Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry.” He released the apology on a ragged sigh, and his eyes slid closed.
His hand dropped from my face. I grabbed it and pressed his palm to my cheek, willing him to touch me.
He couldn’t be dead. I wasn’t ready to give up on him. Not ever.
“Stay with me,” I begged.
I couldn’t lose Dante, or I’d lose half my heart.
Chapter 15
Luca
I sat on the loveseat Nora had arranged by Dante’s bedside. Although I was content for her to lay her head on my lap while I stroked her silken hair, I knew she longed to shape her body to his. It would be the most visceral way to reassure herself that he was still alive, but Dante’s condition had been too unstable for that.
His private physician had said that he could wake up today, and Nora had been staring at him for hours, chewing on her lower lip as she anxiously watched his chest rise and fall.
All I could do was hold her and soothe her as best I could.
Because I wasn’t the only man she loved; she’d confessed her feelings for him while he’d been bleeding out.
He’d been out of it for five days, and that’d given me a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do. I was at peace with my decisions, but I was uncertain how Nora would feel about them. And of course, Dante had to agree too.
She loved both of us, and I couldn’t deny her anything.
Could he?
Now that she’d confessed her feelings for him, would he become jealous and possessive again, tormenting me by trying to take her from me?
I caught myself drumming my fingers on my knee with my own anxiety, and I forced them to stillness. All I wanted was for Nora to be safe and happy. I’d do anything in my power to make this work between the three of us.
Somehow.
Finally, Dante stirred, groaning Nora’s name.
She scrambled upright from where she’d been curled up beside me and then dropped to her knees at his bedside, as though in prayer. She reached for him, the barest brush of her fingertips over his furrowed brow.
“I’m here,” she promised.
“Nora…” He rasped her name again and blinked slowly, searching for her.
She caressed his cheek, touching him as though he was made of glass. “I’m right here, Dante. You’re okay. The doctor says you’re going to make a full recovery. Just rest for as long as you need to. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Your sister…”
She shushed him gently. “Giana is fine. She’s safe, thanks to you and Luca.”
“Luca?” He grunted my name and jerked. “Giuseppe was aiming at him. The gun went off, and I tried—”
“Hush,” she admonished softly, applying the barest pressure to his shoulder to guide him back down. “Luca is fine, too. You saved his life.” Her tone firmed. “We’re going to have a discussion about that when you’re better.”
He blinked again, intense gaze finally fixing on her. “Of course I saved him,” he said, his voice regaining its usual strength and clarity. “I did it for you. And for him,” he admitted. “For everything I put him through.”
“If you’d died, Nora never would’ve forgiven you,” I informed him.
“We don’t have to talk about that right now,” she said, placating. “You just focus on getting better.”
Dante eyed me warily, then turned his gaze back on her. “Go ahead,” he prompted. “I’d rather hear it now than agonize over it for days.”
She grasped his hand, holding him so gently. “You tried to die on me,” she admonished. “You thought you could sacrifice yourself, and that would somehow make me happy. You tried to my choice away from me because you thought you could decide what’s best for me.”
His dark brows drew together. “Luca is what’s best for you. You can share a life with him. You love him.”
“But I love you too, Dante.” She held his hand to her chest, pressing his palm over her heart. Even as she made her fierce declaration, she eyed me hesitantly. “I love you both, I won’t choose between you.” She reached for me with her free hand, and I grasped it in both of mine. “I know you once said that you couldn’t share my heart with him. Do you still—?”
“No, Nora,” I reassured her before worry could consume her happiness at Dante’s recovery. “I don’t hate him anymore.” I met him squarely in the eye, addressing him man-to-man. “I don’t hate you. I thought it would be impossible to share Nora with you after everything you put us through, but you took a bullet for me. You were ready to sacrifice your life for her happiness. I’ll never be able to forget what you did, but we’re not enemies anymore, Dante.”
“You forgive me?” he challenged quietly. “As easily as that?”
“There’s nothing easy about it,” I replied evenly. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I want out of life while you’ve been unconscious.” I took a breath, bracing myself to surrender everything I’d worked so hard to achieve for my entire life. “You should be the Boss, Dante. I will be your consigliere, if you’ll have me.”