Gray finally breathed when the buzzing stopped, but his chest still felt like he was being stung by bees. Who knew getting a freaking tattoo would hurt so much?
When he saw the name on the shop next to the used bookstore, Amore Tattoos and Piercings, it seemed like a sign sent from on high, but now he wondered. Getting a tattoo to impress a woman was a drastic step for a man who prided himself on being circumspect. The perfect political son was now branded for life, but he didn’t give a crap. Drastic steps were required in desperate times.
He knew this would add the perfect touch to the grand gesture he planned to unleash on Michaela Girabaldi tonight. If the woman rejected him after this, he would leave New Jersey knowing he had done everything he could to win her over. That was all he could do, other than pray she wouldn’t reject him.
Gray got dressed and paid the tattoo artist, then picked up his bag from the bookstore and walked to his rental car. He got behind the wheel and stared at the pile of purchases in the passenger seat. His operation Smooch the Scooch Takedown tool kit. He had one more thing to add, but needed to wait until he was closer to her apartment, since he was fifty miles out.
She is worth it, he repeated to himself as he cranked the car and put it into gear. The question was, would his effort be worth it.
Gray sat in the parking lot reading until dark and finished the last page just as the security lights came on. With a sigh, he smiled as he closed the book and put it into the gift box he found at the bookstore. He opened the large shopping bag and put the box inside, then quickly added the other items until the bag bulged. The bottle of wine didn’t fit so he tucked it under his arm and grabbed the rope handles of the bag.
Nerves suddenly swept through him, carrying a boatload of fear with them. He took several deep breaths, looked down at his lucky shirt and it made him smile. He grabbed the handle of the door and pulled before he got nervous again.
He walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her door. It opened and she stepped out looking like she might be going somewhere special from the way she was dressed. She wasn’t going anywhere except back into that apartment, he thought, as he double-timed it up the steps. Her back was turned as she locked the door, so she didn’t see him.
When she turned around, she bumped into his chest and squeaked. Her eyes locked on his chest first and her lips wobbled into a smile, but she flattened them to glare up at him.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I’m here to woo you,” he said, swallowing hard. “And you are going to let me.”
“I don’t think so,” she replied, then tried to step around him. Gray feinted to the left so she couldn’t pass.
“Open that door and go back inside, Jersey. I’m not leaving this time, no matter how many brothers you call. Call the whole damned herd of them if you want—I’ll fight them all if that’s what it takes to make you listen,” he growled.
“Why should I listen to you after how you treated me?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest, pushing up her beautiful breasts over the scooped neck of her dress.
His eyes stayed there as snapshots of the perfection of her breasts seized his mind, making his mouth water.
“Eyes are up here, Mr. Armani,” she said, and his eyes snapped up to hers. He smiled, because he couldn’t help himself when his words were thrown back at him so sassily.
“I love you, Jersey—that’s why.” Her eyes widened and glistened for a moment, but then she frowned.
“If what you’ve shown me, how you’ve treated me is your idea of love, I don’t want it. Just leave, Gray,” she said trying to push past him to get to the stairs.
Gray didn’t move, and waited for her to meet his eyes.
“That’s not my idea of love. You are cuore mio, Michaela, and if you give me a chance I will prove that to you. If I can’t convince you tonight, I promise I’ll leave and never bother you again.
“You sure haven’t treated me like I’m your heart,” she said with an angry sniff. “You’ve stomped on mine every chance you got. But I will give you one chance, as long as you keep your promise to leave me alone after that.”
“I didn’t promise that. I said if I can’t convince you—and I will, because I’m not leaving here until I do.”
Her eyes fell to the bag beside his left leg. “I hope you packed a lunch in there, Mr. Dill—you’re going to need it.”
With a deep sigh, she turned toward the door and exhilaration made his knees weak as he watched her insert the key and open it. She went inside, flicked on the light, then tossed her purse on the floor beside the sofa.
“Thank you,” he said as he followed her inside and walked to the small table outside of her kitchen to set down the bag. He turned back to her with a smile, but she was sitting on the sofa with her shoes off and her arms folded. Another round of nerves punched him in the gut.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked, walking into the kitchen to find a corkscrew.
“No, I’d like you to explain why you’re here, so I can get out of here and meet my date,” she replied, blowing his mind and all his plans to hell.
Anger surged up to choke him as he slammed the bottle down on the counter. In one motion, he pulled the t-shirt over his head and ripped off the plastic over his chest then stalked over to the sofa.
“This is why I came here, Michaela!” He stabbed his finger into his pec as his eyes burned hotter than the fire in his chest. “Because I love you, and have the tattoo to prove it. It says Amore so I remember that nothing is more important. This is my grand gesture. It took three fucking, painful hours to have it done, but you were worth every fucking minute.” Gray’s nostrils flared as he stared at her shocked face and fought the burn in his eyes. “The rest is in the fucking bag. Look at it when you want to, or throw the whole fucking thing in the trash like you did me.” He pulled his shirt back on and covertly wiped his eyes with it. “Goodbye, Jersey—” he said with a shuddering sigh. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from your date.”
Gray sprinted to the door, grabbed the handle and flung it open. He couldn’t get out of that apartment fast enough. He made it down two stairs.
“Don’t you dare run away again, coward!” Michaela shouted from her doorway and Tito barked. “You don’t get to just come in here and do this to me and leave. I gave you the gift of my time, now get back in here and finish what you started!”
He took a deep breath then looked back at her. “You have a date,” he said, around the knot in his throat. “I’m not wasting my time.”
“Maybe I don’t need you if you give up that easily—maybe you don’t love me enough,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “I have a date with my priest. I need to talk to someone, because I think I’m going crazy.”
Gray’s gut untwisted, but his anger didn’t leave. “You did that on purpose—let me think that on purpose.”
“Of course I did—” she said with a snort. “You need to know I’m not easy, and I needed an out, in case I didn’t like what I heard.”
“There is nothing easy about you, Jersey—not one damned thing,” he said as he turned and walked back to her apartment. “But nothing easy is worth having. A very wise woman told me that one time.” She harrumphed, but finally smiled as she pushed the door open and let him inside.