, so limpid, so full of love.
“If you stay in Fort Lauderdale, I’ll be at your side day and night. If you want to go to New York, I’ll come with you. If you want to study in Paris, I’ll visit and wait for you to come back, but please promise you’ll marry me before going anywhere.”
“Oh Dante, you really want to...”
“Yes, I really, really want to marry you and keep you forever. I can’t drop on my knee right now, but will you say yes?”
“Yes. Yes, I love you. I was so afraid to fall in love, but I think I can handle it.”
“You can handle anything, my love. Even better, we can handle things together. See I can’t even hold you correctly for a proper kiss, so I hope you’ll help me kiss you the right way.”
Epilogue
Four months later, groups gathered around a flowered gazebo erected in front of the Blue Waves building. The beach bustled with elegant women in short evening dresses walking barefoot on the sand, and male guests in open shirts or printed Floridian tops. Dante moved from one neighbor to another, exchanged greetings with friends, and accepted congratulations.
Not too far away, his sister laughed at something Juan was telling her. Dante snorted at the besotted expression on the lawyer’s face. Isabella had the young man practically eating out of her pretty fingers.
On the terrace, Greg hovered near the bar, a drink in his hand, and chatted with Julia Bairey and Tom Dallen. Dante heard fragments of conversation. “They are both behind bars for a long time,” Julia said. In white pants and black silk shirt, Julia looked as elegant as usual.
“They were such a bad influence on Steve,” Tom answered, his arm around her waist. “Your nightmare is over, darling.” Maybe Julia had suffered from Steve’s dishonesty. She was better off with a nice guy like Tom.
“The bank is foreclosing on apartment 502, and my 1003 is for sale. I couldn’t spend another day in it after that woman’s treachery,” Greg said with a disgusted tone. “Here is the groom,” Greg had spotted him. “Hi Dante, come and have a drink.”
Dante checked his watch. Ten more minutes before the bride’s arrival. “Sure.” A drink would help him stop looking at his watch and glancing at the door every minute. “How do you like your apartment?”
Greg smiled broadly. “I love the 2101. So glad Alexa sold it to me and agreed to leave all the furniture and decorations. I love the view and the spacious rooms. I heard your grandmother and sister are going to be my neighbors in 2102.”
“They are moving to the Blue Waves, next week.”
“Aren’t you going to miss the beach?” Tom asked.
“We plan to visit often and enjoy the beach.”
“So how is your new house?” A curious gleam brightened Julia’s eyes. “I heard it’s a gorgeous mansion on the Intracoastal.”
“Well, it’s my grandmother’s house, but it’s too big for her and my sister. Alexa is renovating it. She’s planning to start a decorating business from home as soon as we return from our honeymoon.” He didn’t specify that he and Alexa had been camping in one of the many rooms while Alexa oversaw the remodeling of the house and helped Isabella decorate the apartment. The exchange had been suggested by his grandmother and suited them all.
“Dante,” Greg took him aside. “How was the trip to New York?”
“Good. Both productive and sad. Alexa met her mother’s friend, heard stories about Annabelle, and collected many of her pictures. Somehow she found her closure.”
Dante glanced at his watch. Two more minutes left. “Excuse me now.” He took off his shoes and socks, left them in a corner on the terrace, and strolled to the gazebo.
“What a lovely location for a wedding,” his grandmother Regina exclaimed from the portable chair set for her on the sand. “And perfect weather in the high eighties. You look so handsome, bambino” she added with a proud look, as she tilted her silk umbrella to direct more shade on her head.
With an impatient look, Dante checked his white shirt, open at the neck, and wiped a speck of sand from his long white pants. He spotted Jay standing next to the priest he’d convinced to perform the wedding ceremony on the beach and joined him under the gazebo to wait for his bride.
At four o’clock sharp, the music started and the guests turned toward the building. A hum welled up. “Ah, here she is.” Dante’s breath caught in his chest and a smile parted his lips at the lovely vision proceeding toward him, all by herself, a bouquet of five pink roses and a single white lily, in her hands.
Dante swept his gaze from her red painted toes, to her tanned legs and thighs revealed by the short swinging hem of her muslin dress. She was simply adorable, her generous décolletage enhanced by two straps, embroidered with gem stones like her top. A ruby cross, gift of his Nonna, was displayed on her chest. Her curly hair cascaded on her naked shouldered and she’d pinned a white hibiscus flower over her left ear.
Instead of waiting for her, under the gazebo, he took a few steps forward to greet her and brought her hand to his lips. “You’re so
beautiful. I love you.”
They walked hand in hand and stood in front of the priest who started the wedding ceremony. “Dearly beloved... Who gives this woman in marriage?”
“I do,” Greg answered firmly.
As they exchanged their vows, Dante slipped on her finger the three-carat diamond ring that his father had given his mother years ago, and they bowed their heads for the marriage blessing. “I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Cantari. Dante, you may kiss your bride.”
While the guests burst out in applause, Dante gathered her into his arms for a long tender kiss. “I love you, Mrs. Cantari,” he said against her lips.
“I love you too,” she whispered back.
Greg clapped his hands to attract everyone’s attention. “The reception will start now. Please, proceed to the terrace to get your drinks and appetizers. Dante, Alexa, my sincere congratulations.” He kissed Alexa’s cheek.
“Thank you for throwing us a wedding party,” Dante said as he shook hands with his former rival.
“I’m the one who should thank you for allowing me to do it. And Alexa, I’m so glad you accepted for a wedding gift the earrings I gave you for your college graduation.”
“I’m wearing them.” Alexa tossed her hair backward, revealing the impressive diamonds. She’d returned all the other pieces to Greg.
“A toast for the bride and the groom,” Juan called. In his position as best man, he raised his glass and wished the newlyweds many happy years together.
The musicians played a slow tune, and Dante pulled his bride in his arms for their first dance as a married couple.
Two hours later, the roaring of an engine interrupted the festivities. “My friends, keep enjoying the party. My wife and I are leaving for our honeymoon. My love, here’s our transportation,” Dante declared, pointing to the ocean.
Alexa spun, her skirt fluttering around her legs. “Oh my God, a Jet Ski?”
Dante took her hand and tugged her toward the beach. “Once, you told me you wanted to ride a Jet Ski, right?”
“Right.” Her eyes shining, she laughed and threw her shoes aside. Her hair rippled in the breeze as she ran to the shore.
A young man waited for them beside the Jet Ski, “It’s ready to go, sir.”
Alexa whirled to face him. “Dante, where are we heading?” Color suffused her face.
“Surprise.” He waggled his eyebrows, but didn’t have the heart to keep her in suspense when she frowned. “To the small yacht I chartered to take us on our honeymoon. It’s waiting at the marina with our luggage. I hope you remembered to wear a bikini under your dress as I asked you?”
“I thought we were having a swim after the reception. Oh my God, you’re amazing.” She giggled as she slipped down her straps and slid her dress to reveal a white and silver bikini that sent an arrow of lust to his groin and had every man around ogle her perfect figure.
The crowd cheered and clapped hands. “Happy honeymoon.”
“Tonight the yacht will anchor in a cove where we’ll spend our wedding night, and tomorrow we’ll head to Puerto-Rico and visit a cabana near a rainforest,” Dante added with a wink, as he yanked off his shirt, lowered his pants, and uncovered black swim trunks.
“A rainforest?”
“Just like in your fantasy.” He winked at her, delighted by the happiness shimmering in her beautiful green eyes. He scooped her into his arms and settled her on the Jet Ski, then climbed to sit behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, he grabbed the handles, and nuzzled her nape. “Ready to start our married life, amore mio?”
As the musicians played their favorite tune, Alexa turned her head to receive a passionate kiss before Dante revved the engine and they sped on the calm water toward a happy life together.
The END
I hope you enjoyed NEIGHBORS AND MORE, and will recommend it to your friends.
A review would be greatly appreciated on the Author’s Amazon Page. Thank you.
http://tinyurl.com/7y4waxg
Page forward for more on Mona Risk and an excerpt from SAILING WITH YOU, a romantic comedy set in Greece.
A word about the author...
In a past life, Mona Risk was a chemist who mixed solutions, dipped her gloved fingers in dirty waste samples, and ran complicated equipment in order to declare drinking water safe for consumption.
When her Ph.D. and work in chemistry landed her international contracts to refurbish laboratories, she traveled to more than sixty countries on business or vacation. To relax from her hectic schedule, she avidly read romance novels and mentally plotted her own books.
Eventually she left a scientific career to share with her readers the many stories brewing in her head. M. Risk likes to set her novels in the fascinating places she visited, from exotic Belarus, and historical France, to the beaches of Greece, the monuments of Egypt and the mysterious Islands of Seychelles.
Her books have received: Top Picks; Outstanding Read; Sweetheart of the Week; Best Book of the Week at various reviewers; and have won several awards, from Best Contemporary Romance of the Year at READERS FAVORITE, to Best Romance Novel of the Year at Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.
Mona Risk can be found at: www.monarisk.com
On Twitter: @MonaRiskS
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MonaRisk?ref=tn_tnmn
Nothing would please her more than to hear from her readers. You can write to her at [email protected]
Kindle Edition, Copyright March 2012 - Mona Ris k
SAILING WITH YOU http://tinyurl.com/7xwp8eo
CHAPTER ONE
Revenge would taste sweet. Yet Stefano Kostapoulos sought no revenge. A sad page of his family's history needed to be turned once and for all. We will forget the past, he vowed as he scanned the one-story brick house hunkered down on a dune facing the Aegean Sea. God, how he hated the old villa that spoiled the beauty of Mykonos Island.
The wrought-iron gate leading to the dilapidated yard opened. A woman came out, a beach bag in her hand, and closed the gate behind her.
Unable to believe his eyes, Stefano slapped his open palms on the railing at the bow of his yacht, and leaned forward. No one had stepped into the Pink Villa since his grandmother Elena became so sick four months ago. What was going on here?
“I’ll...be...damned.”
She was a vision. Aphrodite in a green sarong. Her reddish blond hair cascaded down her back in a glorious mane. Stefano extended his arm in a wishful gesture as if to catch the curly strands flying in the gentle breeze.
Raising his binoculars, he followed the alluring sway of her hips as she crossed the street, ambled along the boardwalk, and stepped onto the sand. She sauntered toward a striped umbrella and dropped her bag on a vacant lounge chair under the shade.
Without wasting another minute, Stefano unhooked his phone from his belt and punched in his lawyer’s number.
“Kalimera, Ted, good morning. I’m on the Athena. I saw a woman coming out of the old house. Should we anticipate trouble?”
“I haven’t heard anything from my American counterpart.” A shuffling noise indicated Ted was searching through his notes. After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat. “This woman may be a cleaning maid.”
Stefano brought the binoculars back to his eyes for a thorough check. Poise and natural elegance emanated from the young woman.
“Too classy, with a figure to damn a saint, and hair about to set the beach on fire. Definitely no maid here.”
On the other end of the phone line, a burst of laughter interrupted his enthusiastic description. “Sounds like you’re already on fire. Take a cold drink while I make a few phone calls. I’ll get back to you.”
“See that you do. Tomorrow we have to win our case in court and get a permit to demolish the dump. I don’t want any surprises. Call me as soon as you have an explanation.” Breathing deeply to calm his growing nervousness, he inhaled the salty air of the Mediterranean Sea and hooked the cell phone to his belt.
Determined to k
eep a vigil on the potential threat created by the presence of a stranger in his grandmother’s house—and what a stranger—Stefano raised the binoculars again watching the scenario unfolding on the shore.
The young woman untied her beach wrap and threw it on the back of the lounge chair.
“Lovely.” The word escaped him with a groan as she revealed perfect curves molded by the bikini like a second skin. Stefano blinked, assessing and admiring.
Aphrodite’s hands slid behind her back and remained hidden for a good moment. What was she up to? She turned around. This time he could see her profile and her fingers clasped on the hook of her bikini top.
With impatient twists, he fiddled with his binoculars. Damn it. It was already in perfect focus. Eyes narrowed, Stefano stiffened and zeroed in his attention on the beach.
Her head swiveled right then left. Was she scanning the stretch of sand carpeted with topless sunbathers? Guessing the woman’s intention, he swallowed hard.
Take it off or not take it off? What a dilemma
She must be a foreigner. Probably a bashful American on her first visit to Greece. No doubt about it. A European beauty wouldn’t have hesitated to remove her bra on a beach where topless was the norm and full bathing suits the exception.
His senses on alert, Stefano stilled, focusing and waiting. Would she shy away from revealing herself or follow the locals’ example?
Her breasts swelled and rose while she seemed to struggle with her thoughts. Her fingers clenched behind her back on the thin strip of material. With a swift gesture, she unhooked the clasp, snatched the bikini top off, and crumpled it in her palm.
Stefano sucked in his breath. Simply gorgeous. His hands fisted, and flexed, and he almost dropped his binoculars.
As if she sensed she was being watched, the woman crossed her arms in front of her, and plopped onto the lounge chair, hiding her magnificent breasts from his hungry gaze.