Bellissimo Lotta (Beautiful Struggle): Companion Novel to Bellissimo Fortuna (The Family Trilogy Book 2) (27 page)

“If it’s in Italian you won’t know,” I let her know. Bronson starts laughing and gives me a high five.

“Jackasses.”

“Language, Callie,” I tease. She flips me off.

“Binks, guess we need to go shopping. You need a maid of honor dress if I’m marrying him in two months.” She smiles at me, and I knew she was going to give in. She knew she wasn’t going to deny him, but she did give it the old college try.

“Yes,” both Heath and I say in unison.

“What?” Bronson is confused.

“We get to go on a bachelorette trip, regardless of what you say.”

“She is staying at home,” Heath fills him in.

“Again, what?” Bronson is looking between us.

“Bianca bet me that I’d be engaged and married within a year, I told her no way. Guess who is making a liar out of me? Anyway, if she lost, she had to move to Miami. If I lost she got to plan a bachelorette getaway, and I go, whether you like it or not. So…looks like I’m going on vacation.”

“To Turks and Caicos,” I supply.

“Absolutely not.” He looks between us, and his face is stone.

“Then we postpone the wedding.”

“A bet is a bet, and if you don’t have your word, what do you have?” I throw that lesson in his face.

“Why can’t I go?” Did he just ask that?

“You have a vagina?” His face reddens with my teasing.

“You two . . .”

“Will be the death of me,” Callie and I mock.

“Three days.” That’s his limit for them to be separated.

“Ten,” I negotiate.

“
Pazzo. Four.” He thinks I’m crazy, but I’m just smarter than him.

“Seven.”

“Bianca, stop. Five and don’t fucking push me.”

I smile at him, blow him a kiss, and high five Callie. Heath has been quiet during it all, and I think we scared him. I turn to look at him, and he’s grinning like a fool and looks like he loves it.

“I’m going to take you to business meetings. You’re a staunch negotiator. That’s kind of hot,” he whispers the last part in my ear.

“What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?” Bronson whines to Callie.

“Dick-date,” I supply.

“The fuck, Binks?”

“Guys night. You and the boys. Dicks. Night out. Dick-date.” Heath’s chest vibrates against my back, his deep laugh filling my ear, and I look to Callie and see her smiling while her eyes roam my face, and she winks at me. That was her seal of approval.

“Quit talking, now. I need to talk to you for a few minutes anyway,” Bronson tells me.

“Do you want me to quit talking or do you want to go talk? That’s
very
confusing.” I love pushing his buttons.

“Jesus, I want you to quit talking, and I want to talk to you. You don’t need to speak, just listen. Let’s go.”

“You forgetting something?” He turns back to search the room.

“No.”

“Treats. You can’t command me like a dog and not reward me. What would the ASPCA say?” Heath tries to hide his smile, and Callie is biting her lip.

“You make pushing rope uphill look simple.” I love to rile him up.

“That’s impossible to do, Bronson.”

“No shit, so are you. You are impossible, Bianca.”

I walk past him. “Come on. What are you waiting for…an invitation?” The laughter of our spectators is heard through the closed door.

“You do this shit on purpose.”

“Yep, and it works. Now what did you want?”

“Dakota showed up here at two in the morning. Drunk.”

“And this has what to do with me?” Shit. Shit. Shit.

“He told me everything, Binks.” He grabs my neck and pulls me closer to him, slinging his arm around my shoulders. “Why didn’t you?”

“He lost so much that night. Including me. I couldn’t have him lose you. You both needed each other at that time.”

“Binks, you’ll always come first.”

“Bronson, it wasn’t about choosing. I lost a lot that night, but I knew I had a family. I could get support without spilling the beans. He couldn’t lose you.”

“I punched him.”

“Of course you did. Damn it, Bronson. He’s your best friend.”

“You’re my sister. He’s still my best friend, relax.” He looks down at me. “How are you doing with it all?”

“I’m confused. I don’t know if I’m just supposed to forgive him because I know he’s sorry. I know he regrets it, but it’s not that simple. I like Heath, and I’m not jumping into anything with him. I feel like I’m at a tennis match, and I’m that fucking little green ball. Bouncing from one emotion to another.”

“I hate saying this, but I get where his mind was.”

“Funny thing is, bro, so do I. It’s fucked. In every sense. I know why he lashed out, but it doesn’t change things. He promised me a future. He made me believe in love when I was the biggest cynic. He built me up to believe in him. I was ready to give him my future when he ripped it away. Robbed me of it. He can’t just give it back when it was taken from me so violently. So, I understand where he came from, but you need to understand where I ended up. It’s burned in my brain.”

“This is a mess. I’m here for you, but I’m here for him. I’m not going to pressure you to do anything, and I’ll support whatever you decide. Just know he loves you. He fucking loves you.”

“I know. That isn’t something I doubt. God, this sucks. Love isn’t supposed to be like this. I keep telling myself that, but I don’t get it.”

“Love can be miserable. Hate can create misery. Guilt is misery. But only you can stop being miserable. You can move forward, with or without him. You can guard your heart for the rest of your life and be alone. It’s up to you, and I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks, Bronson.”

“Always, baby sister.” We walk back to the apartment in silence, side by side, and somehow with him knowing the truth, I feel better. It’s a weight off my chest, and knowing he’s still there for Dakota makes me relieved.

It’s getting late, so we need to leave. Saying our goodbyes, Callie pulls me to the side. “I like him. I like him for you.”

“Could you not have given me a heads up that you had a visitor last night?”

“You good?”

“Surprisingly, yes. Do I have a clue what I’m doing . . . nope.”

“He gets you, Binks. Heath. He lets you be crazy, and he revels in it. He laughs when you’re impossible. Challenges you. He’s pretty perfect for you.”

“You just like him because he can translate for you.”

“There is that.” She laughs, and we say our goodbyes. I hate leaving, but I love home.

Bronson continues to try to thwart our trip every chance he gets. Heath walks in my door with an envelope. “Hey gorgeous. I got this and the instructions say I’m supposed to open it with you.”

“Hmm. Was it hand delivered?”

“No, and the postmark shows it’s local.”

“Rip that bitch open. But hurry, I still have packing to do.” I leave in the morning, and

I’m still doing laundry. Lynsey and I are flying to Miami, meeting Callie, and all three of us are heading to Turks and Caicos.

“First come over here and give me my kiss.” I don’t hesitate. This has been the one thing that’s changed in the last few weeks. He’s asked for one thing, a kiss each time he sees me. Such a little thing, but it means so much. It’s moved us to more of a relationship type status, but he hasn’t asked for a label or anything else from me. His lips have become one of my favorite attributes. Soft, firm, demanding, yet gentle. He controls every kiss, and if he wants me panting and wanting at the end, he delivers. If he is trying to tell me I’m frustrating him, he does it in the form of a kiss. The sweet ones. The long, lingering ones that speak so much with no words. Those are my favorite.

Our lips part, and I grab the envelope. A single line of script is written across the sealed envelope and all it says is,

“If you can’t beat them join them. Open with Bianca.”

Heath opens it and plane tickets, in his name, fall out. He starts laughing when he reads the destination. “Gorgeous, looks like you have me for five days in Turks and Caicos.”

I snatch them from his hand and feel my temper flaring. My cheeks heat, my legs bounce, and as nice as five days in heaven with shirtless Heath would be, this was not what this trip was for. “
Lo ucciderò.” I reach for my phone. My brother is a bitch.

“Calm down. You aren’t going to kill anyone. Is this a bad thing? I don’t have to go.”

“It’s not you, it’s him. He will monopolize all Callie’s time, and I had so much planned for her.” I’m getting close to tears and mix that with my angry side, it’s like an explosion. Nobody is safe from it.

“I promise to help you keep him distracted. Maybe it’s just to be near her, he lost her for a long time, and the three of you traveling to a foreign country wasn’t making us feel comfortable. Give him this, and I’ll make sure you get your week with your girl.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” He kisses my nose. “You’re kind of fucking hot when you get all riled up.”

“Then you should be in a permanent state of arousal,” I tease him.

“Pretty much, gorgeous.” His voice is soft, but I know he’s serious. The proof is prodding my stomach.

“Let me call asshole and make sure he made arrangements for all of us and didn’t just book flights.” He lets me go and heads back to work, letting me know he has to get everything in order and won’t be back tonight.

“I’ll pick you up for the airport in the morning.”

“With coffee?” I bat my eyelashes.

“For my own safety, yes.” He gives me an easy smile, drops a kiss on my lips, and heads back to the club.

Luckily, my brother isn’t as dumb as I think. He changed the rooms to separate which includes four rooms. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to share with Heath, but we share a bed frequently, we just don’t have sex in said bed.

I’m still half asleep when we land in Miami. Lynsey has talked my ear off which is odd because that’s the opposite of her personality, but she’s nervous. The girl is twenty-two and never been on a plane. Never been out of the state of Florida.

“Did you live under a rock?” I joke with her.

“No, a few group homes when the foster parents didn’t want teens.” Open mouth and insert foot.

“Shit, Lynsey. I didn’t know.” I narrow my eyes at Heath; he could have shared this with me. He does have all her records being her employer and all.

“Calm down, Bianca. It wasn’t his place to share, and it’s okay. It wasn’t all that bad. But, seriously, thank you for this kick-ass trip. My first time and I’m going to paradise.”

“Stick with me kid, I’ll get you places.” She rolls her eyes at me and leans her head back and shuts the fuck up for a few minutes.

We make our way to meet up with Callie and Bronson so we can board our next flight, and I stop in the middle of the concourse. Lynsey slams into my back and Heath’s grip on my hand becomes painful. Dakota is standing there with Callie and Bronson and nobody bothered to share. Since the engagement, his pursuit has become a bit relentless. Flowers arrive every week with a love quote attached. He’s been busy searching Google for that shit. Cards, texts, anything he can do to remind me he isn’t leaving.

I can’t lie, the attention feels nice, and knowing he is serious closes a part of the hole he created in my heart. I blame myself for some of our mistakes, and the tenacity he is showing me leaves me confused. I miss him. I miss us. I question if it is the familiarity we had. I like Health. A lot. I may be falling in love with him, and it snuck up on me. I have a stab of guilt each time I think of Dakota. The constant contact from Dakota has bothered Heath, and he hasn’t had to deal with him face to face until today. “Remember, cool your jets. I’m here with you,” I remind him.

“I know. I just hope you’re leaving with me.”

“Look at me,” I grab his face, “you know me, I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know, gorgeous. It’s just harder than I thought. I’m gonna ask something else and see if you can give it to me.”