Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Oh my gosh, these are so cute.”
“You made us crawl around pretending we were unicorns.” I rub my hand up and down her arm while chuckling. “Your father was laughing so much he struggled to take the photos, which only pissed off Diego more.”
Haven moves on to the next photo, which is of Mr. and Mrs. Messina sitting outside on lawn chairs.
“My parents.” When she wipes at her face, I realize she’s crying, and I press a kiss to her temple.
“Your father’s name was Corrado Messina,” I tell her while she continues to look through the pictures.
When she looks at one of her father holding her and her mother pressing a kiss to her cheek, her breath catches in her throat. “Leo, I remember this! I think it was my birthday. There was a pink unicorn cake.”
My eyes dart to her face, and I’m hit with a burst of relief and happiness that she hasn’t forgotten her family completely. “It was your sixth birthday, a month before the attack.”
“I remember my parents,” she sobs, and as she presses the photo to her chest and begins to cry, I hold her tightly and drop kisses in her hair. Her voice breaks over the words as she says, “I want to remember everything.”
“I wish I could give you all my memories,” I whisper.
“Tell me more. I want to know everything.”
“One day after school, when Diego and I got home, your mother was sitting on the floor crying. We thought she had fallen and hurt herself, but she was upset because you’d just taken your first step, and by the time she grabbed the camera, you sat down and she missed her chance to take a photo.”
While Haven continues looking through all the pictures, I slip off the island and start preparing the food.
I let out a chuckle when a memory pops into my mind. “There was a morning when you walked in on your parents having sex. Diego was so grossed out. It was up to me to drag you out of their bedroom while they were shouting for you to get out.” I start to laugh. “You were so worried because you thought your dad was stuck inside your mom, and you wanted to help pull them apart.” I glance at Haven. “Your parents couldn’t look me in the eye for a whole month and kept apologizing.”
“Did you see them butt naked?”
I nod while another chuckle escapes me. “I can laugh about it now, but back then it was the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
Haven’s smiling as she listens to me, so I continue telling her story after story while I prepare the food.
When I set the plates down on the marble counter, she jumps off and takes a seat on the stool beside me.
We eat for a little while, and after I take a sip of water, I say, “I’m sorry I terrified you those first two days I brought you here.”
Her eyes meet mine. “You’re going to have to grovel for the rest of our lives.”
I nod, prepared to do anything she wants.
Haven tilts her head and stares at me for a few seconds before she says, “Maybe I’m an idiot, but I forgive you.”
My eyebrow lifts. “Really?”
She rolls her eyes and gives me a playful smile. “Yeah. It’s probably the great sex and multiple orgasms that twisted my arm.”
“Oh, if that’s the kind of groveling you want from me, I'd better get to work.” I stand up and pick her up off the stool. Haven lets out a burst of laughter. “We just ate. Should we wait half an hour like you do before swimming?”
“That’s a myth,” I tell her as I carry her back to my bedroom.
After spending two amazing days with Haven, I hate being away from her.
Even though I trust Edoardo to protect her, I feel unsettled as we step off my private jet, which just landed at a private airfield in Croatia.
Find Nicolo and kill him so you can get back to your wife.
Dante instructs my men on what to do as Massimo and I walk toward the row of SUVs. We’re all already geared up with armored vests and machine guns, so we don’t have to waste any more time at the airfield.
“You look so much better,” Massimo comments for the umpteenth time when I open the passenger door.
“Say it again, and we’re going to have a problem,” I grumble, not really meaning it.
I get into the cab, and when Massimo slides in behind the steering wheel, he places his machine gun on my lap and chuckles, “You look so much better.”
I shove at his shoulder, giving him a playful glare. “Let’s get going so we can kill those fuckers. I’m impatient to go home to my wife.”
“Now you know how I feel every time we take a trip,” he replies.