Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Once I’m finally able to stop crying, I steal another minute because I don’t want to see the questions on my parents' faces.
Dad’s definitely going to second-guess everything now.
“How did you know to do that?” Mom asks, sounding utterly stunned.
“I figured it out while we were dating,” Christiano replies. “I think the alternating pressures give Sienna something else to focus on while grounding her.”
I pull away from Christiano, and when I see my parents are actually okay, and I didn’t ruin it all by losing my mind for a second there, a relieved smile curves my lips.
“What’s going on?” Bianca suddenly asks from the doorway.
“Sienna and Christiano are getting married,” Mom shrieks, and a second later, I’m yanked into a tight hug.
“Oh my God!” my sister gasps. “I knew it was only a matter of time.”
For a minute or so, there’s a lot of shrieking and hugging and looking at my ring, and just as it all starts to become overwhelming again, Christiano takes hold of me and tucks me against his side.
“I’ll arrange a dinner where we can all celebrate and talk about the wedding,” he says. “But we have to go now. We still have to stop at my parents' place to tell them the news.”
“Tell your mom I’ll call her first thing in the morning,” Mom says.
“I will.”
We say goodbye, and as I leave the house with Christiano, I begin to feel nervous again because telling his parents is a whole different story.
I broke things off with their son once before, and I’m not so sure they’re going to be happy about the news.
Chapter 16
Christiano
As soon as we’re back in the SUV and Nico drives away from the Vitales’ mansion, I smile at Sienna. “You did well, princess.”
“Yeah?”
Noticing she’s still nervous, I say, “You can relax. The hard part is done and over with.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” she mumbles, her eyes trained on the view outside the window.
“My father already knows we’re getting married,” I inform her.
Sienna’s head snaps to me, and her lips part with a gasp. “Oh, did he call you earlier?”
“No. Augusto returned my call, and I told him we’re getting married.” I lift my hand and brush my thumb over the swell of her cheek. “My father’s known for months that I intended to force you if you didn’t change your mind and give your consent.”
A stunned expression tightens her beautiful features. “And he was okay with it?”
“Of course. He understands that I can’t survive without you.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “You’ve survived just fine the past seven years.”
I tilt my head. “Do you really believe that?”
Her eyes dart between mine as all the heartbreak she’s caused us tenses the air.
“I’m sorry, Christiano,” she whispers, surprising me once again.
When she was doing everything in her power to convince her father that she wants to marry me, I almost believed her. Especially when she finally said she loves me.
But then she had a panic attack, and even though she played it off as just being overwhelmed, I know better.
Placing my hand on top of hers, I squeeze hard as I say, “After tonight, things will get easier.”
She turns her attention back to the window while whispering, “I doubt that very much.”
My eyebrows draw together as I keep staring at her. “Why?”
“Because putting your ring on my finger and ordering me to act happy doesn’t change anything. At the end of the day, I still don’t want to marry you.”
Nico brings the SUV to a stop behind Enzo’s Mustang. Sometimes I think if our parents gave him half a chance, he’d move back in with them.
Shelving the conversation between Sienna and me, I push the door open and climb out. I walk around the back of the vehicle, and taking Sienna’s hand, I link our fingers and lead her to the front door.
Not bothering to knock, we enter the house, and I follow the sound of Enzo’s laughter to the billiards room.
Mom’s relaxing in a recliner while Dad and Enzo are playing darts.
Enzo throws three bullseyes, and looking proud of himself, he says, “I’m kicking your ass, old man.”
A second later, he has to duck to avoid the dart Dad throws at him.
“Careful,” Mom chastises him.
Dad glances at her. “If he can’t avoid a dart, we have a huge fucking problem.”
When I take a step forward, Dad’s eyes instantly snap to me. Noticing Sienna, he takes a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
Mom picks up on Dad’s reaction, and her head swings to us. Her eyes lock with Sienna’s, and standing up, she crosses the room like the queen she is.
“Hi, Sienna,” Mom says, her tone warm and welcoming. “We’ve missed you.” She presses a kiss to each of Sienna’s cheeks.
“Hi, Aunt Gabrielle,” Sienna replies, her features tense with nerves. She glances at Dad, and her tone is filled with respect as she says, “Hi, Uncle Damiano.”