ever done.’ She smiled as they walked towards the street. ‘I feel as if I could take on the world.’ Her smile faded as he held open the door of his limousine. ‘I’m not going with you, Rigo. I came straight from the airport,’ she said quietly, gesturing to the town car parked just behind them. ‘I’m flying back to Tuscany straight away.’
‘We need to talk, Nicole. Please—just come back to the apartment with me.’
She shook her head. ‘There’s nothing else to say.’
‘Nicole...’
Rigo fought past the strange tightness in his chest. He was trying to tell her how proud he was. How lucky he was to have her by his side. But the words wouldn’t come, so instead he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. His hands tangled in her hair as he took his time, not caring about the people around them. He kissed her deeply, trying in vain to show her how much she meant to him.
When he ended the kiss she was breathless, and his chest was tighter than ever.
Nicole’s eyes were guarded as she pulled away from him. ‘Rigo...’
He held his breath as he watched her war with herself, but when she raised her eyes and he saw the solemn look in them, he knew the answer would be no even before she turned and walked away to her car.
* * *
As the pilot made his final checks Nicole took her seat and looked out the window with unseeing eyes. She should have just gone with him and drowned in his kisses. They would have gone back to the apartment under the pretence of talking and ended up falling straight into bed.
She bit her lip, swallowing past the lump in her throat that hadn’t eased since she had walked away from him outside the courthouse.
She had told him that she loved him and he’d made it clear that he didn’t feel the same. He cared about her. She knew he did. But she couldn’t stay in a relationship in which she was the only one with both feet in the boat. Watching him walk away from her in Tuscany had broken her heart all over again, and she knew that she couldn’t keep going round in circles when she was the only person who kept getting hurt.
There was a commotion at the door of the plane and suddenly the stairs were being lowered to the tarmac once more. Heavy footsteps banged hard on the steps and Rigo’s hulking form appeared in the entryway.
‘What are you doing here?’ She unbuckled her seat belt and moved to her feet, facing him off in the bright cabin. The stewardess tactfully disappeared into the cockpit, giving them privacy.
Rigo stepped forward, his eyes dark with some unknown emotion. For the first time she noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the way his jaw was overgrown with dark stubble. Had he looked so tortured outside the courthouse?
‘I shouldn’t have kissed you like that.’ His voice was deep with emotion as he fought to regain his breath.
Nicole crossed her arms. ‘No, you shouldn’t have.’
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like I just keep saying or doing the wrong thing with you. Time after time.’
Nicole bit her lip, silently willing him to leave so that she wouldn’t be tempted to forget why she’d left in the first place. ‘There’s no need to say anything. I told you to go and live your life separately.’
‘That’s the problem, Nicole.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to be anywhere else but right here with you.’
The air in the cabin seemed to thicken around them as his words echoed in her mind.
He continued, watching her intently. ‘That day with the photographer, when I walked out and saw you terrified and bleeding, I swear to God something seemed to rise up and choke me from inside. I’m a grown man, and yet I was afraid of how utterly helpless that made me feel. You had already told me to either love you or leave, Nicole. But what I didn’t realise is that I’ve been trying not to lose my mind over you from the moment I first saw you.’
‘Rigo, I meant it when I said I wouldn’t settle for half a relationship...’ Nicole breathed, her mind swimming with the effect his intense gaze was having on her.
He closed the gap between them, taking her hands in his and making her look at him. ‘I won’t settle, either. I want it all, Nicole.’
This was an entirely different side to him than she had ever seen before. He was completely bared to her, saying things that she had only ever dreamed he might say. She didn’t dare to speak, fearing she might break the spell.
‘I was a complete fool to think that I had lost myself after my relationship with Lydia. The truth was I was shielding myself from ever being hurt like that again. Even from Anna.’ He shook his head. ‘I know I don’t deserve it, after all I’ve done, but I couldn’t let you get on this plane and fly away without taking a chance and risking rejection. I want to be your husband, Nicole, in every sense of the word. Let me love you like you deserve to be loved.’
‘Are you telling me that you love me?’ Nicole breathed, her heart soaring in earnest.
‘Tesoro, I’ve been in love with you since the moment I slid that ring on your finger and made you my wife. I was just too much of a stubborn fool to realise it.’
Nicole felt her heart melt completely as she looked into his deep blue eyes. She couldn’t think of a single coherent thing to say. She settled instead for wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him with all the passion she had to offer.
* * *
Rigo felt Nicole’s lips touch his and his heart almost burst right then and there. He lifted her up from the ground, kissing her with all the love he possessed. She felt so good in his arms, so right. How had he ever thought he would be happier without this woman in his life?
The thought of how he had hurt her so many times made his gut clench. He broke the kiss and slid her down to the ground, smiling as she groaned in protest.
‘Nicole, I understand if I have messed up too many times for you to trust me, but I want to make that right. If you give me the chance I promise I will never walk away from you again for as long as I breathe.’ He laid his forehead on hers. ‘I want to spend more time with my family and stop working myself into the ground.’
‘You would do that for us?’
‘For all three of us,’ he said earnestly. ‘I never want to be away from my family for longer than I need to be.’
‘Not even if I leave my underwear strewn all over the bedroom floor?’ She raised a teasing brow.
‘Especially then.’ He smiled. ‘I love you, Nicole. So much.’
‘I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of hearing you say those words.’ She draped her arms around his neck, nestling her face into his collar.
‘I’M FINDING IT hard to adjust to the sight of my husband driving his own car.’ Nicole smiled, resting on her hand on Rigo’s forearm as he guided the SUV around another tight bend in
