Under Pressure(59)

During one of their planning sessions, Bella had offered up a hefty portion of her savings for the down payment on the property only to have Jason nonchalantly announce that he had already purchased the building.

At first Bella had been furious with him for stepping in to take control.

Gio, being Gio, had simply shrugged, stating that the building was in her name so there was no reason for concern with a casual indifference only a pure-bred Italian male could manage.

Bella was not so calm about it. She had gotten up from the table and gone into the bedroom, slamming the door in anger before she exploded.

Jason had quickly followed, knowing enough to try to explain.

Bella tried to make him understand that it was important to her to feel that he wasn’t doing things like this behind her back, without her participation. She wasn’t with him for his money, and it wasn’t right that he should pay for her business. If this was to be her future, she needed to do her part, not have him do it for her.

Jason had apologized for not telling her, but he refused to apologize for wanting to do something to please her. He had more money than he could spend in three lifetimes, and it was ridiculous for her to spend her savings on something when he could purchase it for her. He was frustrated and knew that he had pushed her buttons again, but as his wife his money was hers.

Hell, everything he had was hers.

Bella’s anger drained as she watched him kick the bed in frustration with an adorable pout on his face. He growled and grumbled about how much he loved her and that he would damn well spend as much money on her as he pleased. She listened to him as he launched into a lecture on why he had done what he did, and she found it impossible to hold on to her anger. She ended up laughing as she pulled him down to her, and they made up in a spectacular way. How could she stay mad at him when he wanted to give her the world?

The plans moved along so rapidly that she could hardly believe that her longtime dream was finally becoming reality. They had met with a contractor last week to start the planning for the renovations, and a few days ago Jason surprised her with an introduction to the best wedding planner in the city. He was anxious to get married, and she laughed at his expression when the wedding planner had suggested a year from now for the date. His fierce frown had flustered the consultant, and Bella had quietly ordered him to stop scaring the poor woman.

She was in agreement with Jason though. There was no way in hell she was going to wait a whole year to become his wife. Even though it would take longer to plan the wedding she had in mind, her plans immediately changed when she saw the disappointment he couldn’t hide. Determined for both of them to be happy, she suggested having a Christmas wedding. The brilliant smile Jason gifted her with was worth changing her own plans. With the wedding coordinator’s help and Jason’s extravagant wealth, a small wedding would be easy to pull off even if they only had a few months to plan it.

There had been no sign of Victor for weeks now, and everything had been quiet. Bella knew he was still out there, but refused to live in fear any longer. Her parents loved their time in Italy, but wanted to come home although Jason felt it was safer for them to stay away for a little while longer. They backed down when Jason told them it was easier to protect Bella with them away, but they had made it clear that no matter what, they would be home for Thanksgiving and in time to celebrate with the family.

Her mother had cried tears of joy when Bella told them she was engaged, and her papa’s voice had been suspiciously rough with emotion as he wished the couple happiness.

Besides that, life had to move on. As a celebration the women had decided to use Tara’s birthday present that Bella and Liz had gotten her, a day at the spa. Tara and Liz were already stripping out of their clothes, talking about the upcoming Halloween party at Moretti’s, but Bella had yet to undress.

Bella knew that she had nothing to be nervous about since her two best friends knew about her scars, but she still hesitated. She pulled off her jeans and folded them neatly, placing them on the shelf of the locker. Next to her, Tara whipped off her shirt and shoved it in her own locker. The sight had Bella’s eyes going wide.

Oh my God, are those bullet wounds?

Bella couldn’t help but stare at the two round telltale scars on Tara’s torso and had to muffle her startled cry when Tara turned so she could see the faint signs of long scars marring the golden flesh on Tara’s back.

Tara’s head turned, and their eyes met. A million thoughts were spoken without saying a word. Shame overwhelmed Bella as she felt silly worrying about her own scars when her friend stood proud amongst her many battle wounds.