Page 78 of The Billionaire's Destiny

“Luca had this one built, but I’m hoping you’ll notice something else.”

I grinned, eager for the challenge. “Oh, a hint. Alright.” Stepping outside, the image that leapt to mind was the iconic balcony from the 1968 filmRomeo and Juliet. “Is this a replica of that famous balcony from the Romeo and Juliet movie?”

“Correct. It was my grandmother’s favorite movie scene of all time.”

“And Luca’s,” I added. “He also had an unnatural obsession with iambic pentameters.”

He slipped his arms around my waist, his hands resting low on my stomach.

“You really want a baby?” I whispered.

“I wanted a choice of when, Bella. Not if I ever wanted a baby with you. Of course I do. And now…” He sighed. “I just hadn’t expected our lives to change so fast.”

“It’s all been fast.”

“Yeah, but in our first year of marriage? With all you’ve been through in college, I thought we’d travel and have fun.”

“We can still do that, I’m sure.”

“I don’t know, maybe I have more time on my hands anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Trust is moving to establish a committee to review everything, and that could take years.”

“They can’t do that—”

“They may be able to if they get enough people on the board of directors to agree.”

“And there’s no way to stop them?”

“Luca’s hubris is what has motivated them. He took my leadership, and some of the board want me to return to Marini Corporate, which will mean putting all other projects on hold.”

“But they will give you the money if we have a child.”

“That’s maybe a year from now. Business isn’t going to wait for it. Yes, we’ll have the money, but I remember what it was like when I worked for corporate. The work was all I thought about and did. And we were successful, so everyone benefited. That’s what they want.”

“But not you. What if you decide not to fight?”

“Then, I’ll have a spot on the board, a salary, and property afforded to me. Mother’s sick, so they will never give it to her. Salvatore could, with my Uncle Walter as his guardian, if we want to keep things in our immediate family. But if that’s allowed, Marini Trust will solidify their power. It will be more of having a Marini as a figurehead.”

I furrowed my brows. “That’s not fair. No way. What are we going to do?”

“Fight with everything we have.” Rocco seemed excited, and I looked at him.

“You like this?”

“I like to earn what I have, and if it takes a fight, then we fight,” he said with a smile.

“But a fight could take years.”

“Then it takes years. It took Luca years to get his chair. I’m not afraid, Bella.” There was a glimmer of weariness in his eyes I wouldn’t ignore.

“We can wait, Rocco, on the baby,” I murmured. “I care more about how you feel and all the stress.”

“No. We live for ourselves. We’ll have both our careers and our family. We just have to put in the work.” He traced gentle circles over my stomach, and my heart soared, and I placed my hands over his and said a prayer of hope for all of us. Then he tickled me, and I squirmed, laughing. “Mmm, sexy.”

“Sexy?” I giggled and screamed as he took me over to the bed and pulled me onto his lap, taking the robe off and making me naked again.