Deep(99)

He’d be disappointed when she’d taken possession of the bookshop and was working again. He’d found a kind of fulfillment in taking care of her. But as much as Beverly admired his aunt and his mother, she would never be like them in this way—they had both been content to be homemakers. Both had thrown themselves into that role, running their houses, throwing parties, doing charity work.



Beverly’s insistence that she needed to work was a source of both pride and concern for Nick. He was proud of her strength and resilience, of her refusal to back away from this thing she wanted. But he was concerned, too, and not simply for her safety. Though he meant to keep his business away from his family, his family bore on his reputation, and that crossed both lines. She would have a role in the Pagano family, a time consuming one.



Or she would when she accepted his next gift, the one currently being custom-made by his jeweler.



“Do my gifts bore you? Are you going to deny me this pleasure?” He was teasing, as he knew she was, too. She enjoyed his pampering.



“No.” She looked up and him and smirked. “If it makes you happy, I suppose I can bear up under the strain.”



He ducked his head and nipped at her neck. “So brave.” He pulled out the long, slim box and handed it to her.



She opened it. “Oh. Oh! Nick, God. It’s too much.”



The bracelet was clusters of small diamonds, alternating with Akoya pearls, set in platinum. He lifted the strand off the satin lining and took the empty box from her, tossing it on the bed behind them.



“If it were too much, I wouldn’t have bought it.” He clasped it around her wrist. “It matches your dress.”



She swiveled her wrist, letting the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window catch the facets of the diamonds. “Thank you. You make me feel beautiful.”



“You are beautiful. Sei bella.” He turned her to face him and kissed her lips. Then he trailed along her jaw, down her throat, over her collarbone, whispering between every touch of his lips. “You’re strong…Sei forte…You’re sexy…Sei…”—he chuckled—“sexy…You’re the great love of my life…Sei il grande amore della mia vita…You’re my sun…Sei il mio sole.”



Pressing her body to his, she moaned. He moved his hands up her back to the zipper he’d just closed. He pulled it down.



“Nick, no.” The sigh that bore her words belied the sincerity of her protest. “We’re supposed to be at the church soon.”



“We’ll be there in time to see her walk down the aisle.” He eased the dress off her shoulders and brought it with him as he sank to his knees before her. He’d bought her the lingerie set she was wearing, too. Sheer lace in blush pink. It was a powerful aphrodisiac to see his woman dressed head to toe in his gifts.



He eased the panties off her hips. “I want to taste you before we go.”





~oOo~





They made it in time.



Nick had been surprised that Carmen wanted a big wedding. She wasn’t, he’d have said, the type. But seeing his Uncle Carlo beaming in the vestibule, he understood. The wedding was for her father. He was doing it up for his girl, and Carmen was letting him.



The church was completely full, both sides of the pews. The groom, Theo Wilde, was some kind of author, not a bestseller but an award-winner, and it looked like he had a great many friends.



Uncle Ben and Nick had discreetly provided heavy security around the church. Though Alvin Church had been ended at the beginning of the summer, and now the season was near its end, neither Nick nor Ben had thought complacency prudent. The people who had been their enemies had had no compunction about hurting innocents and attacking family events—in fact, family had been their preferred targets. In time, someone else would test the Paganos. Nick was determined to be ready whenever it happened.



In the meantime, he would enjoy life in its peace.



At his side, Beverly crossed one shapely leg over the other. He put his hand on her thigh, sliding his fingers under the hem of her lace dress. She wrapped her arms around his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed her head, lingering there, smelling her sweet shampoo.



Peace.



Carmen had two bridesmaids, Sabina and Rosa, and Theo had two groomsmen, his grown sons. Nick had only met one, the older, Eli. He was Rosa’s guy. The younger son was wearing his tux with a idiosyncratic flair that was scandalizing some of the more elderly guests. His evident eyeliner had caused some flutters, too.



The preparations had been fairly speedy for a wedding of this size. They’d only been engaged for a couple of months. And they lived in Maine now. The Pagano women of Quiet Cove—specifically Sabina, Adele, Angie, and Nick’s mother—had taken on the burden of the work. And Beverly had been pulled in, too.