Marcelle's POV
"Okay okay. I'm done now." Maia informed us. We are tired of waiting for her. When I tried to take the ring box back, she refused to let go. "Just one more minute with it. Can I try it on?"
"No!" All my sister's screamed.
"I don't get it. Why can't she try it on?" Verna asked. She's fitting in well with my sisters. I find that strange because my sister's have a culture to huddle together and keep outsiders at an arms length.
"Because when Maia says she wants to try something on, she never gives it back." Ella informed her. "She can't have this."
"Sorry Maia." I closed the ring box. I looked over the airstrip where three private jets are waiting. Vee is a little late. She was with my parents and my kids when I left. I'm taking a different path. I'm not going straight to Greece. I'm going to Spain to settle something.
"You should get going." Bella pulled me aside. "We will make sure Vee gets to Corfu. You'll be there tomorrow at sunset, right? Right Marcelle?"
"I have to be." I assured her. "I'll be there. I can't pass this opportunity off."
"Be careful. I don't think you should be alone with her. You should let one of us come with you. I'm willing to come with you."
"Thanks but I'll be fine. I have Rocco. I know you guys are really coming excited but I'd it possible that this will remain a secret until I actually propose?"
"I promise I will slap anyone with loose lips. No one is telling Vee anything."
"Thank you Bells." I pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Bye ladies!"
"Bye Marcelle!" They all called back.
"Why are you laughing?" I gave Rocco a light push.
"Your fan club keeps growing." We both looked back at the group of women under the shade of the private jet hanger. All my sisters are here, all Seven of them. Nicole, Verna and MHL are also here. "So it's finally happening. You're putting a ring on it."
"Yeah."
We boarded my private plane. The rest will follow in the two remaining planes.
"So why Ibiza?"
"To set some things straight. Reina needs to know how it will end for her if she hurts Vittoria."
"Reina is past salvation."
"I don't care about her salvation. I care about Vee and I living peacefully and we cannot achieve that if she won't stay in her lane." I looked at my phone as I have been doing since Rocco told me Juan is gone. "He's quiet. Have you heard from him?"
"Not a word."
"That kid has been keeping me awake at night since he was first taken. I really wanted her m to v here today. Rocco..."
"Si jefe?"
"Why was Gian in Ireland after I specifically asked that he gets sent back to London?"
"Marcelle, I know you're upset and worried but trust me, if that seat is vacant, there will be people vying for it. I disobeyed your orders. I think Gian needs this. Let him have it even for a few weeks. I will watch him. I will make sure there's no outside influence."
"I disagree with you. I know my mind may be racing on this but have you forgotten Matt? Have you forgotten how power hungry he got? What if Juan comes back and Gian refuses to leave the godfather's seat? What will happen?"
Rocco sighed deeply.
"Mr Bale, we are about to take off. Please fasten your seat belts." The stewardess informed me.
"Thank you." We buckled up. "Do you get where I'm coming from?"
"If he refuses to vacate the seat, I'll shoot him myself." He told me with a serious face. "I promise."
I would hate it if it comes to that. Matt and I headed down a dark path and there are days I still wonder if I would have recovered from executing him. If dad didn't stop me, would I have been able to live with myself? I wouldn't want Juan and Gian to go down that road. Juan wants the power. Gian may taste it and like it too much.
"I trust you and I will hold you responsible if anything goes wrong."
"Si jefe."
*
Ibiza was a place Reina always talked about.
I have been to many places. Having two parents who are both CEOs meant we travelled a lot. They could afford it. We have been almost everywhere. But I have lived in six places. Marseille, Manhattan, Seville, Rome, Sicily and now Napa Valley. Reina used to talk about living in Ibiza. I wasn't up to it because unlike her, I'm not into beach parties and a night life.
She made her dream come true. She bought that house facing the beach. She lives the life she always wanted.
"Good morning." I greeted her.
My first wife was hot, in a classy way. She loved clothes and shoes, fittingly so, she was a model. She got a lot of attention from men but it wasn't her fault. She was drop dead gorgeous.
My ex wife is hot. She's sexy and she can get trashy if she wants to. Classy is really not her way. Of all the St Patrick girls, Renée is the only one who has mastered the sexy that is classy. Charle is a tomboy. Laila has the kind of innocence that takes sexy off the table. But Renée... let's just say Reli did a great job. Back to Reina, she can be loose. She flirts at every turn. Sometimes I don't think she even knows she's doing it. Decency is not a word in her vocabulary. She used to swim topless without caring if her son's would see her or the servants or bodyguards. I lost that battle. I used to hate it when she did that. She is liberal, too liberal.
I can confidently keep my eyes on hers and not her bare chest. I think I love Vee's more. If Vee walked around topless -something that will never happen because she's Crazy conservative- I would stare.
"Ola papi." She wrapped her arms around my neck.
My first wife had pretty blue eyes. My ex has playful chartreuse colored eyes. My soon to be wife has brown eyes. There's nothing eventful about the color but the warmth is unforgettable.
I pried her hands off and picked up a robe. "Cover yourself. We need to talk."
"I still affect you? If you want to fuck, I won't tell."
"I don't see you like that anymore." Her smile turned upside down. I walked into the house.
It took her a moment before she followed. She's wearing the rob but it's open.
"What do ya u want to talk about papi?"
"There's not a single photograph of the kids. Why not?"
"I'm not a sentimental fool." She answered. "What do you wa t to talk about. Make it fast." She snapped her fingers at me.
"I know that you're fucking Diego Fernandez. I know you are putting stupid ideas into his head, telling him he can have Vee."
"Aha... so you came to talk about your child bride?" She asked me.
"I came to talk about what will happen to you if anything happens to Vee."
"If she vanished off the face of the earth, I wouldn't care. So stop wasting my time. My business with Diego is none of yours. Unless you're jealous. I'll be open to a threesome."
And finally, Italia was a little self conscious about sex. I had to teach her almost everything. Vee has a fire in her I would like her to unleash on me. But Reina has never been afraid to express her sexuality. It's one of the things that made our sex life hot. I won't deny that whenever we fucked, we did it hard and we set the sheets on fire. We had an amazing sex life. I won't put a threesome past her.
"I'm no longer interested in you like that. Reina, you belong in the past. The sooner you accept that you are a flame that burned out, the better. In case you are having issues, I will gladly remind you. If Vee is harmed in any way, there will be only one eventuality for you. Death."
She smiled at me. "Ay papi! Look at you being all serious!" She poked me a little. "You forget I was raised by a man who thought himself to be scary. I'm not scared of you. You know why? Because you can never hurt me." She flung her arms in the air. "Oh! And you don't have cajones big enough to do anything to anyone."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Rocco followed after I walked out.
"She didn't take you seriously." Rocco noted.
"I expected that. It's a good thing too because she underestimates me."
"If she does something-"
"I will protect Vee at all costs." I told him firmly.
There's something really dark about Reina. She wasn't a saint before but now she's something I don't like. She has nothing to lose and she will do what it takes to make me miserable. I don't want things to get there.
Vittoria's POV
"I have never seen a place more beautiful." I looked on at the sunset.
We are surrounded by lush green rugged mountains. The water is so blue, it's unbelievable. Yesterday and today have been great! We have been tourists and it is fun to be around these women who make living feel worthwhile.
My heart is a little low. Marcelle wasn't here yesterday. I heard he's around but I haven't seen him. I think we are going back tomorrow and I haven't even spent a second with him.
"I'm sorry to ask this but do you ever wish you could see? Do you feel like you're missing out?"
Claire smiled. She's beautiful, so still, sometimes it's hard to tell if she's there.
"It's okay. What do you look like?"
"Ay! Am I good at describing myself?" I laughed. "Let's see... uh... my hair is not black. It's brown... most of it. My skin is light. My eyes are brown. I have a big smile. Most times I do. I think I'm taller than most girls. I'm... not slender but I'm slender? I don't know." I laughed.
She nodded. "I used to see. So I have been there. I count myself more fortunate because I can understand what brown eyes look like or what a sunset looks like. At the same time, I'm unfortunate because I miss it. But from early on my mother used to tell me that it is better to adapt than dwell on what was lost. I'm fine Vee. You don't have to worry about me."
"Your husband, he is a good looking man."
"So I hear." She laughed. "He always tells me he's good looking. What is Corfù like? What's in front of me?"
"Water so blue it looks like a dream. The mountains feel like they are a stretch away. They are ragged and green. We are in something like a cove. The mountains surround us. The sand on the beach is brown. There's a yacht sitting in the distance. It's the one we came in."
"It sounds beautiful."
"Si, it is. I wish I could lend you my eyes for a time so that you see what is in front of you but if you are content, then I shall stop worrying about you signora."
"You are a sweetheart." She extended her hand in my direction. How does she know where I am standing? I took her hand and she squeezed mine. "Marcelle is a great catch. Tell me something. Os it true his eyes are as blue as the deep sea?"
"Si. Very dark blue."
"That's interesting. Hold on to what you have with him. Don't let anyone take anything away from you."
"Thank you Claire."
"Hey you two!" Matt kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her, flooding her face with kisses.
"Matt! Stop it!" She laughed out loud.
"I will show you a party tonight!" He threw her over her shoulder. "Vee, come along. Not to our party. Not that I would not want you to join-"
"Matt!" She chided him.
"Seriously, Marcelle is looking for you. We are gathering around the fire pit."
I followed them. There are so many of us! Even the King and the Queen came!
"There you are bambina!" He scooped me into his arms. "For a second there I thought that you wanted to play hide and seek."
We shared a brief kiss.
"Where have you been? I have been worried. I missed you."
"I missed you too." He stepped back with a fleeting smile. He looked at his friends and his family who seem to be engrossed in conversazione in the little groups they have formed. Why is he just standing there? What is he waiting for?
"Silence!" Maia screamed to silence everyone.
"Thanks Maia." Marcelle smiled at her. Lili and Charlotte are passing champagne flutes around. Everyone accepted a flute except Marcelle. I wasn't offered one. Why not? I love champagne. "I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for accepting my invitation to come here. Everyone here pretty much summaries the people I love and care about. It means the world to me that you are all here. It hasn't been easy. While not everyday is bad, we have had some tragedies and at the same time some really great moments. Through it all we have had each other's backs. We have proved time and time again that we can get through anything and that is what makes everyone of you part of my family... and that includea you." He paid attention to me. "This is the third time I'm doing this. I'll admit that it doesn't get any easier."
Everyone laughed. He's squinting a little because of the sunset behind me. I watched him getting down on one knee. I watched him revealing a black little box. I watched him opening it and showing me a ring. It gleamed with the intention to blind me when the sunset hit it.
"Vittoria Tancredi, you have become more than a friend, more than the woman I love and I find it fitting that you become the closest thing to my heart... my wife. Vee..." he smiled nervously. "Vee will you give me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?"
Now I can't ignore the flashing lights of cameras. I can't ignore the silence as they all look on at this moment that I have dreamed of but never thought it would be today. My heart should be racing. I should be suffering from buckling knees but I am calm. I am still. I nodded at first, slowly parting my lips.
"Yes!" I whispered. "Yes!" I screamed. "Si I marry you! I marry you now!"
Excitement exploded as he fit the sparkling ring on my finger. He pulled me into my arms to kiss me possessively.
"You'll marry me right now?" He whispered.
"Si. Just get a priest." I smiled against his lips.