What is this?
“Okay, you can take the mask off.”
I slowly slide the mask off and frown, we are at a house. Scratch that, a mansion. There’s a huge red bow on the door and I frown as I look around. The house is huge with large sandstone steps leading up to the double front doors. It looks like a library or something stately. Perfectly manicured gardens, huge trees lit up with fairy lights, my eyes roam around the surroundings and then meet Giuliano’s.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“Do you remember when we were kids, you used to tell me all about the pink house that you loved.”
I frown as I look around.
“Well, it’s not pink anymore.”
My eyes widen. “This is the pink house?”
He gives me a breathtaking broad smile.
“You bought the pink house?” I gasp as my hands fly over my mouth.
This can’t be happening?’
The pink house was near Enrico’s on Lake Como, it’s incredible and Anna and I used to dream about coming here one day.
“I bought you the pink house.” He takes me into his arms. “Welcome to our new home, baby.”
I squeal in excitement. “You can’t be serious?”
He laughs out loud, excited by my reaction, and holds me tight as my feet dangle off the ground. “Do you know how much I love this house?” I cry.
“I do. That’s why I paid a ridiculous amount of money for it.” He laughs.
“Oh my God. Oh my God…oh my fucking God,” I cry.
He leads me up the front steps and I look around in wonder, it’s the most luxurious place I’ve ever seen, which is saying something because I am well used to luxury.
He opens the front door with a key while I bounce behind him. “Hurry up, hurry up.”
He opens the door and steps back. “Ladies first.”
I walk in and my jaw hits the floor, the living room is dark but lit with hundreds of candles, there are flowers everywhere. “What the….” I turn back to Giuliano to see him down on one knee, holding a ring box open.
“Marry me.” He smiles hopefully up at me.
I smile through tears and drop to my knees beside him, I take his beautiful face in my hands. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”
We giggle as we kiss and this is perfect.
He takes the ring out, it’s a single solitaire diamond. Huge, so beautiful, and my mouth drops open in awe as he slides it onto my finger.
It’s heavy on my finger.
“Now there’s no getting out of it.” He smiles. “I’ve locked it in.”
I hold my hand out and stare at my finger, is this real?
My eyes shoot up and look around the romantic candles and flowers. “But how did you…”
“Anna and Giovanna helped.”
My eyes widen. “They know about us?”
“They do now.” He smiles.
“Oh.” Panic runs through me; I should have told Anna. “I have to call them.”
“Why don’t you just go see them?” He gestures to the back of the house.
I frown.
He takes my hand and leads me to the glass doors that lead out into the back garden.
Down on the water’s edge on the wharf I can see that there is a large dining table adorned with candles, fairy lights hang overhead. I can see people are sitting there and I can hear laughter but I can’t really make out who as it’s far away. “They’re here?” I gasp.
“I thought you’d want to celebrate with Anna.”
Oh my God, this man is the living end. I jump into Giuliano’s arms once more. “And I do, I do.”
He opens the door and I go running out, I run down across the grass as everyone laughs and cheers, there is Carlo and Anna, Valentino and Giovanna and Alex. Anna stands and I nearly knock her off her feet as we hug.
“Anna,” I half laugh and half cry.
“There is a God after all.” She hugs me tight. “Everything is how it should be.”
“I know.” I squeeze her tighter.
“Congratulations, baby.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I whisper.
“I’ve known all along,” she whispers. “You’re a terrible liar.”
I laugh and Giuliano arrives down at the dock, his friends all stand and shake his hand and kiss me. “Congratulations.”
Alex fills glasses of champagne and passes them to everyone. “A toast,” he announces.
We all smile as we wait for his toast, this is such a happy time.
He holds his glass in the air. “To my best friend, and the love of his life.”
My eyes well with tears.
“To the next generation of Ferraras,” he shouts.
Everyone laughs at his dramatics. “The Ferraras.”
Giuliano kisses me and they all laugh and cheer.
This is the best night in all of history…and he’s mine.
Forever.
I feel fingertips run up my arm and warm big lips softly kiss my temple.
I smile, my eyes still closed. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Giuliano’s husky morning voice replies, his hand slides up my leg as he leans up onto his elbow.
I hold my hand up to look at my ring.
“It’s still there.” He smirks.
“Just making sure I didn’t dream last night.” I smile shyly.
“No.” He leans and kisses me softly. “Very real.”
“I mean, I know we were getting married before but now that I have a ring and our friends all know about us, it just seems so real, you know?”
He smiles and kisses me, and then pulls me down onto his chest, his fingers idly run through my hair. “Thank fuck I’m marrying an interior designer,” he mutters.
I giggle as I look around the main bedroom.
“Who in their right mind paints a bedroom canary fucking yellow?”
I laugh again. “I love this house.” I crawl up over him. “Thank you so much for buying it for us, this has always been my dream.”
“You’re my dream.”
My heart swells as I stare down at my beautiful man. “Last night was…incredible. So romantic.”
He smiles and pulls me back down onto his chest. “Only the best for my girl.”
Giuliano
I pull out of the underground parking lot on a mission, it’s Monday morning and after the best weekend of all time.
It’s back to reality.
They found our yacht, it’s one hundred kilometers off the coast. And soon … I know who took it … he will pay.
An eeriness falls over the water, a deserted vessel drifts unguided.
My superyacht.
Once lost, now found…but what did it cost me, I’m about to find out.
The sun is just setting, casting a red glow over the ocean below, and as we get closer, we all grip our guns with white-knuckle force. With no idea what we are about to be met with, we are on high alert.
Shit’s about to go down.
We pull up beside it and the sound of the water lapping on our yacht echoes.
Carlo, Val and I exchange looks, what the fuck is going on here?
“Hello,” Val calls.
Silence.
“Is anyone there?” he calls again.
Bruno throws a rope over their mast to bring us closer and we slowly come to a halt.
“I don’t fucking like this,” Carlo whispers.
“That was too easy,” Val mutters. “This is a trap.” He holds his hand up in a stop symbol. “You all stay here.” They all load onto the vessel.