Saint Valentine

22

Whiskey climbs up onto the bed, slowly crawling her way towards us. She hops over Valentino's leg and settles in between us, right up against Valentino's chest. He scowls down at her.

"Is she allowed on the bed?" he asks.

"Of course," I chuckle, gently stroking the top of my kitten's head. "She always sleeps with me."

"She didn't when you first moved in."

"She did. You just weren't here to see it," I point out. It was still tense between us back then. He was never in the room. I don't think he's slept in this bed since she arrived.

"Oh," he says. Whiskey nuzzles into him, rubbing her head against his skin as soon as I stop scratching it.

"She's needy," I explain. "You can pet her, you know?"

"She won't bite?"

"No!" I laugh. "She's sweet. She already likes you."

"How do you know?"

"Look at her! She's resting against you."

"I don't know," he hesitates.

"I promise, you'll be fine," I assure him. His eyes flicker between me and her. He's clearly not used to pets. It's adorable. "Here."

I lift his hand up off the bed, gently placing it on the base of Whiskey's neck. Valentino runs his fingers over her fur.

"She's soft," he says. Whiskey leans into his scratches. She lets out a soft meow. Valentino smiles.

"See?" I grin. "She likes you!"

"She's cute."

"I told you, cats are great."

"She's... easier than I thought."

"She is pretty easy. She just needs to be fed and cleaned and loved."

"Do you do all that — feed and clean her, I mean."

"Uhm-hmm," I nod.

"I can help you with that, you know? You don't have to do it all alone."

"It's fine," I wave him off. "You didn't even want a cat."

"I don't mind," he insists. "I'd rather do it together."

"You're sweet," I press a kiss on his arm — the one I'm laying on. The other one is still petting Whiskey. "I still need to get her climbing tree from my parents' place."

"You should get more of your things. You don't have much here."

"Maybe I will, now that I'm staying."

"We can redecorate. You can design it however you like."

"Are we going to stay here much longer?" I ask. "In the main house, I mean."

"Until we're married, yes," he nods. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I shrug. "It won't be long until we move."

"Do you not like it here?"

"No, I do, but it's not really home, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a lot of people around here I don't know — men I'm not comfortable with."

"That's why you have security."

"But what if I want to binge-watch Netflix on the couch?" I ask. "I can do that in here, but I don't want to end up confined to the room — stuck in the same space every day."

"You can use one of the lounge rooms."

"But what if there's something in there?"

"You can kick them out," he says. "If you want a room to yourself or you want to sit somewhere someone else is sitting, you can remove them."

"Oh my god," I stifle a laugh, a sneaky smile pulling at my lips. "You have so much power."

"You have power now, too," he remains serious. "What's mine is yours."

"All of it?"

"Everything."

"That's a lot."

"I can get you more."

"I don't need any more," I run my fingers over his arm. I would love to kiss him right now, but I don't want to disturb Whiskey.

"I can't wait to introduce you to the family," he leans forward. "Mia Regina."

"Has that been planned yet?" I ask. Before we can get married, I have to be instated as Regina. It's a small but crucial part of an engagement. Once we announce we're to be wed, the Superiore members of the family will be invited to attend the engagement celebration where I will be asked to recite the oath of the family and be sworn in as Regina. Thankfully, public speaking is not something that has bothered me before. If anything, it's one of my strengths.

"Catarina is working on it," Valentino tells me. "I expect it to be next week."

"Good. I think I'll need some time to process everything after tomorrow. I don't want to rush into another big event."

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" he asks.

"Nervous."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes, definitely," I nod. "It's scary, but it's the right thing to do."

"Is it?" he questions. "You know this is the last thing I want."

"I know," I confirm. "But it's my choice."

"I wish it wasn't. I would never let you do this."

"Equilibrio, remember?" I insist. "We are equals. I want to contribute."

"I don't want to put you at risk."

"You're not," I insist. "It's a great plan."

"Every plan has flaws."

"Even if things go wrong, we've done everything we can to make sure we'll both still be safe. I'll be surrounded by security the whole time. I'll be in a bulletproof vest. Nothing can happen to me. I should be the one worrying about you."

"Are you?" his tone shifts.

"Of course I am. I hate knowing that you're in danger. You'll be directly in the line of fire, so just one wrong move and it's over," I say. "But I can't let it bother me. I have to get used to it. You deal with these things all the time. You're always meeting with other families. I can't let it bother me. I can't even think about you getting hurt or I just— I can't handle it."

"Bianca..." Valentino moves towards me, accidentally stirring Whiskey from her sleep. She climbs up onto her paws and hops away, letting Valentino pull me into him.

"It's fine. It's just something I have to learn to live with."

"No, you shouldn't have to. You shouldn't have to worry about me. You should know that I'm coming back to you — always."

"I love you," I mumble.

"I love you too," he kisses my forehead. "So, so much. I can't wait to marry you — to watch you walk down the aisle all dressed up. You're going to look so beautiful."

"Are you going to cry?" I tease.

"Oh, absolutely," he nods. "You finally get to be mine. After all this time."

"I'm so excited," I grin. The wedding couldn't come soon enough. I want to marry this man more than I've ever wanted anything before.