CHAPTER 18

They sat on the sandy shore. Celeste who he placed on his thighs, relaxed against him as they both watched the waves, each happy and content to be with each other.

Lorenzo loved the feel of her against him. The soft Jasmine scent filtered into the breeze around him, filling him with a sense of longing and protection for the woman in his arms.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him as he drank in more of that soft alluring scent.

It seemed like a dream to Celeste, Marcello's arms were around her and he had kissed her too. She sighed happily as He placed a kiss on her hair. This has to be the best day of her life, surpassing even her last birthday.

Lorenzo sat in brooding silence. He was thinking of the best way to get Marcello out of the way till he could make her his and also how he could keep this charade up. He needed to marry her quickly before she could find out and change her mind.

"Cara meu can you wait here for me, I want to make a call" he whispered against the nape of her neck, Celeste shivered slightly from the feeling of his lips so close to her skin.

"Are you cold?" He asked, worry tainting his gruff voice.

"No I'm not and yes you can make the call I will wait for you," she said softly, turning to look at him.

Lorenzo nodded and lifted her as he stood to his feet, then with care, he dropped her back down.

"give me 5 minutes Cara meu" he reassured, and she nodded.

With that Lorenzo strode to a farther corner of the beach where he was sure Celeste would not be able to overhear his conversation, then he called Luca.

"Yes, Boss Capo Luca on the line" The deep voice of Luca Alfredo echoed.

" I got your message Luca and I will address it tomorrow, but now I need you to deliver a special order to every Martino and guest out there partying in the house to address me as Marcello, no one should mention anything about a second brother" Lorenzo ordered.

"Yes sir," Luca said, no questions asked since it was foolhardy to question Lorenzo's orders.

"And Luca..."

"Yes Boss," Luca said,

"Keep my younger brother busy so he doesn't come to the house tonight and tomorrow morning. Send Lucia Caruso to stay with him, and make sure she doesn't know about this charade" Lorenzo said, turning to where Celeste sat gazing at the sea.

"I got that" Luca affirmed and Lorenzo ended the call.

He walked back to Celeste, his mind in turmoil as he planned how to drop his next bombshell. He couldn't bear the thought of starting a relationship with her based on lies but he knew that was his only chance.

He sat beside her and then pulled her closer to him. She quickly lay her head on his thighs, looking at him.

"Are you done?"

"Sì," he said still looking into her eyes as he ran his fingers through her soft sea of raven-black hair.

"Is everything alright?" She asked curiously, noticing his furrowed eyebrows.

"I wanted to ask you for a favor," he said cautiously, watching her to see how she would react to what he was going to say.

"Go ahead, if It's within my power then I will do it for you, Marcello," she said, smiling softly.

Lorenzo paused, his emotions clashing as he watched her sincere and earnest expression.

"Marry me, Celeste," he said quietly, brushing her hair from her forehead in tender strokes.

Celeste was stunned. She couldn't believe her ears, Marcello just asked her to marry him.

She sat up quickly, her heartbeat tripling.

"Are you joking?" she gasped.

Lorenzo only stared at her as he leaned backward, supporting his weight with his arms.

"I do not joke about such things Celeste," he said, holding her gaze so she could see how serious he was.

Celeste's stomach caved in, and she clasped her hand over her mouth. He was serious, and she was both excited and scared about it.

"Will you give me time to think about it?" She asked.

As much as it would be a dream come true for her to marry Marcello, however, she was sure of her feelings for him but had no idea how deep his feelings ran.

Lorenzo angled his head to the side, He knew she would not readily accept but he had to convince her without sounding desperate.

"I wish I could agree Cara meu but I need to hold Our wedding immediately since most of My relatives come from farther countries, some from entirely different continents," He said, taking her hands in his.

Celeste considered what he said, he had a point and a sensible one at that, She had interacted with various individuals in the short time she had been there and was surprised by the diversity in the Martino family.

But the problem was that she wouldn't be able to gather her family members on short notice for a wedding they had no idea about. Besides Marcello was a public figure too, so their hasty wedding may stir wagging tongues.

She also didn't want to rush blindly into the wedding without being sure if he loved her. He had confessed to reciprocating her feelings but he didn't say those three words.

'I wonder if he loves me as much as I do?' She mused, she looked at him trying to read his expression, wondering if there was another motive behind his proposal.

He looked normal, still waiting for her response. Her heart squeezed tenderly as she got carried away watching him.

Celeste decided not to get ahead of herself, what mattered was that he wanted to marry her and he felt something for her too. Maybe with time, she would win his heart completely, she just had to come up with something to tell her relatives and her mom.

Lorenzo watched as different emotions passed her face, he could see when she made up her mind, and his mind eased. He knew she was skeptical about it all, but he didn't have a choice either.

"What do you say, Celeste?" He asked carefully, and then She smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Yes, I'll marry you, Marcello".

Lorenzo's shoulders almost sagged with relief. It had been a wild gamble, though he had two other plans in case she refused, but he was glad she agreed though there were still steps left until he got what he wanted.

He placed a gentle kiss of gratitude on her lips before drawing back, there were still more steps to take before he could make her his.

"Then Thursday would be perfectly fine then," he said, reaching up to brush his knuckles against her cheeks. Celeste's face scrunched up in concentration as she thought about it.

"Well...if you think it's okay then I will just have to contact everyone soon so they can make it, although I highly doubt most of them would make it on such short notice" she muttered, worried about her mom.

"That won't be a problem Cara Meu, I want to officially make you mine and having your consent is the most important part of it all," he said, his voice a deep rumble that sent tremors through Celeste's body.

She nodded, then knelt down and wrapped her arms around his neck, looking down at him with a grin.

"So Mr Martino I can call you my husband in two days", her excitement was infectious and it caused the corners of his lips to upturn.

He didn't deserve her, but he was taking her anyway and no one was capable of stopping him unless they were ready to die.

"Yes Cara meu, you will be Mrs Martino in two days" he murmured against her lips before capturing it in a kiss.