The sound of my amore's sweet giggle coming from the hallway gets my attention, distracting me from whatever my uncle is talking about. I quickly excuse myself from the conversation and rush out of the room.

I walk down the hallway and around the corner to find her standing in front of one of the statues with my brother, Riccardo.

We may not be related by blood but he might as well be my brother after everything we've been through together.

He is smiling down at her and she's laughing at whatever he just said to her. And for some reason, I feel green about this little scene going on in front of me.

"Amore," I say to bring her attention to me instead of Riccardo and she quickly whips around at the sound of my voice.

"Enzo!" She chimes while walking closer to me, her feet almost slipping out from underneath her a few times. I don't think she's a fan of high heels so she isn't used to walking in them.

She's a bit taller but I still tower over her small figure. She still has to tilt her head up to look me in the eye.

I love that she is so small and I don't even mind that I have to bend down to kiss her properly, it's always worth it.

She wraps her arms around my waist and I reluctantly wrap mine around her upper body. I prefer to hold her waist in situations like this but I'll let it slide for today.

"Thank you for the clothes," she whispers into my chest and this makes me smile.

Riccardo nods at me before walking past us and around the corner, probably towards the room where our fathers are.

"How do I look?" She asks while unwrapping her arms from my body. She brushes her hands down her sides while stepping away from me, driving me mad by such a small movement.

She does a little three sixty twirl for me and I smirk at the little show she's putting on for me. I take in every inch of her perfect body as she twirls around for me.

"Breathtakingly beautiful," I say with all honesty while pulling her closer to my chest. I peck her glossy lips a little and she smiles as I pull away from her lips.

"Do you think your mother will like this though?" She asks, her beautiful smile fading from her face.

I look her over again, licking my lips as wild thoughts fill my head. Her lip gloss tastes like honey so that might explain why her lips always taste so sweet when I kiss her, even without the lip gloss on.

"She will," I answer her question as I lean forward. I try to kiss her to just get a taste of her sweet lips again but she dodges my lips by moving her head to the side. I kiss her on the cheek instead and I groan because of this.

She keeps worrying about her dress, saying that my family might think it's too short or it isn't appropriate for dinner with them. She ignores all my efforts to get her attention away from worrying about my family and steer it on me as I try to give her a small kiss.

Is this what it feels like to have a woman?

Guess it is.

She's being unnecessarily insecure.

She just wants to make a good impression.

They will love her.

She pulls on the sides of the dress in an attempt to make it appear longer. "I think it's too short Vincenzo," she complains, still pulling on the dress to make it longer. "I think you got me a short dress, they were all short," she groans while tugging at the edge of her dress.

I grab her wrists and her bright eyes snap up to me. I smirk as I push her back against the wall in one quick motion. I hold both her hands between my one hand and lift them above her head, pinning them against the wall.

Her eyes widen at my actions and I grin widely. I lean closer to her face and kiss her right cheek. I move my head to place a kiss on her lips and she stops breathing in that moment which makes me halt my movements.

Her eyes stay on me as her chest stays frozen, restricting herself from breathing.

"Breathe," I whisper, my lips brushing over her lips, and she immediately starts breathing again.

I do not kiss her but let my lips gently graze over her soft lips once more. "Neonata, I know that my fa–"

"Emilio?" My mother's voice cuts me off and I frown for a second because she just called me by middle name.

Nyx's thin eyebrows furrow out of confusion as I pull away from her with a sigh escaping my lips.

My mother walks around the corner and Nyx stops breathing, again.

What's with this girl and not breathing?

She's scared.

She should stop it.

My mother opens her arms as she walks up to me and I gladly step into a very tight hug. One may say I'm a momma's boy, but I've learnt to hide it, at least to the outside world.

"Mio ragazzino," she coos while gently patting my back. [My little boy]

She let's go of me and pouts a bit. "Mio figlio," she coos while patting my cheek like I'm some baby. [My son]

She holds my face between her nimble hands and starts scolding me about not bringing Nyx home earlier.

"She's here now mamma, isn't that enough?" I ask while pulling my face away from her hands. She sighs and looks away from me with a saddened look on her face.

You haven't been here for a minute and you are already pissing off our mother.

I didn't do it on purpose.

Apologise.

"Mi dispiace mamma," I sigh and she smiles up at me, her sad mood completly disappearing. [I'm sorry mamma]

She claps her hands together and rubs them slightly out of excitement. "Ora, dove è mia figlia in legge?" She asks with an even wider smile. [Now, where is my daughter in law?]

"Mamma, non ho proposto," I say and she scoffs while folding her arms over her chest. [Mamma, I haven't proposed]

"Well I still want to meet her," she says with a bit of sass and I chuckle. There is no way in hell that Nyx and my mother won't get along.

"Amore, come here," I say while holding out my hand. Nyx appears next to me and holds my hand, staring down at her shoes. "Baby, come on, look up," I push and she slowly lifts her head.

"Cari, i tuoi occhi," my mother gasps while cupping Nyx's face. [Dear, your eyes]

Nyx looks at me with a confused look and I chuckle at my mother's actions. My mother tilts Nyx's head from side to side, analysing her beautiful eyes like they are rare, precious jewels.

"Cari," my mother mutters, still amazed by Nyx's eyes. "You are beautiful," she says in soft tone and she smiles at my mother.

She looks Nyx over once more, analysing her from her long legs to her tamed black hair. "Why are you not marrying my son? Cari? You two are perfect for each other, I can just feel it," she chirps with a wide grin while patting Nyx's cheek.

"Mamma," I sigh while shaking my head and Nyx giggles, her eyes brightening as her smile widens.

This is exactly why I didn't want my mother to meet her so soon. I knew she was going to talk about marriage and try to convince Nyx to marry me as soon as possible.

I do want to marry Nyx but I want her to marry me when she's ready and actually wants to start a life with me. I can't force her into a marriage when she isn't ready for it, but that won't keep my mother from dropping hints every now and then.

"Come on, cari, why aren't you marrying my son?" My mother asks, her Italian accent failing to stay hidden.

"Uhm... we haven't been together for long Miss–"

"Call me Aurora, cari," my mother cuts her off with a simper.

"Ok, Aurora," she slowly says while hooking her arm around my elbow. She turns her body a bit as she places her other hand on my chest. I look down at my regina with probably the widest smile on earth.

"Vincenzo..." my name rolls down her tongue so smoothly. "And I, haven't been together for a long time, marriage is a big step," she says in a soft voice.

"Senza senso," my mother scoffs and waves her hand in the air. "Emilio is just scared of commitment." My jaw drops and she nods, standing by what she just said about me. [Nonsense]

I'm definitely not scared of commitment, I just haven't had anyone to commit to. There is a difference.

"Mamma," I groan and she smiles at me while Nyx just giggles. I look down at her giggling face with a smile. I love hearing her cheerful giggle and I can tell that she's already feeling comfortable around my mother so the rest of my family is going to be as easy as this.

"I only knew his father for three months before we got married. I was the happiest woman when I first married Luca and I still am till this day," my mother says as she thinks back to the time of their early marriage years and Nyx just nods with a smile.

"Mamma," I sigh while shaking my head.

"Stop being so negative Emilio," she spits while folding her arms. "You are telling me you don't want to marry this girl?"

My eyes fall down to Nyx and I take her hand against my chest in mine, squeezing gently. "I do," I whisper and shyly smiles up at me.

I take that as my chance to lean down and kiss her lips. She only kisses me for a second before pulling away, our lips parting with a subtly smack sound.

I stare down into her golden eyes as she stares back up into my odd eyes. This woman was definitely made for me and only me.

"And you are trying to tell me you aren't perfect for each other," my mother scoffs, the both of us looking away from each other. "Come meet Loredana cari," she says to Nyx while hooking her arm around her other arm.

She pulls her away from me and Nyx looks over her shoulder with a paincked look on her face.

I mouth 'it's ok' to her and she nods with a weak smile as my mother takes her into the kitchen.

I'm falling.

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The lovebirds just don't know when to stop, ye?

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