I drag the edge of my thumb underneath her collarbone and watch her shiver. “I’ll get frisky anywhere, anytime I want to,” I tell her.
“I love when you talk dirty to me,” she breathes.
But this time, the blindfold isn’t a prelude to a night of sex-filled sensory deprivation and earth-shattering orgasms. This time, I don’t want her to guess where we are until we get there.
No direct flight from Florence to the Amalfi Coast, and since we have hired drivers, we thoroughly enjoyed our road trip. The Amalfi Coast honeymoon’s one of the top-rated spots in the world, and I know she’ll love it.
I won’t have to look over any grapevines. Answer any phone calls. Flex any muscle.
“Hint,” I tell her, tickling her underarm.
She giggles and squirms.
“They’re known for the best limoncello.”
She worries her lip. “Hmm. Oooh, it’s on the top of my head. No…can’t be that, we didn’t cross any water… no, not that, we couldn’t fly there, no direct flights you said… hmm. Oh! Oh, Santo, did you take me to the Amalfi Coast?”
Grinning, I flick off her blindfold and let her look. “Oooh, you did!”
She claps her hands with glee.
Natalia’s gone back to America with Tosca and Marialena, giddy with a full week away from us where she’ll get spoiled and pampered. I’ll miss her—we both will, but I’m damn near giddy with the knowledge that we’re a small but tight family now—me, Rosa, and Natalia. The family that was meant to be.
The Montavios took the news well, and Sergio’s already hinting at marrying a non-blood relative of the family to someone in his bloodline, to give us a “solid front like no other.” Dario’s up for nomination, then.
Mario’s pacing, the only brother among us now unmarried, and though he swears he’ll never settle down, I can’t deny he looks a bit wistful sometimes. And as a made man of the Rossi family, in the end he won’t have a choice.
Our driver opens the door and another gets our bags as we step into the warm breeze off the ocean. I booked a private hotel right on the water with a private cabana and full coast to ourselves.
“Oh, Santo,” she says, her eyes alight as she looks at our sun-kissed surroundings. “It’s beautiful.”
I went looking for something romantic, and not too far from Tuscany where we’ll stay for a long while before we decide on a permanent residence. The food in Ravello and the little island of Capri is reason enough to come to the Coast, but I knew Rosa would adore the charming little villa and fresh seafood and wine. Me? I just want to be with her.
“I’ve always wanted to come here,” she says softly, her eyes feasting on the turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea. “I can’t believe I never have.” She hasn’t even seen the resort I’ve picked.
It isn’t as crowded in the spring, though it’s warm and sunny. The real flux of tourists won’t come until a few months yet. So the best part? No one knows us here.
“Ooh, will we visit Capri? I’ve always wanted to see the Marina Grande.”
“Your wish, milady,” I saw, kissing the back of her hand.
For some reason, the gesture makes her close her eyes and lean her head on my shoulder. “Oh, Santo,” she whispers.
Oh, Santo.
Two words I’ll never tire of hearing.
“Yeah, baby?”
“I love to see you happy.”
I hold her tightly and breathe her in. “Happy’s an understatement, Rosa. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It feels… damn, woman, I don’t even know how to describe it?”
“Right?” she whispers.
I kiss her forehead and hold her to me again. “That’s a good start,” I whisper. “This is right. Me, you. Us. We’ve been part of a family together, and that’s something that will always be a part of who we are. But there comes a time… when the family doesn’t define you. No matter how loyal or dedicated you are, you have to find your way, you know?”
“I do know,” she says. “I don’t even know if my brothers have realized it themselves, but they all have as they began their own families, all but Mario, but he’ll get there. And I think the two of us finding our independence apart from the rest may have been hard-won, but it in the end, it had to happen.”
We ride in silence to our villa.
“The view’s breathtaking,” Rosa says, sighing as she looks at the sunset on the water as brilliant as blue diamonds.
I’m staring at her, though, with her delicate features and grace, she’s stunningly beautiful.
“It is,” I whisper. “Breathtaking.”
She turns and catches my eye, and for the first time in so long, laughs out loud without reserve. Turning to me, she tangles her fingers in mine and presses her head to my chest.
“I love you. I love everything about you. And I need to thank you, Santo.”