Chapter Fifteen

Jillian

“Here, take my credit card and go shopping with Carrie today. You’ll have two teams of my men with you because Geno has been spotted in the area lately. I’m not taking any chances with your safety, but you need new clothes so you don’t have another meltdown on me.” Damon extended his hand toward me, offering his black American Express Centurion card.

“I didn’t have a meltdown, Damon. It was just a temporary moment of panic because the clothes that fit the day before didn’t fit yesterday. It was very a stressful event.”

“I get it, doll. So go out for some retail therapy with my sister today so you’ll feel better. Buy whatever you want, however much you want, and at any store you want. I only have one condition.”

“And that is?”

“Don’t buy anything for the nursery you’re planning. I want to be with you for that shopping excursion. Deal?”

If I hadn’t already been pregnant with twins, that request alone would’ve done the trick.

“Deal.” My reply came out as a whisper, but my heart was beating erratically against the inside of my chest. The man had such an overpowering effect on me.

He kissed me goodbye and slid out of the car. Luigi and Paulie remained in the front seats as my bodyguards for the day. Just as they pulled away from the curb, my cell phone rang.

“How’s my favorite sister?” Carrie asked when I answered.

“I’m your only sister, and I’m fine, other than having already outgrown my clothes.”

“So, you’re naked today? This should be a fun outing.”

“Ha. Ha. I’m wearing leggings and another one of Damon’s shirts since his clothes actually do fit me.”

“Another one of his shirts?”

“Yeah, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it while we shop today. Are you already there?”

“Yes, I’m inside Saks Fifth Avenue, waiting for you to get here so we can spend all my brother’s money.”

When I walked into the store, Carrie had already secured a personal shopper to navigate us through the various departments. And we hit them all—clothes, shoes, makeup, and lingerie. I drew the line at buying any true maternity clothes. Instead, I bought the clothes I liked best in different sizes, hoping to delay the inevitable tent dress for as long as possible. But with how my stomach had already expanded so quickly, and with carrying twins, it was only a matter of time before nothing else would fit.

While we shopped, I took the opportunity to press Carrie for insider information on her relationship with Lorenzo.

“Spill it.” I put my hands on my hips and stared at her, daring her to play coy with me.

She shrugged one shoulder and pretended to be overly interested in the clothes on the rack in front of us. Our bodyguards were just out of earshot, so I knew their presence wasn’t keeping her from sharing with me.

“We decided it was best to put our relationship on hold until this whole mess is resolved. With Geno on the lam and still technically a threat, even though I doubt he’d made a move against us now, it’s just best we wait. With tempers high, Lorenzo could easily get killed in a case of friendly fire.”

“I’m so sorry, Carrie. I know how hard it is to be separated from the man you love. Is there anything I can do?”

“Short of drawing Geno out from under his rock so we can finish him? No, but I appreciate the offer. I know you would if you could.”

“Actually…” I pulled my lower lip between my teeth and waited for her to meet my gaze. “I may be able to do just that.”

“How?”

“Damon bought me a new iMac computer the other day. While searching for his Wi-Fi modem so I could get on the wireless network, I found my old briefcase in the closet. The flash drive I copied all the embezzlement documents onto was still in it, complete with account numbers. So I did some snooping on the accounts and found something very interesting.

“Someone is embezzling directly from Blaine Financial Services this time. Whoever is doing it is not smart enough to hide the transactions behind a shell company or run the money through a real company. From what you’ve told me about Geno, he fits the bill. He’s old-school, so he’s not tech-savvy enough to pull off something like this.”

“Tell me everything.”

“He knew Lorenzo had started the process, but he couldn’t use Milo’s name or MadTrich anymore. That would certainly alert the Marchetti family. He redirected the funds flow, sending it straight from Blaine Financial to a bank in the Bahamas. So, I thought maybe you and I could redirect his redirect, send the money to an account that’s easy for him to identify. But impossible to mistake.”

“What account would that be?”

“Leo Marchetti’s. Then Maria could get the money, and we’d draw Geno out and end this feud once and for all.”

“Did you clear this plan with Damon? Does he approve?” She eyed me suspiciously, obviously not keen on running another operation without her brother’s help.

“I haven’t yet, but I will. I needed to know if this is even possible. You’re the expert in this, so I wanted to run it by you first. If you can do it, then we can present it to Damon together.”

“Of course I can do it. And I can find Geno’s IP address and track him down. I can even get into his network and turn on his laptop camera so we can make sure it’s actually Geno before we make a move. I do believe it’s him, though. He would’ve lost everything when his takeover attempt fell through. Without the muscle behind him, no one would pay him for anything anymore. When do you want to talk to Damon about it?”

“Talk to Damon about what?” That familiar masculine voice appeared out of thin air from behind me. “Do I have to chaperone you two at all times? One day of shopping and you’re already devising some plan I’m sure I’ll hate.”

I turned to face Damon. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought you two might want to have lunch with me. Seems I arrived just in time to save you both from yourselves.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because he did have a point. “No, my love. We weren’t going to do anything without you. You heard Carrie ask when we’d talk to you about it. Your timing is perfect—but not for saving us this time. Maybe for saving your men from more shopping, though.”

Damon smiled before leaning down to kiss me hello. “I’m glad to hear I get to be part of the planning process this time. For the record, I am not checking up on you. Your doctor’s office called my cell number by mistake to remind us of your appointment tomorrow. Naturally, I wanted to deliver the message in person, and it just happened to be time to eat.”

“I have nothing to hide. Feel free to check up on me whenever you’d like.”

“Oh my God. Could you two be more in love? You’re so sweet it makes me sick.” Carrie feigned disgust, but I caught the smile that broke free before she turned her face away from us.

“I would say, no, we couldn’t be more in love. But every time I think I can’t possibly love Jilly more than I do now, I’m proven wrong.”

“You just had to make it worse, didn’t you?” Carrie shook her head and rolled her eyes while Damon and I laughed.

Over lunch, I explained every detail of the changes I’d found in the embezzlement accounts from Blaine Financial and why I thought Geno was behind it. Damon understandably didn’t want to wait until Carrie had accessed Geno’s computer to verify it was him. He suggested we talk to Lorenzo face-to-face first. If Lorenzo had revived his original ploy, Damon didn’t want to interfere in it. However, he was interested in reviewing all the information firsthand before we brought Lorenzo in, so we agreed to meet at Carrie’s the following evening to finish our discussion.

“If you ladies are done shopping, there’s somewhere I want to take Jillian.” Damon’s gaze shifted between Carrie and me, waiting for one of us to end our spree.

“You two go ahead,” Carrie replied. “Jillian and I can spend the rest of your money another day. I’ll start doing some preliminary digging into Geno Sanfratello for our planning session tomorrow night.”

“Thanks for spending the day with me and helping so much, Carrie.” I hugged her goodbye before she left with her security team and I left with my overprotective brute.

When we drove away, Damon cut his eyes over at me. “That was some impressive research you did on those transactions, doll. How did you get into their system to find the recent movement?”

“I may have learned a trick or two from Carrie while I lived with her.” I looked over at Damon, unable to hide my smile. “Or maybe I checked my remote login credentials through Morgan and Bartholomew and found my access is still active. I guess in the aftermath of Lorenzo abruptly leaving Blaine Financial, they forgot about me since I wasn’t an employee of theirs. My boss approved a month of personal leave of absence so I could move up here, but my time off work doesn’t revoke my access.”

“Brilliant. I love your brain as much as I love your body. What if someone figured out what you were doing and tracked you?”

“Not possible. I routed the IP address through several other countries and had it terminate in the middle of nowhere. My tracks are very well covered. Even you couldn’t find me if I wanted to hide from you now.”

“I think my sister has been a bad influence on you, Jilly. Maybe I should chaperone you two more closely.”

He thought he hid the ghost of a smile, but I caught it nonetheless. He wanted to rile me up—he liked feisty Jillian. Or my feisty mouth, anyway.

“Be my guest. We’ll just talk in code all night long and leave you in the dark. Then we’ll laugh at your confused expressions and disgusted sighs. It’ll be entertaining—for us. No skin off my back.”

“That fucking mouth of yours.” He shook his head, letting his gorgeous smile finally show. “No skin off your back, huh? How about some skin off your ass after I spank it?”

“Hmm. We’ve done that, though, so it’s lost that new car smell. How about skin off my wrists after you tie me up? You’ve threatened to do it before but never came through. I’m starting to think those were only empty words. Warnings without real consequences.”

“You know, it’s no fucking wonder why you’re the only woman who has ever held my attention and affection. They say opposites attract, and I believe it. You are the opposite of me in almost every way. But then we have conversations like this, and I’d swear you’re the female version of me. It’s a little scary sometimes.”

“I have to keep you on your toes, Damon. Keep you guessing which personality you’ll get from day to day. Variety is the spice of life, after all.”

“In all seriousness, I’m thrilled to see you laughing and joking again. We’ve been through a lot over the last several months, and I’ve had plenty of reasons to worry about your long-term mental health. But you’ve proved to me time and again that we’re meant to be together.”

“Damn skippy, we are.” For the first time since getting in the car with Damon, I checked our surroundings and realized we were headed away from the apartment. “Where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise. I’m not giving you any hints because I don’t want to spoil it by letting you guess.”

“That’s really not fair, Damon. You can read my mind just by looking at me. I can’t do that with you. Yet.”

“Yet is right. You’ve gotten way too close to being able to read my every thought. We’ll start communicating telepathically before long.”

About thirty minutes outside of Manhattan, I would’ve sworn we were in a completely different world. Damon pulled off the highway onto a winding two-lane road that disappeared into the trees. With a forest all around us, the sights and sounds of the big city were only a memory. Then he slowed and turned onto a driveway—a very long driveway—that ended at the most beautiful house I’d ever seen.

House? No.

Palace? Definitely.

The English manor-inspired four-story stone mansion sat on top of a hill, surrounded by open pastures dotted with giant oak trees for shade, a flowing river, and a state forest behind it. It was love at first sight for me, and I hadn’t even seen the inside yet.

“You have some very fortunate friends.” When the car stopped, I jerked the door open and jumped out, unable to take my eyes off the palatial estate in front of me. “This place is so gorgeous—it’s breathtaking. And that barn is huge. How many horses do they have? I can’t believe this place.”

“I take it you like it here, then?”

I could hear his smile in his voice. “I love it here. I can’t believe we’re so close to the city. You’d never know it from how serene this country setting is. Whose house is this?”

“Ours, if you want it.”

I whirled around on my heel and openly gaped at him. “What?”

His usual smug, confident expression was nowhere to be found. Instead, I found a hopeful yet somewhat shy one in its place. He wanted to impress me, and he wanted me to love the surprise.

“If you want it, it’s ours. I’ll call the real estate agent in the morning and have her finalize the offer and set our closing date. When you told me about your horse and missing home, I set out to find our family a new home. It had to be one that somewhat reminded you of home. The horses, the barn, the forest, the water—this one has it all. All you have to do is say the word.”

“Damon, I absolutely love it here. This place is amazing, and I’d love to live here with you. But I’d also live in a one-room shack with you. I don’t need a twenty-thousand-square-foot house to have a home with you and our babies. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do. But I want only the best for you and our children. All twelve of them. So, what do you say? Should we go inside and look around, or have you already made up your mind?”

“My mind is made up, but I still want to see inside.”

He took my hand, and we strolled through all four floors and so many rooms I lost count. The outdoor pool and hot tub were every bit as exquisite as their indoor counterparts. Then we walked the grounds, thoroughly inspected the barn, and peeked into the smaller houses on the property that served as housing for the servants.

“Well?” He asked the question even though he already knew the answer.

“I seem to say this to you a lot, but yes. Yes!” I jumped into his arms and crushed my lips to his. “I love you, Damon. Not because of this extravagant house that’s way too big for the two of us, but because you do everything in your power to protect me, and provide for me, and make me feel special. You always put me first. Is this where you want to live? Would you rather stay in the city? Or move closer to your parents?”

“I’m right where I want to be, doll. In your arms. My favorite place on earth. Wherever we happen to live doesn’t matter to me. We’re close to the city, we’re close to my parents, and this is a very nice area for our kids to grow up in. And for you and me to grow old together in.”

“How can I argue with that? I’m ready to move in when you are.”

“Perfect. We’ll need new furniture, of course. Guess we’ll give my credit card another workout soon.”

When he finally convinced me to get back in the car and leave our new home-to-be, he let me in on the other plans he had.

“Are you ready to go tell my mom the official good news before she hears it from someone else? We’re only about thirty minutes from her house.”

“Yes, I guess we’d better. Carrie noticed the large rock on my finger while we were shopping today. She didn’t ask for any details, but she held my hand up and made a point of looking at my ring then at me.”

“Carrie knows Mama hasn’t been told yet, so she’s letting her be the first person we officially tell. If Mama knew, the whole family would already know. I don’t know how you feel about wedding planning, but my mom has waited her whole life to plan a huge wedding. She’ll probably take over. Let me apologize now if you feel like you’ve been pushed out of your own wedding. She means well.”

“Your mom planning our wedding doesn’t hurt my feelings at all, Damon. I would be honored. Maybe I’ll ask her to help me pick out my wedding dress, too.”

“Don’t be surprised by the waterworks when you ask her. She’ll be so excited, doll. You’ll make her entire century.”

“When she starts, I’ll be crying right along with her. Some coldhearted, badass hit man I am, huh?”

“Mamas have that effect on the best of us, doll.”