“Aria and Luca are out to lunch, and Gianna and Matteo will spend the day on the boat. We’ll leave the house to us.”
Romero looked conflicted, but when I pressed my core against his crotch, I knew I had him. He was already hard.
With a growl, he lowered himself onto me. Our lips found each other eagerly. After a few minutes of heated kissing and roaming hands, Romero withdrew. “It’s too risky to have sex out here,” he said.
“I know, but there are other things we can do,” I said, before pulling Romero’s head down again for another kiss.
He didn’t protest again, which may also have had something to do with the fact that I was rubbing his erection through his pants. For some reason, making out with Romero in the middle of the living room made things more real between us, as if we could be an official couple and not just something that had to happen in the secrecy of darkness .
My lips were chapped from Romero’s kiss, but I liked it.
Romero slipped his hand under my T-shirt and slipped his fingers under the cup of my bra, finding my nipple. I gasped and got up from the couch. Romero kissed me even harder. I swung my leg over his lower back, pulling him even harder against me. I couldn’t wait to feel him without his clothes between us. Maybe I could have convinced him to risk a quickie in the living room .
A door slammed and footsteps sounded, but there was no time to react before Aria appeared in the living room area. “Lily, I-” She closed her lips tightly and froze, as did Romero and I.
Romero pulled his hand out from under my shirt and quickly sat up. He held his arms in a way that should have hidden his erection, but I doubted he was teasing Aria. My eyes scanned the area behind her back, but Luca was not there. That was the only good thing about our situation.
No one said anything for a long time. I tried to put my bra back on and straighten my hair, but I couldn’t because my hands were shaking. “This is not what it looks like,” I said, but I stopped when I realized how stupid that sounded.
Aria raised her eyebrows as if she was thinking exactly the same thing. “That’s why I didn’t want you to be alone with her, Romero. I knew this would happen!”
“You make it sound like you had nothing to do with it.
It wasn’t just Romero’s doing,” I said, but Aria hardly paid attention to me. She was staring at Romero. “Why did you come back anyway ? Shouldn’t you be having lunch with your husband?”
“Are you blaming me for this?” asked Aria incredulously. “Luca got a call that there was trouble in one of the clubs. Something with one of the Russian subchiefs, so he left me in the driveway and headed straight to New York. You’re lucky he didn’t come .”
“If you tell Luca,” Romero began but Aria interrupted him. “I won’t tell him,” she said.
Romero helped me to my feet. “He is your husband.
You owe him the truth.”
What was he doing? Was he going to be in trouble if Luca found out, and if Luca told my father? I gave Romero a confused look but he didn’t react. Then another thought occurred to me. Maybe he wanted people to find out. Maybe he hoped Luca would approve and find a way to get my father to accept a union between Romero and me.
Hope flared up inside me.
“Lily, can I talk to you privately, please?” asked Aria.
I nodded, even though my stomach had turned in anxiety. Aria was my sister. I loved and trusted her, but Romero was right. She was also the Chief’s wife, and I wasn’t sure where her loyalties lay. I followed her to the dining room and then to the kitchen. She said nothing until we were both sitting on bar stools.
“How long has this been going on?” she asked. God, she even looked like a Chief’s wife, so adult and responsible.
“For a while. Almost since I came to New York,” I admitted . There was no point in lying anymore. And I actually wanted to talk to her about it. Romero and I had been keeping it a secret for almost three months.
Aria nodded slowly, her eyes full of concern. “I should have known. Sometimes I thought I saw you exchanging those secret glances that only lovers know how to do, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, if he expected me to say anything. “We tried to hide it.”
“Of course you did!” whispered Aria abruptly. “Oh Lily.
This is bad, you know that, right? If Dad finds out, all hell will break loose. You’ll be in trouble, and not only that.
Father may very well start a war over this. After all, Luke promised to keep you safe while you were in New York, and having one of his men have a relationship with you is definitely a violation of that promise.”
“Relationship?” I said offended. What Romero and I had was much more than that. “You make it sound like it’s just about sex.”
Aria opened her eyes wide. “I didn’t mean it that way, but .
wait a second. Please tell me you haven’t slept with him yet.” Her expression was so pleading and anxious that I almost thought I was lying to her.
I bit my lip. “I really love him, Aria.”
“So you slept with him,” she said softly. She made it sound like it was the end of the world.
I nodded, “And I don’t regret it.” I was so glad to have shared that moment with Romero. I wanted to share so much more with him. Every time I had slept with him in the last few weeks, I had gotten closer to him, even though I didn’t think it was possible.
Aria leaned against the backrest and let go a long breath. “Dad will kill you if he finds out. After the thing with Gianna, he will completely lose control.”
“Mom told me to be happy just before she died.
And Romero makes me happy. I want to be with him.”
“Lily, Dad won’t allow that. No matter what we say, he won’t let you marry a simple New York soldier.
He cannot gain anything from such a union, not when I am already married to the Chief and Gianna to the Councilor.”
“I know,” I said in a whisper. “But … I …” I interrupted myself. I knew Aria was right. I knew it practically from the beginning . I hated that I had to apologize for loving someone, for wanting to be with that person. It shouldn’t be like that.
Aria took my hand and put our fingers together. “Some women can fake virginity on their wedding night. Maybe you can do it too. And it’s not like Father has already arranged a wedding for you, so we can work something out until then.”
“Aria, I don’t want to marry anyone else. I just want Romero. I mean it, I love him.”
Aria looked into my eyes for a long time. I wasn’t sure what she hoped to find there, but I gave her time.
“You do, don’t you?” she said, resigned. “What about him?
Does he love you?”
“He said it after we made love for the first time.” I hoped he would say it again after our first night together, but so far he hadn’t. Maybe he wasn’t the type to say it out loud very often.
“Are you sure he’s serious about you?”
“Of course, didn’t you hear what I said?” I said, but even I could hear the flicker of uncertainty in my voice and wasn’t sure where it was coming from.
“Some men say things they don’t mean after sex because they feel guilty.”
I opened my eyes wide. “He wouldn’t. And if you’re saying he just tried to get in my pants, that’s ridiculous. You know Romero, he wouldn’t use me like that.”
“No, you’re right. Romero is not the type and he wouldn’t risk that much for sex. He has to worry about you if he goes against Luca’s orders.”
“You’re not going to tell him, are you?”
“I told you, I won’t. He has enough things to do, I don’t want him to worry about that too. We will find a solution. But until then, please be more careful.
I’m not going to tell you to stay away from Romero because I suspect you would go behind my back, but if someone else found out, things could really get out of hand.”
“I know,” I said. “Romero and I will be careful.”
Aria tightened her lips. “And there’s really no way you could consider breaking up with Romero?”
“No,” I said without hesitation.
She smiled sadly and jumped off the bar stool. “I want to talk to Romero now.”
I stood up and grabbed her arm. “Why? Are you going to try to convince him to leave me?”
“Do you really think I would do that to you?” asked Aria in a hurt tone.
I felt hurt instantly, but Aria had changed over the years. Maybe it was because she had taken on more responsibility as Luca’s wife, but sometimes I thought she acted too much like a nosy mother when it came to me.
I had no doubt that she always wanted what she thought was best for me, the only problem was that I wasn’t sure we both agreed on what that was. “No. But why do you want to talk to Romero?”
“I just do,” he said stubbornly. “Please stay here while I go talk to Romero. Do me this favor.”
“Aria, please don’t make this a bigger deal than it is.”
“Oh Lily, this is a much bigger problem than you think,” she said before leaving.
Romero I wanted to tear my hair out in frustration. We should have been more careful. I usually never let my guard down.
I always foresaw the possible risks. Today I had failed on so many levels, it was pitiful.
Aria approached me. She looked completely pissed off. And I couldn’t blame her. She stopped right in front of me, her blue eyes shining with anger. “How could you do such a thing? What were you thinking?” she hissed. “But you probably weren’t thinking, at least not with your head.” He gestured in the general direction of my crotch.
My eyebrows rose. This was so different from Aria. ” It’s not just about sex.”
“Lily said the same thing, but what does it mean then? You know the rules, for God’s sake. It’s ironic that I have to remind you.”
“I know the rules,” I said abruptly, getting angry. But Aria was the last person I should be angry with. She was right.
“Lily said you slept with her.” Aria shook her head.
“God, Romero, if anyone finds out, Lily will be ruined. Or are you going to marry her?”
“I can’t. You know that. Your father would never allow it, and if we went against his wishes it would mean war.”
“I know. Then why did you do it?”
“I didn’t push Lily, if that’s what you think,” I said. Did you think I had forced your sister in any way? ” Lily wanted that, too.”
“I don’t doubt that. I see how she looks at you.
She loves you. Of course she wants to sleep with you, but you should have known!”
“I know. What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry ?”
“You would be lying,” Aria muttered.
Indignation ran through me, but she was right.
I wasn’t sorry that I had slept with Lily, at least not enough to not do it again. “Are you going to tell me to stay away from her now?”
“You’d be going behind my back. And Lily would hate me if I tried to come between you and her. You’ve already slept with her, so it’s not like it matters if you do it again, as long as you’re careful not to get caught and get my sister pregnant.”
“Are you going to give me the speech?” I said amused.
“I’m serious. If Lily gets pregnant, then things will get really bad.”
“Let’s be careful.”
“As careful as when I caught you on the couch?”
“I’m serious. Lily is not going to get pregnant.”
Aria covered her face with her hands. “God, I can’t believe we’re having this discussion. I wanted Lily to go to New York so she would have some fun, but not this much fun.”
I didn’t know what to say. Guilt was weighing on my shoulders, but as Aria had said, it was too late now.
“Would you stay away from her if I threatened to tell Luca?” asked Aria as she lowered her hands.
“No,” I said without hesitation.
“Good,” she said, knocking me off my feet. “At least that means you’re serious about her. Maybe we can work something out for you and my sister. Let me think about it.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but maybe you’re luckier than I am. Unless we want war, we should get your father to agree to a union between Lily and me.”
“Gianna and I got married for political reasons. Why shouldn’t Lily be allowed to marry someone she wants?”
“If you were more of a soldier, then maybe your father would think about it.”
Aria’s eyes lit up. “You could become a captain with your group of soldiers. You have worked for Luke for so long, and he always says you are his best soldier. The only reason he hasn’t promoted you yet is because he trusts you with me and doesn’t want anyone else as my guard.”
I stared at her. Usually the position of captain was passed down from father to son. Soldiers rarely received the honor of becoming captains.
“Father hasn’t found a husband for Lily yet. That’s a good sign. Gianna and I were long engaged when we were Lily’s age, so maybe he’s open to suggestions and it would be a good move to improve relations between New York and Chicago again.”
“You would also be a good boss,” I said with a smile.
“I’m married to a good boss, that’s all.”
“You are,” I said. “But I don’t want to be a captain just because you talked Luca into it. I didn’t work so hard for a promotion out of pity.”
“I won’t have to convince him, and Luca never does anything out of pity. You should know that.”
I nodded. He was right. “Once you tell him, you can’t go back. He might not take it so well.
After all, I transgressed his direct orders. It’s still a crime.”
“Yes, you did,” Aria said. “But he loves you like a brother. He will forgive you. I’ll just have to find a way to tell him.”
“I could talk to him. I have to admit my actions.”
Aria shook her head. “No, I can be more convincing than you, and he can’t stay mad at me for long.”
I laughed. “You Scuderi women have a way with men.”
Aria smiled for the first time since she had found Lily and me on the couch. I took that as a good sign, although I was not naive enough to think that I would become captain the next day and that Scuderi would gladly accept me as his future son-in-law . This was going to be a difficult battle.