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A bunch of cars pulled up the driveway, and the medical team poured into the house. By the time Cesare and I got back upstairs, the medical team had taken Nicky back to his room.

Gia revolved around them, bombarding them with questions. “What’s wrong with him? Did he get injured again?”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Romeo came into my room. Don’t ask me how Nicky found out. He broke down the door and beat the shit out of Romeo. Then Nicky threw him off the balcony.” She turned back to the doctors. “Did he hurt himself again? Is he gonna be all right?”

The doctor used the ultrasound machine to scan Nicky’s chest and then his head. “He didn’t hurt himself—not any worse than he already was. He’s just lost a lot of blood. We need to give him a transfusion.”

“Do it. Do whatever you have to do, even if it means taking him to the hospital.” I turned back to Gia. “What was Romeo doing in your room? What does he want?” I shut my eyes and held up my hand. “Don’t answer that. I already know.”

“It wasn’t that. He wants to marry me.”

“What?!” I thundered. “You can NOT be serious!”

She nodded. “I know it’s weird, but he says he wants to propose to me and this was the only way he could do it without you trying to stop him.”

“You’re goddamn right I would try to stop him! He’s our fucking enemy! His family is trying to destroy us.”

“But think about it,” she went on. “If he wants to make a legitimate proposal, we should consider it, shouldn’t we?”

“How can you even think of considering it?” Cesare interrupted. “I thought we understood each other earlier. You sure made me think you were serious about us.”

Her expression changed when she faced him. They must have gone a lot farther toward coming to an understanding on their walk in the grounds. I shouldn’t be jealous of him for getting close to her. That was what he was here for, after all.

“So, now you’re throwing me off for Romeo Necci?” Cesare demanded. “That’s just rich.”

“Cesare…” She tried to touch him, but he jerked away and turned his back on her.

“I have to go cool off. Tell me when you’re ready to think rationally.”

He stormed off, and she sighed. She rubbed her head and watched the medical team carrying Nicky out of her bedroom.

So, those bastard Neccis were trying to weasel their way into our empire by making a proposal to Gia. No way could this proposal be legitimate. I didn’t care what Gia said. Nothing on God’s green Earth would convince me of that.

She started to follow the medical team. She would probably spend the rest of the night or even the week at Nicky’s bedside.

I caught her arm. “Hold it, Princess. You need to come downstairs to my office. We need to talk about this.”

She hesitated and looked around her ruined bedroom. “I guess I should put some clothes on.”

“It might be a good idea.”

She put on her bathrobe, and I led the way downstairs, but not before she cast a backward glance toward Nicky’s room.

I shut the office door and faced her. “Are you serious about considering Romeo’s proposal—I mean, really serious? You think he’s sincere?”

She shrugged. “It makes sense from a business standpoint, don’t you think? The Neccis are even stronger and richer and more influential than the Terranovas. If I married Romeo, the family would be in an even more advantageous position than if I married Cesare.”

“Is that what Romeo said?”

“It’s true, isn’t it? You can’t deny he has a point. It’s also the best way to stop a war from breaking out. It would cool the Neccis off. We would be one family. They would have no more reason to fight us.”

I took a deep breath, and something snapped in my mind. I just made out with this girl earlier this morning. I could never go back to just being her uncle and consigliere. We’d both crossed some invisible line.

I didn’t know before that the line was even there, but now that I did know it was there, I couldn’t go back. I didn’t want to go back.

“If you are seriously prepared to consider a proposal from Romeo Necci, maybe you’ll consider a proposal from me too.”


Tags: Raven Blaire Erotic