VITTORIO'S MISTRESS (The Vittorio Series) (25 page)

Dante leaned down and whispered in her ear.
 
“My darling wife, who said anything about waiting until after the reception to consummate our
marriage
?”

With that, he took Paige’s hand and led his blushing bride out of the church.
 
And if anyone noticed she looked a little tousled when they arrived at the reception, they tactfully kept it to themselves.

Paige’s eyes followed Dante
 
as he executed a perfect dive into the pool before turning back to her discussion with Ravenna.
 
“This is the third time I’ve had to hear it from someone else that he’s been seen kissing a girl.
 
I even caught him once
myself
, but he just shrugged it off and said he couldn’t help himself.
 
What am I going to do, Ravenna?”

“Do not be too hard on him, my dear.
 
After all, he
is
a Vittorio.”

“That’s no excuse.
 
At his age, he shouldn’t even be
thinking
about sneaking off and kissing young girls.
 
It’s just so embarrassing.
 
You must have gone through this too, how did you cope with it?”

“The first time it happened I simply ignored it, but when it continued…well, I had no choice but to sit him down and have a long talk about inappropriate behavior.”

Paige’s gaze wandered back to the pool where Daniella was trying to teach her brother how to back float.
 
“Leonardo is only four, Ravenna.
 
He doesn’t think there
is
such a thing as inappropriate behavior if it involves kissing little girls.
 
He says it’s fun and it makes the girls giggle.”

Ravenna laughed.
 
“He sounds just like his father.
 
What does Dante have to say about it?”

“He’s no help at all,” Paige said with a disgruntled huff.
 
“He says he distinctly remembers the girls giggling when he kissed them at that age too.”
 
She leaned back, rubbing her extended belly.
 
“I suppose I’ll have to go through it all over again when this one gets old enough to realize
it’s
fun to kiss girls too.”

“I wish I could tell you it gets easier with each son but…” Ravenna shook her head, “by the time Gianluca was born I had all but given up.
 
The only solution I could come up with was to bribe them with special privileges.
 
For each day they did not get caught kissing a girl, they earned points towards a trip to the park or a movie or some other event.”

“And that worked?”

“To some degree,” Ravenna laughed.
 
“It did not stop them from kissing the
girls,
it just made them more cautious so they would not get caught.”

Before Paige could reply, Dante joined them at the table.
 
“Did I interrupt something?”
 
He asked when they both cast accusatory glances at him.

“We were just discussing
your
son,” Paige told him.

Dante arched a brow.
 
“Why is it he is only
my
son when he has done something wrong?”

Ravenna stood up.
 
“I believe I will go spend some time with my grandchildren while you two chat.”

He waited until his mother was out of earshot before scooting his chair closer to Paige.
 
“Tell me this is not about Leo kissing the girls again.”

“Yes, it is.
 
I was just asking Ravenna’s opinion on how to curtail his behavior but the best she could come up with was to offer bribes.”

Dante grinned.
 
“Ah, how well I remember those days.
 
It did not work though.”

“I know.
 
Honestly, Dante, how can you sit there and act as if it’s not a problem?”

“All right,
cara mia
, you win.
 
I will have a serious talk with him this
 
evening.
 
But in Leo’s defense,” he leaned forward and let his lips lightly brush against hers, “kissing
is
a lot of fun.”

Paige couldn’t argue with that, not when she was dying for a kiss herself.
 
“Stop teasing,” she growled.

Dante laughed softly.
 
“Your wish is my command, Mrs. Vittorio.”

Helpless
.
 
Paige was completely and utterly helpless to resist kissing her husband.
 
She pressed closer to Dante, losing herself in the heady taste of his mouth and the feel of his hand as it moved over her belly in a gentle caress.
 
The warmth of his love curled around her heart, her soul; the power of it so overwhelming it brought tears to her eyes.

Dante lifted his head and tenderly brushed away the tear that was gliding down the side of Paige’s face.
 
“Why are you crying?”

Paige gave him a wobbly smile.
 
“Don’t worry, I promise they’re happy tears.”

“I know how you feel,
bella
.
 
I have shed a few of them myself.”

Her eyes widened in surprise.
 
“You have?”

“I am not made of stone, you know.
 
And how could I not be overcome with emotion now and then when you fill my heart so completely with love?”

“That’s very sweet, but I think you’re just pulling my leg.
 
I’ve never seen you cry once in all the years we’ve been together.”

“I am a Vittorio,” he said with an indignant grunt.
 
“Vittorio men do not allow anyone to witness their moments of weakness.”

“Uh huh,” she eyed him skeptically.
 
“Exactly when did these moments of weakness occur?”

Dante pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.
 
“When I found your note and knew I had lost you.”
 
He kissed the other side.
 
“And when you told me you loved me and said you would marry me.”
 
He feathered more kisses across her face, confessing to his wife what he had never told anyone.
 
“The night I discovered I had a daughter; when you told me you were pregnant with Leo, and again at Leo’s birth.
 
Shall I go on?”

“If you do, you’ll have me sobbing my heart out.”
 
Paige gave him a look of pure adoration.
 
“You’re an amazing man, Dante Vittorio.”

His voice was deep and husky when he spoke.
 
“Would you care to see just how amazing I can be,
mi
amore
?”
 
She didn’t have to say a word; the answer was in her eyes and the soft smile she gave him.
 
Dante rose from the table and swept her up into his arms.
 
“Could you watch the children Mother,” he called over his shoulder, “I am taking Paige upstairs to rest.”

“Don’t let them fool you,
Nonna
,” Daniella said just loud enough for them to hear, “they’re going upstairs to kiss.”

“Among other things,” Dante mumbled under his breath as he carried Paige inside.

Paige shook her head.
 
“Is it any wonder your son thinks
it’s
okay to kiss a girl anytime it pleases him?”

Dante grinned.
 
What could he say?
 
Leo was, after all, his father’s son.