I slide my hands around her waist and pull her to me. “I really want to get you home,” I whisper in her ear.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Her eyes twinkle as she speaks.

Standing up on a chair, I clap my hands to get the attention of the thirty-odd people inside the restaurant. “Listen up …”

“Discorso!” Franco yells out.

“Speech!” someone else yells out from the back.

“Shut the fuck up, you drunken fools!” I snap back. “Listen. I want to thank everyone for coming here to celebrate with us. The Legano family is stronger than ever, and there is one person to thank for that.” I look down at Chelsea, standing beside me. She takes hold of my hand. “Everyone keeps telling me that this beautiful girl has been sent to me, and I’m beginning to believe that is so. I know my papa has sent you to me—he would have absolutely adored you, honeybee.” I see Ma from the corner of my eye, wiping her tears. I stop myself from getting choked up. “Chelsea, I don’t know how you’ve managed it, but you have pulled some kind of magic today, and I am now a free man. But there is a part of me that isn’t free; it’s well and truly a prisoner.” She frowns at my words. “My heart has been held captive by you since the day we met. I love you Chelsea Tanner. You have my heart for as long as I breathe.” I look around at the crowd, hanging on my every word. “Given the crazy media circus that is going to take over our lives now, I’ve decided that Chelsea and I are going to take Papa’s boat out for a while. I want us to see the world.” She’s frowning again. “We need some time away together, and there is no escaping this city. So Franco, you will be managing everything while we’re away … Now, I need to take my girl home to show her just how much I love her.” I give her a quick wink and she giggles. “Everyone head out to form a passageway for us to get to the car without the vultures getting too close. I don’t want any of you saying a word to them out there. Make no reaction and don’t let them get to you. Ma, Lucia and Logan, you stay here.”

“Bullshit!” Logan calls out from the back. “I’m not standing by to watch like some princess!”

Everyone laughs and Franco slaps Logan on the back encouragingly. I jump down from the chair and everyone breaks into applause.

“Hurry up and marry her!” I hear Franco yell out.

I’m sure that’s not the last time I’ll hear that. I take hold of Chelsea, and she clutches around my neck and we kiss. I kiss her to thank her for all that she’s done, and all that she’s going to do.

She pulls back and whispers, “And when were you going to ask me about the boat trip away?”

“Surprise.” I grin. “Come on, let’s go. I want to hear all about how you pulled this off, and I’ll tell you about our next adventure.”

The front door opens and the strobe of camera flashes hits us. I take Chelsea’s hand and wait to the side, away from the view of the cameras.

“Hey, tell us when you’re ready, Uncle Carlo,” I say as he passes.

After a few minutes of yelling, Uncle Carlo calls out to hurry up. We race towards the door. Chelsea tries to pull her hand out of mine, but I grip it tighter and pull her through the corridor that all the guys have made for us. The yelling gets louder and the corridor narrows as the cameras try to force their way past the guys. Franco yells at someone and I just pray he keeps his cool. This is worse than I’d expected. They all want a piece of us. I see a car door open ahead and squint to see whose car it is.

“Get in Logan’s car.” I hear Chelsea behind me.

I hope Logan knows how to drive fast—these guys are ruthless. The flashes are blinding. I pull Chelsea through to get into the car first and shove her in as I jump in and slam the door shut. Logan’s Mercedes throttles down the road at a lighting pace. She’s good.

Looking out of the back window, I see at least four sets of cars speeding after us.

“Jesus!” Chelsea says between breaths.

Nodding, I take in the craziness of the moment. “That was intense.”

“I can’t live like this.” Chelsea’s eyes seem sad. Is she having second thoughts about us?

I try to offer some comfort. “I can’t either, but it will die down eventually.”

Shaking her head, she answers, “It’s not that simple. We are public property. For as long as our story is interesting, they won’t leave us alone. It’s just how it works.”

“What about your Mum? Can she do something to stop this?”

“Nothing she’s done so far has helped.” She shrugs.

She’s right. What if her Mum hasn’t even helped at all? From what Chelsea’s said about her family, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re doing this to try stop us being together. Well, it’s not going to work.

***

Directing Logan to my house, we get through the gates, leaving the cars that followed to stay at the top of the long drive.

“You sure you don’t want to come in?” I ask Logan again.

She shakes her head. “Nah, thanks. I’m not a fan of being a third wheel.”

I’m glad she’s decided to leave. I need my girl alone.

Watching her drive up the drive, we make our way inside. I head straight for the bar and fix Chelsea and myself a drink.

“Gin and tonic?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

Her gorgeous grin gets me every time. She is beautiful and mine. She rips her heels off and pulls her bun out. I’ll never tire watching when she flicks her hair out after it’s been up all day. It’s that very moment when I see her transform. Right from the first time I watched Chelsea do it through the window of her terrace, I knew she had more to her under her boring suit.

“So, I think you own me an explanation. How the fuck did you get Reed locked up and me off all charges?”

I hand her the glass of gin. She sips it and looks to me with a smirk that can only be described as utter cheek.

“It was simple, really. I just went to the detectives who were last linked to the missing files. I told them that there was a Royal Commission about to be launched and Jackson Reed was about to go down. If they wanted to stay out of prison, then I advised them that they had better destroy the evidence that they stole from the archives. And in return, I destroyed the evidence I had that linked them to the files. They met with me down at Alexandria where we burnt all the evidence together. I kept copies though, and I suspect they did too, but they won’t be in any hurry to speak out against you when they can be associated with Jackson Reed.”

I stare in bewilderment. Huh. That simple.

“You are incredible, honeybee.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“I don’t care if you cure cancer, Chelsea, I will never condone you being involved with a Fratelli.” Dad’s words tear my heart to pieces.

“But Dad, don’t you see that everything in Pacer’s investigations was fabricated?” I try to reason with him.

His glare is like nothing I’ve seen on him. “Bullshit! And you know it is! BULLSHIT!” he yells louder. “I never thought I’d see the day that you would front up to me like this and lie. You have brought so much shame upon our family.”

Heart smashed.

I suddenly feel very alone in this battle.

Looking to Mum, I pray that she says something, anything. The look on her face tells me she wants to, but I know she’s with Dad on this. And she has every right to be this way. I am lying to Father. But I just thought they would see how happy I am, and will warm to the idea eventually.

I try to steady my voice as I talk. “What if you met him? You might think differently.”

Dad’s fists hit down on the table we’re sitting at in the dining room. The fury in his face is rising like a volcanic eruption.

His voice resonates like a booming megaphone. “You have two choices, girl. Continue with this charade and consider yourself out of our family, or do what is right and forget about the Fratellis!”