Becoming Mrs DeLuca novel Chapter 69

Chapter 69

ADRIAN

Valentina smiled. “I thought we could exchange our gifts tonight. Tomorrow should be about the kids and Milo opening

theirs.”

I chuckled quietly. “Don’t tell me you actually got the dog a present.”

Valentina’s lips curved into a mock pout. “Of course I did. She’s part of the family. I even got something for Elia, Domenico, and Sybil.”

I shook my head, fighting a smile. “How did your parents manage to create someone like you?”

She smirked. “Marco turned out well too.”

The mention of her brother stirred something in my gut. Marco and I tolerated each other, but trust was another matter. Still, I wasn’t going to let that ruin tonight. “Let me get your present. It’s in my office.”

“I’ll come with you,” she said quickly, taking my hand. “Mine’s downstairs.”

I let her lead me, her fingers intertwined with mine. When she stopped in front of the door to her art room, I realized I’d never actually been inside.

“Close your eyes,” she ordered.

I raised a brow. “Valentina, I’m not twelve.”

“You’re such a killjoy, old man. Now close them.”

I gave her a look that earned me a grin, then gave in. I reached out and squeezed her hip in mock warning. She yelped softly, then laughed. Her hand tightened around mine as she guided me into the room, the faint scent of turpentine and fresh paint growing stronger.

“Stop right here,” she said. “Okay… you can open them.”

When I did, it took me a second to process what I was seeing. My first thought was confusion. I thought she’d taken down the photograph from our bedroom wall. But then I looked closer. It wasn’t the photo. It was a painting— a vibrant, detailed rendering of the beach outside our house.

“You painted this?” I asked, stepping closer.

“Yes.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, biting her lip nervously.

The brushstrokes were fluid and alive, capturing the light of the sea better than any camera ever could. I’d never been much for art. I respected it, but it didn’t really move me. Until now.

“Do you like it?” she asked, almost shyly.

“It’s…” I hesitated, searching for the right word. “It’s stunning.”

Her face lit up instantly. “Really?”

“Really,” I said, meaning it. I leaned in and kissed her, slow and soft. But before I could lose myself completely, I stepped back. “Stay here. Let me get your present.”

1/3

She looked like she might follow but didn’t. She stood there, bouncing slightly on her toes, trying to hide her excitement.

When I returned, I held a small wrapped box in my hand. She snatched it the second I held it out.

“What is it?” she asked, eyes sparkling

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.”

She rolled her eyes but grinned, tearing through the wrapping with all the subtlety of a child on Christmas morning. When the lid flipped open, she froze.

“Sunflower earrings?” she whispered.

I nodded, watching her face. I’d almost bought her something else. Something more elegant and expensive, the kind of jewelry I thought a wife of mine should wear. But that wasn’t Valentina. A few days ago, I’d started over, searching until 1 found the right pair of small, delicate sunflowers made entirely of gold.

“They reminded me of you.” I said quietly.

Her fingers trembled as she picked them up. “Adrian…”

“Do you like them?”

Her smile was all the answer I needed. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me again.

When she finally pulled away, her voice was soft against my lips.

“They’re perfect… They are so beautiful,” she breathed. “I thought you hated when I wore sunflowers.”

“You love them.”

“Oh, Adrian.” She took them out and fastened them to her ears. “How do they look?”

“Beautiful.” I couldn’t wait anymore. I picked her up.

She giggled. “Where?”

“In bed.”

“Not the pool table?”

“No.” Tonight, I wanted to make love to her, not fuck her like two randy teenagers, even if one of us had been a randy teenager not that long ago.

When I laid her down on the bed in front of me, I realized this would be something new for me too.

I took my time, was gentler, less urgent than usual, and after her initial confusion, Valentina mirrored my unhurried moves. Afterward, she curled up against me. “This felt different, as if it meant something.”

I heard the question in her voice but wasn’t sure what to say. I nodded. It had. Our first night together, I’d been this careful because Valentina needed me to be. Tonight, I needed it to figure out what was going on, to confirm what I’d never considered an option.

“Have you ever done it like this with someone else?”

Valentina’s voice was curious, but behind it, I could hear a flicker of… jealousy perhaps. I didn’t have to lie. “No. Not with

2/3

Serena, and before her I only had affairs.”

“And after?”

There was no one after.”

Valentina peered up in surprise. “Really? You haven’t slept with anyone since Serena’s death?”

“No. I had other things on my mind.” I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her about that one slip. “But right after I found Serena cheating on me. I slept with a woman I met when I got drunk in a bar that night. It was meant as a revenge fuck. To prove to myself that other women wanted me even if my own wife didn’t. I didn’t feel better afterward though, and I never

told Serena.”

“I want only you, and when other women check you out, I don’t like it at all.”

A laugh burst out of me. “Jealous?”

“A bit.” She swung herself up and straddled my hips. “Like you, I don’t like to share.”

She didn’t have to worry. “To be honest, you’re demanding enough. I doubt I could satisfy another woman beside you.”

Her eyes widened in indignation. I flipped her over despite her pretend struggles and slammed into her, fucking her hard and fast, because there was no need to confirm what I felt anymore.

Chapter 70