“Nico?”
The door to the supply room opened. “Marco?” she called.
Marco walked up to her in silence, so focused. His hair had been freshly washed and his face shaven, but she didn’t miss the dark circles under his eyes. Had he been as miserable as she? “Why did you decide to sell the shop?” he asked.
She switched her weight from foot to foot. Why did he care? Yet, he had come to see her, so maybe her selling it impacted him in a greater way. Or, he was just thanking her with the flowers? He could have had someone send those to her. Money didn’t mean much to him. She tried to tell herself not to expect much from him. That didn’t ease the throbbing at the base of her throat.
“It didn’t seem right to keep it. Before our trip, our deal, I wanted to save the salon at all costs. Then, after you left me that way, it dawned on me that if I had to do so much to keep the salon, then maybe I should use it as a lesson in letting go.”
“You don’t have to let go. I told my brother I’ll raise hell if he buys it from you.”
She clamped her lips. She could take advantage of his generosity, but the idea of creating brand new memories seduced her. Saying goodbye to the place that had made her childhood and young life so happy wouldn’t be easy, but she needed to face reality. She wasn’t a savvy businesswoman. She was a talented hairdresser who would love to have more time to learn her craft without worrying about financial overheads. “That’s my decision. Not yours.”
“True. I just needed to make sure the decision has been yours all along, and no one convinced you to sell it.”
She clapped her hands together. “Well, now you know it. Your conscience is clear. What are you doing here anyway?”
“I’m here for you, Lily.”
She shook her head, confused. Did he mean he wanted them to be friends? She wasn’t ready to be buddies with him—she never would be. “You made it clear there’s no place in your life for me, that I’d be better off without you.”
“You see, maybe I was right. You can be better off without me, but I’m no good without you. I’ve fallen for you, and it took me long enough to understand that feeling made me stronger, not weaker.”
Did he just say he loves me? Her head spun, and she clutched the back of the chair for support. “What makes you think I’ll believe you? Or you won’t change your mind tomorrow?” she asked, proud of herself for giving him a hard time when instinct willed her in his arms.
“I won’t change my mind.” He took a velvety box from his pocket and opened it to her. “I’m offering you a different contract, with a lifetime of commitment.”
She glanced at the diamond ring sparkling in the box. She’d returned the engagement ring he bought her in Italy and the necklace his grandmother gave her via courier, but this was a different one. “Why another one?”
“Because there is nothing false about what I’m proposing. From the beginning, everything needs to be new and honest.”
She worried her bottom lip. A strand of excitement moved through her. Was this really happening after all? He loved her…and wanted to be with her forever. “Will it include hot sex?”
“Daily. Some days, hourly. It’ll also include partnership, friendship, and lots of sharing.”
“When you put it like that.”
“I don’t deserve your love, but I’ll do everything in my power to earn it. I’ll fight for it with everything I’ve got.”
“How about starting right now?”
He kissed her, and for minutes their mouths worked together, their tongues stroking each other with reckless abandon. Oh, how she’d missed him… She plastered her body to his, and she caught a whiff of his manly scent—a scent she’d inhale, now, every day of her life.
He pulled her into the supply room and closed the door behind him. She chuckled. A few of the products she hadn’t boxed fell to the floor, but she didn’t care. She linked her arms around his neck, and he lifted her legs so she wrapped them around his torso.
“I told you once I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over you,” he said, placing her above the sink. She fumbled to open the buttons of his shirt, settling for yanking it open, the buttons flying in the air. “I want to get inside you, on top of you, under you, but never, ever, over you.”
She snatched him closer and lifted her head to lock their lips. The familiar need that came whenever she was around him poked at her, her insides burning for him. A moan made its way up her throat, but he swallowed it, their craving for each other only letting them catch their breath every so often.
Marco disengaged the kiss to stare deep in her eyes. Heat coiled at the pit of her stomach, but also a much more permanent feeling—happiness. “I love you, Lily Jenkins.”
“I love you, too, Marco,” she said, knowing he was the one thing she’d never let go.
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About the Author
Carmen Falcone learned at an early age that fantasizing about fictional characters beat doing math homework any day. Brazilian by birth and traveler by nature, she moved to Central Texas after college and met her broody Swiss husband, living proof that opposites attract. She found in writing her deepest passion and the best excuse to avoid the healthy lifestyle everyone keeps talking about. When she is not lost in the world of romance, she enjoys spending time with her two kids, being walked by her three crazy pugs, reading, catching up with friends, and chatting with random people in the checkout line.
Also by Carmen Falcone
A Vengeful Affair
A Night of Misbehaving
Kidnapping the Brazilian Tycoon
A Weekend of Misbehaving
Brazilian Revenge
Brazilian Capture
Brazilian Surrender
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