Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Okay.”
I indicated the other direction. “My gallery is up that way, about a five-minute walk.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
We strolled, and I bought her a hat to protect her from the sun. She had little patches of freckles on her pale skin, and I didn’t want her burned. She paused at a window, looking into a shop, and I followed her gaze to a pretty golden yellow dress. Simple, elegant, and timeless, with short sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a full skirt, and I knew she would look lovely in it. I took her into the shop and made her try it on. It fit her perfectly, and over her objections, I purchased it for her. It would go well with the small item currently tucked into my jacket pocket. When she protested, I lifted her hand to my lips. “I want you to wear it tonight. For me. Please.”
She knew I rarely said please. Except to her. Brianna had fast become the exception to every rule in my life, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that fact. I tried not to think on it too much. The implications were too great for me to contemplate too deeply.
I wasn’t ready to face the answers I already knew to be the truth.
As I suspected, she agreed to my plea, and I carried the garment bag over my arm, while the fingers of my other hand entwined with hers. I had never liked PDA of any kind, but again, with Brianna, that changed.
She got ready for dinner, and I showered and changed my suit. She walked into the room, her beauty making my throat thick. The dress hugged her curves. Showed off her legs and her pretty collarbone. I had never found collarbones particularly sexy, but I did love hers. She wore makeup, highlighting her dark eyes and full mouth. Her hair was caught up at the back of her neck, with lots of tendrils hanging around her face and over her shoulders.
“You are exquisite,” I breathed out.
“I like your suit,” she responded, patting my lapels, a light blush on her cheeks.
“I like this too,” I added, stroking the warm skin. I led her to the mirror, staring at our reflections. She was the perfect height in front of me, my body dwarfing hers like an avenging angel. Her soft-colored dress was a direct contrast to my black suit.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I want to see your expression.”
“My expression?”
Her gaze followed my hands as I slipped a necklace around her neck, fastening the clasp and settling the pendant on her clavicle. “Perfect,” I murmured.
She stared at the pendant. Traced it with her finger in wonder. “It’s—”
“A bee. A perfect little bee for my little bee.”
I had seen it as I’d walked to the gallery earlier. It was in the window of the jewelry store that was next to the gallery. I saw it and went inside immediately to get a closer look and purchased it.
She lifted it. Ran her finger over the body and outstretched wings. “It even has a little stinger like yours,” I murmured.
“It’s so beautiful. Are those crystals?”
I chuckled. “Yellow and black diamonds. The wings are inlaid with mother of pearl. The eyes and stinger are diamonds as well.”
Her eyes widened, and I chuckled, pressing a kiss to her head. “Relax. It wasn’t overly expensive.”
“Your expensive or mine?”
“I wanted you to have it. I want you to enjoy it.”
She turned in my arms. “I’ll never take it off.”
“Good.”
The two couples we met with for dinner looked shocked when I introduced Brianna.
“My girlfriend, Brianna. This is George and Irene. Burton and Stacey.”
She was nervous but polite, shaking their hands and sitting beside me, her shoulders back and a smile on her face. Stacey complimented Brianna on her necklace, and her fingers drifted to the sparkling bee. “It was a gift from Dante.”
“So unique. Do you like bees?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Brianna reminds me of a little bee. Industrious and hardworking,” I offered.
“Oh, what do you do?” Irene asked.
Brianna hesitated, and I leaned forward, offering a wide smile. “She’s a master chef. A baker. Her creations are highly sought-after in Toronto. Look.” I showed some pictures I had taken of the tree she had created for Carolina, as well as some of her creations in my kitchen. “Works of art,” I insisted. “And they taste as good as they look.”
Everyone commented, making Brianna blush.
“How did you meet?”
“At a wedding. He liked my cake, and he kidnapped me and brought me here,” Brianna said. “Drugged me and dragged me on to a plane. Smuggled in my cat, too.”
I sputtered into my whiskey.
What the hell was she doing?
For a moment, there was silence, then Stacey spoke up, bewilderment coloring her voice. “Dante kidnapped you…and your cat?”
“Well, catnapped her, really. She is still in shock. She lies on the patio, eating fresh tuna and wondering what she ever did to deserve such inhumane treatment.” Brianna sighed dramatically. “I watch her from the lounger in the pool as I drink mimosas and pity us. It is truly awful. No one to rescue us. He is relentless. Demanding cakes and cookies. Ravishing me all the time.”