I nodded because that was more than fair. I leaned forward, and he pulled me into his arms, the place I wanted to be most of all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LUC
Iknocked on Summer’s bedroom door then glanced at my watch. We had forty-five minutes before we would leave for the church. According to Emiliana and Lil, Marco, Nico, and Trey were already there, finishing whatever needed to be done. Sofia had mentioned they also wanted to keep an eye on the priest to ensure he made no calls. They trusted him, but with the high-level threat against Summer, we weren’t taking any chances.
She’d been exhausted after shopping, the warning from Mia, and our discussion, and had retreated to her room to take a nap. I’d wanted to lie down with her but was too keyed up by the new threat against her and had taken Enzo up on his offer to go another round in the gym. After I’d showered, I found myself at her door. I knocked again. A few seconds later, Summer opened the door, her eyes half-mast and her long hair messy. She looked sexy as hell, and I fought myself from nudging her back into the room to take advantage of the limited time we had before leaving for the church.
But I’d promised her, so I did nothing—no matter how hard it was.
With a hand over her mouth, she smothered a yawn. “Is it time to go?”
I chuckled. She would be getting ready with the wives soon. I didn’t think she realized she was wearing leggings and a sweatshirt. “Not yet. I do need to hand over Lauralee’s phone to Stefano.”
She sucked in a breath and seemed to snap out of her sleepy state. “Let me come with. One sec.” She retraced her steps inside, and I leaned against the doorjamb, dropping my gaze to the gentle sway of her hips.
She disappeared in her closet then reemerged with the small backpack in hand. She set it on the bed, rummaged through it, and pulled out an old iPhone. I straightened from the door, and she slipped her hand in mine as we made our way to Max’s office.
“Hey, about today.” Summer’s grip tightened. “I’m sorry that Breanna isn’t here. I would have liked to meet her.”
“Me too. But I video chatted with her for a little while and explained why it was too dangerous for her to come. You’ll meet her soon.”
“Good.” She flashed me a smile that disappeared, and the worry I hated to see on her features returned. “Do you think Stefano will want me gone?”
Her voice was soft, but I heard her fear. “No. Everything will be fine.” I’d already given her my word. There was no way I would let any harm come to her. “He’ll want to know why you didn’t tell everyone, though.”
We stopped in front of the office, and I knocked on the door, only opening it when I heard a muffled, “Come in.”
Max looked up from his laptop.
“Summer has something that might help us figure out why the Amato family is after her.”
His eyebrows rose when I handed him the phone. I looked at Summer, conveying to her that it was her turn to talk. She held her head high, and I couldn’t have been prouder of her.
“It’s Lauralee’s phone and I think what Ben Amato was looking for when he tossed our apartment. I don’t know what’s on it because it’s password protected, and she never gave me the code.” She gnawed on her lower lip briefly before releasing it. “I didn’t want to tell anyone about it at first because I thought once you all had it, you would hand me over to Ben. Then as I got to know you, I still had a nagging fear that you all wouldn’t want me anymore.”
“Let me ease your fear on that.” Max took the phone from her hand then put it in a desk drawer. “You’re marrying into the family tonight. Although later than I would have liked, the fact that you came forward with this shows your loyalty and proves you’re already one of us. I’ll get Nico to break into the phone after the wedding. Hopefully, we’ll learn why they’re after you.”
I wanted to take a crack at the phone myself, but they would get it done, and I had other plans for how Summer and I would spend our evening. I slipped my arm around her waist and turned her with me as we headed to the door.
“One more thing,” Max said, and we turned back. “Lil and I have a place in Italy. We want to loan it to you for your honeymoon after the Amato mess is cleaned up.”
“Thank you.” Summer grinned, and I murmured my gratitude as well.
With that, we left the office, and I walked with her so she could get ready with the girls. I stopped at El’s room, pressing a kiss to Summer’s soft lips. “I’ll see you in half an hour.”
* * *
Summer
Ientered with a lighter step after having unburdened myself of the phone, the last secret in my arsenal, and came face-to-face with complete chaos. Hair was in curlers, dresses were hanging in various places, and everyone wore satin robes. Lil saw me and tossed a white one my way.
“Get changed. We need to start on your hair,” she ordered before handing Sofia a dress El had taken off, pins dotting along the hem and a few around the waistline. “That’s the last one, Sof.”
I shut the door then went into the en suite bathroom to strip off my clothes and replace them with the satin bathrobe. I rejoined them and sat next to Emiliana on the couch and gazed for a moment out the large window nearby. “I feel bad I wasn’t here to help.”
She shook her head, her long hair dancing in waves behind her shoulders. A waterfall braid, although tiny, encircled her head. “Don’t. You needed to rest. Besides, you’re the first one of us to get pregnant. We’ll be looking to you to see what we should expect.”