“Are you rebuilding it?” I ask as the gates judder open.
“No,” he says matter-of-factly and puts his foot down on the accelerator.
When the car stops, I step out and stare at the massive hole left within the landscape, looking through trees toward the calm ocean and big blue sky. “Oh my God, the extension is gone too.”
“Yeah,” he replies, taking my hand and walking me to where the front door and its creepy knocker once was. “In a couple of days, it’ll look like Blackwater never existed. What’s left of it will be wiped from the face of the earth with no trace of us ever having lived here. It has to be this way.”
“Because of Fabian’s family?” I ask, oddly feeling the echo of our time spent together here.
“Sort of.” He shrugs, lets go of my hand, and places his on my shoulders. Skillfully, he angles my body away from the devastation, putting my back to it all.
Giovanni takes a sharp breath as if he’s apprehensive and then he just stares at me, saying nothing.
“Are you okay with it being knocked down? I mean, this place was your home. Your safe house. It’s where you raised Leo.”
He looks over my shoulder for a beat, thoughtful. “It served its purpose,” he finally says. “And now Blackwater and everything it offered me is in the past. That life is in the past, India. I want a fresh start. And…” His eyes lock onto mine and my heart stops beating. “… I want to be wherever you are.”
Slowly, his hands fall away, and he drops to one knee, shoving a hand into his pocket to pull out a small velvet box. “You deserve to wear a ring of your own. One that has meaning behind it. I committed myself to you in front of my brothers. I told you I loved you… I let them know you’re my everything, and I meant every fucking word. So now, I’m asking you to officially be my wife and I mean that too, because I don’t want to live without you.”
He opens the box where a ring sits cushioned in navy satin, the ruby and diamonds catching the sunlight. I stop breathing, my eyes wide. It resembles his family ring, only this one is slightly more delicate and daintier.
“I arranged for the ring my mother gave you to be redesigned. The jeweler extracted the gemstones and melted down the gold to make a ring worthy of a Souza Queen.” Giovanni stands. “You’re the love of my life. It’s you, baby. You make me want to spend my life in the sunshine.”
“You really want to get married?” I say breathlessly, my heart thumping faster.
He keeps his profound eyes on mine and takes the ring out of the box. “My girl deserves more than a blood-stained contract. We’ll do it right this time. Make it legal.”
“Your commitment was enough for me. I just needed to know it was what you really wanted. You didn’t die in the end… you could have woken up and changed your mind.”
“I woke up and saw you. That’s what I want to wake up to everyday. Doing it properly this time means you’ll have the Souza name, and my twin will have to stop referring to you as his kid sister,” he replies, amusement sparkling in his eyes. “Although…” He bites his bottom lip, leans in, and whispers next to my ear, “There’s something filthy hot about fucking a naughty stepsister, or whatever you are to him now.”
My stomach flips. “You’re a bad man, Giovanni Souza.”
“Oh, I really am. But you haven’t said yes yet,” his voice rumbles, full of heat.
“Well…” I nuzzle the side of his unshorn cheek and breathe him into my lungs. “If I say yes, I need you to promise me there won’t be any secrets between us anymore. You have to tell meeverything.”
“I promise.” He pulls back a little, holds my shaky hand, and slips the perfectly sized Souza ring onto my wedding finger. Staring into my eyes, he smooths back flyaway strands of hair at either side of my face, the contact tender and shivery. “India, my secrets are yours if you want them.”
My heart thrums, his wicked ebony lashes batting slowly as he waits for my answer. “Yes, Giovanni. I want to know your secrets and I want you.”
He kisses my knuckles and offers me a devastating smile. “Want to know what the first secret is?” He snakes a hand around my waist and yanks me into him, our chests gently colliding.
I gasp, a nervous, excited giggle bubbling out of my throat. His head dips and he kisses my neck, his grazing teeth prickling my skin in a wave. “I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”
I inhale sharply, the heat of his breath chasing the goosebumps he’s conjured. “I’m waiting…”
“I’m not into big weddings.”
I laugh at that and run my hands over his shoulders. “Really? I would never have guessed. All I need is a nice dress and you. And maybe André and Letterman there too. That’s it. Though the ring is a nice touch. It’s beautiful. But what will your mom say?”
“Mama was happy for the ring to be repurposed and even happier for you to have it. She likes you, even if she thinks you’re young.”
“I am young.” I shrug. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what love is or understand what my heart wants. André brought me into your inner circle a long time ago. It’s the only life I know.” I inch closer, careful not to press against his wound. “Will you tell me what you and Matheus were fighting over?”
He stiffens.
37
