in a big bear hug. He presses his nose into the area below my neck and inhales deeply like he’s trying to reacquaint himself with my smell. His voice is soft and pained when he says, “This is real to me, Tilly. This isn’t a game.”
“This is real to me too,” I reply defensively.
He pulls back and a nervousness sweeps across his face as he blinks back at me with a horrified look on his face. “Tilly?”
“What?” My entire body erupts in goosebumps because I’m terrified of what he’s going to say next.
He inhales sharply and says, “Mi sono innamorato di te.”
“What?” My brows furrow. “What did you just say? You want Indian takeaway again?”
His Adam’s apple slides down his throat before he replies shakily, “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“What?” I gasp.
The muscle in his jaw jumps as he straightens and repeats softly, “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“I heard that part.” I blink rapidly up at his stupidly beautiful face.
“What part didn’t you hear?” he asks, confusion blanketing his face.
I shake my head from side to side, my entire body trembling. “I just…it’s only been a few weeks.” Is it okay for people to fall in love in a few weeks?
“I know,” he says with a resounding sigh.
“You said you’ve never been in love before.” I point an accusing finger at him, like this can’t possibly be true.
“I know.” A nervous grin teases the corners of his mouth as he watches me process this admission.
“So this is…”
“Real.” He takes a step towards me, crowding me as his face grows serious again.
“Right.” I turn and touch my temple, feeling a rush of adrenaline hit me out of nowhere as I begin to pace. “You just said you loved me.”
“Yes.”
I glance over at him. “I thought we were taking things slow?”
“I know.” He winces.
I stop moving and prop my hands on my hips, a stinging happening in the backs of my eyes that I cannot seem to get a handle on. This is all happening really fast. Yet everything feels like it’s going in slow motion as well. My chest swells with anxiety because there’s been a feeling creeping up inside me for days, a feeling of comfort and giddiness. A feeling like there’s a reason I came back to London and it wasn’t just to help out Mac and Freya.
I’ve been ignoring these feelings because I’m not the type of person who free-falls into the great unknown. Especially not after everything I’ve worked for these past five years. I like to stay in control of myself. I like to stay in control of my emotions. And what I’m about to say feels very, very uncontrolled.
Finally, I nod firmly, answering with a shaky breath. “Okay then.”
“Okay?” He looks confused.
“Well, I’m pretty much madly in love with you too, which is terrifying because I told myself when I came back to London that I’d focus entirely on me and my family, but then you came barreling back into my life with your stupid basil plant and messed that plan all up.” I accentuate my point with a really elegant growl of frustration that truly punctuates the special moment.
Santino blinks back at me, his eyes dark and terrified in a way I’ve never seen before. “Did you just say you love me?”
“Yes!” I exclaim. “And I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you, so this is a lot of pressure right now, and I’m having a wee bit of a panic attack.”
Suddenly, Santino closes the space between us and picks me up in his arms, so our faces are eye level. “Say it again.”
“It was hard enough the first time.” He growls his insistence as I sigh in defeat, my voice thick with emotion when I add, “I love you, you eejit.” My entire body tingles with warmth over the intensity of that admission. “I didn’t particularly love you marching in here and threatening to out our relationship to my brother without a second thought, but I love you, so I guess I’ll get over that.”
His lips are on mine now, attacking my words with hungry ferocity as he carries me over to the bed and lays down on top of me. His hard body is like the best weighted blanket money could ever buy as he kisses me fervently, his hands stroking my flushed cheeks and cupping the back of my neck to deepen the kiss.
My legs wrap around him, and I hug him to me, relishing this moment of