LITMIR.BIZ

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he still smoked, he ambled around the grounds, gazing at the blue sky, and then he turned to walk down a cobblestone path, only to find himself three feet away from the love-struck bride and groom.

      He almost groaned, until he noticed the groom lift the bride’s chin and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

      His eyebrows rose. They hadn’t even been married twenty minutes and there was trouble in paradise already?

      She quietly said, “Everything is not going to be okay. My parents are getting a divorce.”

      Rafe thought of the woman in pink, standing with the guy in the tux as they’d chatted with Dani at the end of the ceremony, and he almost couldn’t believe it.

      The groom shook his head. “And they’re both on their best behavior. Everything’s fine.”

      “For now. What will I do when we get home from our honeymoon? I’ll have to choose between the two of them for Christmas and Easter.” She gasped. “I’ll have to get all my stuff out of their house before they sell it.” She sucked in a breath. “Oh, my God.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I have no home.”

      Rafe’s chest tightened. He heard every emotion Dani must feel in the bride’s voice. No home. No place to call her own.

      A thousand emotions buffeted him, but for the first time since he’d met Dani he suddenly felt what she felt. The emptiness of belonging to no one. The longing for a place to call her own. And he realized the insult he’d leveled when he’d told her he wanted to sleep with her, but not keep her.

      “I’ll be your home.” The groom pulled his bride away from the tree. “It’s us now. We’ll make your home.”

       We’ll make your home.

      Rafe stepped back, away from the tree that hid him, the words vibrating through him. But the words themselves were nothing without the certainty behind them. The strength of conviction in the groom’s voice. The promise that wouldn’t be broken.

       We’ll make your home.

      “Let’s go inside. We have a wedding to celebrate.”

      She smiled. “Yes. We do.”

      Rafe discreetly followed them into the tent. He watched them walk to the main table as if nothing was wrong, as the dining room staff scrambled to fill serving bowls with his food and get it onto tables.

      The toast of the best man was short. Rafe’s eyes strayed to Daniella. He desperately wanted to give her a home. A real one. A home like he’d grown up in with kids and a dog and noisy suppers.

      This was what life had stolen from her and from him. When Kamila left, she hadn’t taken his dream. She’d bruised him so badly, he’d lost his faith in real love. He’d lost his dream of a house and kids. And when it all suddenly popped up in the form of a woman so beautiful that she stole his breath, he hadn’t seen it.

      Dear God. He loved her. He loved her enough to give up everything he wanted, even Mancini’s, to make her dreams come true. But he wouldn’t have to give up anything. His dream was her dream. And her dream was now his dream.

      Their meal eaten, the bride and groom rose from the table. The seating area was quickly dismantled by vineyard staff, who left a circle of chairs around the tent and a clear floor on which to dance.

      The band introduced the bride and groom and he took her hand and kissed it before he led her in their dance.

      Emotion choked Rafe. He’d spent the past years believing the best way to live his dream was to hold himself back, forget love, when the truth was he simply needed to meet the right woman to realize his dream would be hollow, empty without her.

      “Hey.” Daniella walked up beside him. “Dinner is over. We can dismantle our warmers, take our trays and go home.”

      He faced her. Emotions churned inside him. Feelings for Dani that took root and held on. He’d found his one. He’d fired her, yelled at her, asked her to become his lover. And she’d held her ground. Stood up to him. Refused him. Forced him to work by her terms. And she had won him.

      But he had absolutely no idea how to tell her that.

      She picked up an empty tray and headed for his SUV. Grabbing up another empty tray, he scurried after her.

      “I’ve been thinking about our choice.”

      She slid the tray into the SUV. “Our choice?”

      “You know. Our choice not to—”

      Before he could finish, the busboys came out of the tent with more trays. Frustration stiffened his back. With a quick glance at him, Dani walked back to the noisy reception for more pans. The busboys got the warmers.

      Simmering with the need to talk, Rafe silently packed it all inside the back of his SUV.

      Nerves filled him as he drove his empty pans, warmers and employees to Mancini’s. When they arrived, the restaurant bustled with diners. Emory raced around the kitchen like a madman. Daniella pitched in to help Allegra. Rafe put on his smock, washed his hands and helped Emory.

      Time flew, as it always did when he was busy, but Rafe kept watching Daniella. Something was on her mind. She smiled. She worked. She teased with staff. But he heard something in her voice. A catch? No it was more of an easing back. The click of connection he always heard when she spoke with staff was missing. It was as if she were distancing herself—

      Oh, dear God.

      In all the hustle and bustle that had taken place in the past four weeks, she’d never made the commitment to stay.

      And she had a plane ticket for the following morning.

      The night wound down. Emory headed for the office to do some paperwork. Rafe casually ambled into the dining room. As the last of the waitstaff left, he pulled a bottle of Chianti from the rack and walked around the bar to a stool.

      He watched Dani pause at the podium, as if torn between reaching for her coat and joining him. His heart chugged. Everything inside him froze.

      Finally, she turned to him. Her lips lifted into a warm smile and she sashayed over.

      Interpreting her coming to him as a good sign, he didn’t give himself time to think twice. He caught her hands, lifted both to his lips and said, “Pick me.”

      Her brow furrowed. “What?”

      “I know you’re thinking about leaving. I see it on your face. Hear it in your voice. I know you think you have nothing here but a job, but that’s not true. I need you for so much more. So pick me. Do not work for me. Pick me. Keep me. Take me.”

      Her breath hitched. “You’re asking me to quit?”

      “No.” He licked his suddenly dry lips. He’d known this woman only twenty-four days. Yet what he felt was stronger than anything he’d ever felt before.

      “Daniella, I think I want you to marry me.”

      * * *

      Dani’s heart bounced to a stop as she yanked her hands out of his.

      “What?”

      “I want you to marry me.”

      She couldn’t stop the thrill that raced through her, but even through her shock she’d heard his words clearly. “You said think. You said you think you want to marry me.”

      He laughed a bit as he pulled his hand through his hair. “It’s so fast for me. My God, I never even thought I’d want to get married. Now I can’t imagine my life without you.” He caught her hand again, caught her gaze. “Marry me.”

      His voice had become stronger. His conviction obvious.

      “Oh.” She wanted to say yes so bad it hurt to wrestle the word back down her throat. But she had to. “For a month

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