The Italian Heartthrob: Forbidden Standalone

by N J Adel

  He reached the chorus, his eyes intent on my face.

  And I just wanna lay you down your burdens, all your fears

  And I don't need your deepest secrets whispered in my ear

  'Cause I can hear your heart, your heart.

  The words touched my soul as I remembered what he’d said on our first night together. I don’t need to say it for you to hear it. He, too, could hear me without words.

  The song continued and fresh tears touched my eyes every time he hit the chorus. Then he set his guitar on the stand, let out a big lung-full of air, and stood up. I covered my mouth with my hands while the crowd exploded with applause. His eyes took one glance at the clock hung behind him and then fixed on me. 11:48 p.m.

  He took long strides, rapidly closing the distance between us. I rose from the booth and took the final steps toward him. “That was so beautiful. Thank you.” My voice broke as he took my hands in his grip. Our lips connected for what seemed to be forever, and the crowd cheered again.

  “Can I have another dance?” he requested.

  I nodded, my fingers wiping the last of my tears. We danced silently for a few minutes, our hearts banging by all the things we should be saying, until the countdown for the New Year started.

  “I love you,” he said after we kissed. “It’s the first thing I want you to hear this year.”

  I put my hand on his heart, its pounding making its way to mine. “I love you, too.”

  “Carolina…you said not today and not this year. The year is over. You know what I’m about to do, right?”

  My breath snagged in my chest as I nodded.

  “Would you let me do it? The way I wanna do it?” He grinned.

  I could hear my heart hammering in my chest as I stared up at him. At this instance, just as my love for him was the only thing I was absolutely sure about, I knew exactly what I wanted. “I won’t have it any other way, Gennaro. On your knees, with your hand on your chest. Tell me the best cheap, sentimental things in your repertoire, but don’t quote from your movies. I swear to God I’ll watch them all just to know.”

  He laughed, his eyes gleaming.

  “Come on. Let's see if you can convince me.”

  “Deal.” Determination painted his face. “From that night you said you loved me, I’ve been counting the moments, waiting for the time I can get on my knees,” he smiled as his knee touched the floor, “with my hand on my heart, and ask you just one little thing.”

  My face burned as his hand reached inside his pocket.

  “But first…” He got a paper bag out of his pocket. “This is for your panic attack.”

  My whole body trembled with laughter.

  “And this…” He brought handcuffs to my sight. “No, these are for me in case you decided to run.”

  “Oh my God.” I couldn’t stop laughing. “You came prepared.”

  “Gotta learn from others’ mistakes. I must say I was really risking it with the singing. It didn’t end up well with that Russian when he did it. You dragged him to an orgy at my place instead of loving him back. Are you gonna do that now?”

  I giggled loudly. I just shook my head as I couldn’t speak at all.

  He chuckled, getting a small jewelry box out of the pocket of his tux jacket. Then his gaze locked with mine as he exhaled and opened the box.

  I heard the people on the dance floor gasp before I did. They had every right. The ring was dazzling. Blinding. Beautiful.

  “Vita mia, cuore mio, I’ve wasted half my life making mistakes and being a coward. I’m not gonna do that anymore.” His dark eyes glistened. “You are the love of my life. I want to spend the rest of my days living my story with you, Carolina. Only you. So here I am, with no cheap, sentimental things or quotes from my movies, I ask you, Maggie Carolina Dawson, will you make me yours forever? Will you please, please, please, please, marry me?”

  Without panic attacks or urges to run or dark voices in my head, only one word rang through my heart.

  “Yes.”

  Scene 67

  Maggie

  I sat at the table Mike set on the beach—our beach—while he flipped steaks on the barbeque grill. My entertainment—and feeding—had become Mike’s number one priority on Isola Carolina.

  I relished the view of his ass in black shorts that matched my beach dress as he grilled my food to perfection. “How much longer? I’m hungry.”

  He turned, the gentle breeze playing with his loose curls. “Three minutes.”

  Ambling toward him, I smiled and then held him from behind. “I don’t care about the steaks.” I gripped his ass. “I want a different kind of meat.”

  He tilted his head and gave me a kiss. The heat from the grill was nothing compared to the hotness of his lips. His cell buzzed in the pocket of his shorts. He jumped, swiftly taking it out.

  “Nominations out yet?” I asked.

  He glanced at the screen in disappointment and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “Not yet.”

  “You don’t have to worry. It’s in the bag. I can tell.”

  A pale smile touched his mouth as he placed the steaks on our plates. “How can you be so sure?”

  “I know I don’t have the experience to judge these things, but…”

  He winced as if I’d misunderstood what he meant.

  “…you said it yourself. The critics loved you. Your co-stars loved you. Everybody on social media says Gennaro deserves to win this year. And I was there. I’ve seen your performance. It was amazing. Not to mention the standing ovation at the premiere.” I recalled the premiere night when I’d taken an eleven-hour-flight to spend three and a half hours in L.A., two and a half at the theatre, and one in the limo back to the airport, making love to Mike and saying goodbye again.

  “That was for you, Maggie.”

  “C’mon. That was definitely for you, and in all fairness, for Cassidy, too.”

  He started toward the table. “I bet you’ll be nominated.”

  A giggle burst out of my mouth. “A woman, with only three movies in her resume, nominated for Best Directing?”

  He shrugged, setting the plates down. “You’re the best director I’ve ever worked with.”

  “Liar.” I sat as he moved the chair for me. “You hated it.”

  “I’m not saying you’re the easiest to work with. You take your job very seriously, and you’re a perfectionist maniac.” He took his place at the table. “But you’re definitely the best. You got things out of me that I didn’t even know existed.”

  I smiled, taking a bite of the well-done steak. “This is so good, like always.” Another piece filled my mouth. “When you retire, you should definitely open a restaurant.”

  “We aim to please, Ms. Dawson.”

  “I really don’t like it when you call me that. Maybe in bed, but not like that.”

  He dug his fork in the meat. “Maybe we should change that title soon.”

  I put down my knife and fork. “It’s been two weeks, Mike. I still can’t get used to the weight of that ring on my finger.”

  “Is that why you haven’t told Nick yet?”

  “Hell no. I just wanna tell him in person.” I noticed the anxiety in his expression. “Mike, I don’t have any second thoughts. I know it’s out of character, but I can’t wait to tell the whole world we’re engaged.”

  He held my hand, his fingers brushing against my skin. His lips printed a soft kiss on the back of my hand. “Thank you.”

  “When are we going home anyway?”

  “You tired of here?”

  I smiled. “Not really. I can live here forever.”

  He took a mouthful of steak. “How many offers do you have?”

  “How do you know I have any?”

  He chuckled. “Carolina, it’s me. I know what you wanna say before you say it. You wanna go home so you can take another project. And with your talent and the hype around you, I say you have more than one to choose from.”

  My gaze drifted with the quiet wav
es, not happy with the tone of this conversation. He was smiling, but I, too, knew him. Something was troubling him, and he was hiding it as always.

  Perhaps his nerves were getting the best of him because of the nominations. When I glanced back at him, he’d stopped eating, his eyes somber.

  “Hey,” I said. “I’m not taking anything before Dark Hopes. I don’t think I can take another four months away from you. I’m only asking if we have a shooting date yet.”

  “I don’t think I can take it either.” A line appeared between his brows. “Maggie, I’ve been thinking…after Dark Hopes, I might quit.”

  “What?” I asked in disbelief. “No fuckin’ way.”

  “Well, those months when you were away sucked. I couldn’t bear it,” he muttered. “And I know that you’d never ask me to leave work and come with you wherever you go.” His fork clicked on the plate as he dropped it. “I don’t want a long-distance relationship. I wanna be with you every day. Something’s gotta give.” He shrugged. “I’ve had a career. You’re just starting—”

  “Let me stop you right here.” I leaned forward. “Not going to fucking happen.”

  “Maggie—”

  “End of story, Mike.” I pushed my chair away as I rose, his phone ringing. “Answer the damn thing.”

  “Where are you going?” His footsteps came heavy on the sand behind me.

  “I’m not hungry anymore.”

  He swore as I stalked to the house. Then my phone rang, too. I stopped to see who was calling. Samantha. In my peripheral vision, Mike was answering his.

  I decided to ignore my manager’s call and go back to my room. Mike’s foolish idea had killed every positive thought and vibe in me. I slumped on the bed, took off my sandals, and bent my knees up to my chest. Then I cried.

  “Maggie…” The French door opened, and sultry, salty air swirled into the room. “Are you crying?” He ran to me. “Amore?” His knees touched the floor as he made me look at him. “Why?”

  My lips quivered. “’Cause you made me feel like shit.”

  He stared at me in shock. “What? I don’t understand. What did I do?”

  “You do everything in your power to make me happy, to make me better, to help me achieve all my goals and dreams, and what do I do?” Tears flooded out of my eyes. “Make you wanna sacrifice the only thing that you love. Make you miserable. Suck the life out of you.”

  “No, vita mia. You got this all wrong,” he said. “When I said I’d quit I wasn’t making a sacrifice. I’m doing it because I know I’ll be happier that way.”

  “How? How?!”

  “Before you, all this, the success, the fame, the goals, the dreams, the ambition, was all I had. But now, it’s lost its value. It’s shit compared to how I feel when I’m with you, touching you, feeling you here next to me. That’s how happy you make me feel, Maggie. Everything else is nothing when I can have you.”

  “I’m supposed to make you better, too. Not the opposite.” I tasted the salt from my tears as they dripped across my lips. “You’re finally starting to live up to your potential and you wanna…” My voice cracked.

  “You’re not listening. You do make me better. A year ago, I was stuck in an endless circle, and you got me out of it. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the contest or Mondo M or Black Sheep. From the day I told Andrea to bring me different movies to the night I declared my love for you on TV and stopped being a sleazy fucker, it’s all been for you and because of you.”

  “Mike, please…”

  “I am only a better man today because you’re with me.” A small smile tugged the corners of his lips. “Remember that night when you told me I needed therapy?”

  I nodded. “And you never went.”

  “Because I don’t need it anymore. You are my therapy, Maggie.”

  “Like hell I am! When you want to quit because of me, then you do need therapy.”

  He sighed. “Look, if it hurts you this much, I won’t do it. I’ll take projects when you’re free to come with. Or I’ll just work exclusively with you. How about that?”

  I snorted in response, my tears wouldn’t stop.

  “Carolina, please stop crying.” He pulled me into a comforting embrace. “When I see your tears I feel like I’m not a man.”

  “Promise me you won’t quit. No matter what.”

  “Will it make you stop crying?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I promise.”

  I pulled him tighter, and then crushed my lips to his. “I love you.”

  He smiled, running his thumbs under my eyes as my phone vibrated. “You should take this call.”

  “No.” I wasn’t in the mood to do anything or talk to anyone.

  “Trust me.”

  I looked at him in wonder. “What is it?”

  “Just answer.”

  I huffed, grabbed the damn phone, and turned the speaker on. “Samantha, this is not a good time.”

  “Well, it’s about to be. The nominations are out,” the manager said.

  My heart skipped a beat. My eyes flicked at Mike as his lips were stretching into a grin. “Best Actor, right? I fucking knew it!” I squealed and crushed my mouth to Mike’s again.

  “That and two more actually,” Samantha said.

  My mouth fell open. “Oh my God.” I bent my legs under me. “Let me guess, Cassidy for Best Supporting, too?”

  “You guessed right,” the manager replied.

  “What’s the third?” I looked at Mike, who winked at me.

  “Best Directing.”

  I felt all the blood rush out of my body and then pump back in all at once. “HOLY FUCK!”

  “Congratulations, Kid. You’re the sixth woman ever nominated in the category,” Samantha said.

  I yelped sounds only dogs could hear as I stood on the bed, glancing down at Mike. “Did you hear that?! Did you fucking hear that?!”

  He broke into laughter as I started jumping on the bed. “Si, amore. I heard.”

  “Ah…Gennaro, don’t let her hurt herself,” Samantha said.

  He grabbed my legs and brought me down to his lap. “Don’t worry. I got her.”

  “You both realize you need to come back to do press?”

  “Not now, Sam. We got something more important to do.” I peeled my dress off my body and got Mike out of his shorts. His dick was already hard, and I moaned loudly as I took him inside me.

  “Dear God. You guys are really doing it while I’m on the… Okay. See ya.”

  Scene 68

  Maggie

  ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY DAY 10 A.M.

  I walked down the hallway of the new floor of Dad’s company quarters. At the reception, they told me he’d moved his office to the top floor—this floor. The spacious atrium and travertine floors were breathtaking, illuminated by natural light coming through floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights.

  I moved past the few faces working on a Sunday, not seeing any of my past workmates, until I reached Dad’s outer reception area.

  Anna, Dad’s secretary, rose from behind the counter. “Maggie,” she sang. “We haven’t seen you in ages.” Her large eyes dropped, studying through my black and red winter dress and black boots. “You look amazing. Nice tan!”

  “Thank you.” I smiled.

  “How’s Hollywood treating you, girl? I’ve seen Black Sheep, by the way. Marvelous. Can I have your autograph?” She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the countertop and pushed them in my face.

  “Sure.” I signed the colored piece of paper, and before Anna could open her mouth again, I asked, “Is Dad free?”

  “He’s wrapping up a meeting. “Anna’s eyes fell wide on the rock on my finger. “OMG, did you get engaged?”

  “Could you keep it down, please?” I looked around to see if anyone was listening. “I haven’t told anyone just yet. I want Dad to be the first to know.”

  “Of course. Are you announcing it at the Oscars tonight?” Anna looked out of breath. “That’s so excitin
g. Congratulations.” She pulled me into a hug.

  “Thank…you.” I twisted my lips. The whole company would know about my engagement in seconds. The woman was a walking chatterbox.

  Large metal doors separating Dad’s office from the outer reception area opened, and he emerged behind several men in suits stepping out of the room. He smiled when he saw me and motioned for me to come inside.

  “Good to see you, Anna.” I stepped away from the counter and walked into his office, a corner suite with seamless windows and polished marble floor gleaming in the full sun.

  He hugged me and closed the door. “That’s a nice surprise. When did you get back from Belize?”

  “Three weeks ago,” I answered. “Are you busy?”

  “Uh…yes, but I think I can spare a few minutes for my daughter, whom I haven’t seen in six months.” He adjusted his gray tie on his burgundy dress shirt as he sat down on a couch. “Sit.”

  I smiled sheepishly. “I’ve been trying to see you since I got back, but you were out of town.”

  “You know me. Work, work, work. I can’t even get a Sunday off, and I have to go on another business trip to Dubai tonight.”

  “There’s something that I need to tell you before you hear it from the news.”

  “If you mean the Oscars, it’s too late. I already know. Congratulations. I understand how big that is.”

  I chuckled, taking a seat next to him, the leather cold on my back. “Actually—”

  “I’m also not blind.” He took my hand, letting out a long breath. “Mike?”

  There was an uneasy look in his eyes that made me swallow. “Yes. Who else?”

  He nodded, pursing his lips. “Is there anything I can say to change your mind?”

  “What?” My brows hooked so tight it hurt. Where the hell was that coming from? “Since when don’t you approve of Mike? He’s your friend.”

  “He’s your mother’s friend, not mine. I never liked the guy. I just put up with him being in our life.”

  I blinked, my head spiraling. “That’s… I don’t know what to say.”