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Short filmTranscript
00:00The paint roller slips out of my hand for the third time today,
00:03which feels exactly on-brand for how my life is going.
00:06I'm hanging halfway off a ladder,
00:09splattered head to sneakers in a shade of red so bright it could signal aircraft.
00:13The sun is sharp, the air warm,
00:16and my bank account is a tragic joke at this point.
00:19The barn wall in front of me might as well be my own forehead
00:21with how many times I've mentally smacked it.
00:24This is what I get for volunteering, I mutter, grabbing the roller again.
00:28Community service my foot.
00:30This is indentured labor with extra steps.
00:33The horse in the adjacent paddock snorts.
00:35I squint at him.
00:36Don't judge me, cheesecake.
00:38You're living rent-free.
00:40He flicks an ear.
00:41My only loyal audience.
00:43I lean in too far.
00:45The ladder shifts and my stomach drops.
00:47No, no, no.
00:48A strong hand clamps around the side of the ladder,
00:51stopping my impending face-first kiss with the dirt.
00:54My pulse slingshots to Mars.
00:57I look down.
00:58And there he is.
00:59The kind of man who doesn't belong anywhere near peeling barns,
01:03or sunburnt painters, or horses with baked goods names.
01:06Tall, sharp-suited despite the heat,
01:09sunglasses that look unfairly expensive.
01:11He has the sort of presence that rearranges the air.
01:15Like someone pressed pause on the world.
01:18He tilts his head up, voice warm but edged.
01:21If you're trying to fall, you're doing it all wrong.
01:24My throat goes dry.
01:27Are you...
01:28helping me or critiquing me?
01:32Both.
01:33He steadies the ladder with one large, perfectly controlled hand.
01:37Climb down before you test gravity again.
01:40I climb.
01:41Stubborn pride making me slower than I should be.
01:44Like I need to prove something.
01:45When my feet hit the dirt, he steps closer.
01:49Close enough that the scent of him, clean, crisp,
01:53something expensive that probably involves bergamot I can't afford,
01:56wraps around me.
01:57He looks at the red paint smeared across my arm.
02:01You're bleeding, he says.
02:03It's paint.
02:05Should have guessed.
02:06Blood doesn't usually come in firetruck drama.
02:09I snort before I can stop myself.
02:12Then I realize I've laughed in front of a stranger
02:14who looks like he signs billion-dollar checks before breakfast.
02:17My spine stiffens.
02:19Okay.
02:20Thanks.
02:22Whoever you are.
02:23For saving me from my own clumsiness.
02:26But I'm fine.
02:28He studies me like I'm a puzzle he already intends to solve.
02:31Name?
02:32I didn't say I was giving it.
02:35That ladder didn't give you a choice in surviving, either.
02:37Yet here we are.
02:39I'm Callie.
02:40I snap before I can stop myself.
02:43Happy?
02:44Moderately.
02:46God.
02:47Arrogant.
02:48Calm.
02:49Impossibly collected.
02:50And hot.
02:52Like...
02:53Irritatingly hot.
02:55His sunglasses shift as his gaze flicks up the barn again.
02:58You painting this entire structure alone?
03:01It's a fundraiser project, I say.
03:04The volunteer group bailed when they heard the land might get sold, so...
03:08Yeah.
03:09It's down to me.
03:11Sold.
03:12The word tastes like dirt.
03:13The farm belongs to a family that's been drowning in debt.
03:16And if they lose this place,
03:18the horses,
03:19the barn,
03:20everything goes with it.
03:21And me?
03:22This is the only steady thing I have after losing my job at the print shop and finding
03:26out my roommate moved out without paying rent.
03:29He turns fully toward me.
03:31You like painting, Barnes?
03:32Not particularly.
03:34So why stay?
03:36Because I don't quit.
03:38My jaw lifts.
03:39Even when the world keeps stacking Jenga pieces on top of my shoulders.
03:43He hums low, like he's filing that away.
03:47Admirable.
03:48Are we done?
03:50I gesture toward the ladder.
03:52I have paint to ruin.
03:54He glances toward the driveway as a black SUV pulls up,
03:57sunlight bouncing off its polished surface.
04:00Another man steps out.
04:01Tall, brooding,
04:03tattooed forearms.
04:04The type who looks like he eats nails for lunch.
04:07He nods to the suited man beside me with an unmistakable deference.
04:11Oh.
04:11Oh no.
04:12The man holding my ladder isn't just rich.
04:15He's not just powerful.
04:17He's the type whose arrival makes grown men stand straighter.
04:21Great, I whisper.
04:23I'm talking to somebody's boss.
04:25He slips his sunglasses off,
04:27revealing eyes so dark they look like secrets.
04:30Dominic Viscari.
04:32My brain short-circuits.
04:34I know that name.
04:35Everyone in the city knows that name.
04:38You're...
04:39That Dominic?
04:40I choke out.
04:42The Viscari who owns half the east side.
04:44And the ferry line.
04:45And the private jet company.
04:47And...
04:48And you're getting paint on your cheeks.
04:50He says,
04:51reaching forward with a thumb.
04:53I jerk back, flustered.
04:54Hey, personal space!
04:56A corner of his mouth lifts.
04:58Subtle and devastating.
05:00Noted.
05:01The man from the SUV steps closer.
05:04Boss?
05:04The agents from Ridgeview County are inside the farmhouse waiting for your signature.
05:09Signature.
05:11My eyebrows knit together.
05:13Why are you signing anything here?
05:16Dominic's gaze drifts toward the rolling pastures.
05:19The small farmhouse in the distance.
05:20The barn behind me.
05:22Because I'm buying it.
05:24My stomach freefalls.
05:27What?
05:28The land.
05:29The barn.
05:30The entire property.
05:32You can't just buy this place.
05:34I feel heat surge behind my eyes.
05:37Furious and helpless.
05:39This farm is the only thing keeping the Ferrari family afloat.
05:43They need time.
05:44They had plenty of time.
05:46He says without cruelty.
05:48But they were sinking fast.
05:50So you're...
05:51What?
05:52Going to bulldoze it?
05:53No.
05:55Turn it into a runway for your twenty luxury jets?
05:58Tempting.
05:59He says.
06:00Deadpan.
06:01I throw my hands up.
06:02Then why buy it?
06:03His gaze settles on me with quiet certainty.
06:06Like his answer is embarrassingly simple.
06:08Because you're here.
06:10My brain stops.
06:12Full stop.
06:13No buffering wheel.
06:14No error message.
06:16Just static.
06:17What?
06:18The word comes out strangled.
06:20You're interesting.
06:22Oh God.
06:23No man has ever detonated my sanity with two words before.
06:27Hold on.
06:28I shake my head aggressively.
06:31You don't buy land because you think someone's interesting.
06:34Dominic doesn't blink.
06:35I do.
06:36You don't even know me.
06:38I'm beginning to.
06:40That's not how real life works.
06:43It is for me.
06:44My pulse is a trash fire.
06:46That is insane.
06:48Call it decisive.
06:50You bought a whole farm.
06:51That's a little more than decisive.
06:53He approaches me with the steadiness of someone who has never, not once in his life, questioned
06:58a choice he's made.
07:00The sun glints off his watch as he stops a foot away.
07:04You're painting a barn that wasn't going to survive the next owner, he says.
07:08I can give it thirty more years.
07:10Fresh stalls.
07:12New fences.
07:13You'll finish your project.
07:14You're keeping the barn?
07:16Yes.
07:17My voice cracks.
07:19Why?
07:19His gaze drops to my paint-speckled hands.
07:23I like seeing you invested in something.
07:26My lungs forget how air works.
07:28The tattooed man beside the SUV clears his throat softly.
07:31Dominic doesn't look away from me.
07:34Callie, he says, like he's already memorized my name.
07:37You can keep painting.
07:39While you watch, I say, half horrified, half...
07:43something else entirely.
07:44If you'll let me.
07:46I don't need supervision.
07:48Not supervision.
07:49He murmurs.
07:51Company.
07:52The way he says it anchors somewhere in my ribs.
07:55I cross my arms tight, trying to shake off whatever spell he's weaving.
08:00Okay, well, thank you for saving me from gravity, but this...
08:04I gesture wildly between us.
08:07Is not a thing.
08:08Whatever you're thinking.
08:09Not happening.
08:11I haven't said what I'm thinking.
08:14Good.
08:15Keep it that way.
08:16The SUV man smothers a chuckle.
08:19Dominic tilts his head, studying me like I'm the most baffling part of his day.
08:23Finish your work, he says, stepping back.
08:27I'll be around.
08:28No, you won't.
08:30I fire back.
08:32His smile deepens, like he knows a secret I don't.
08:35You'll see.
08:36He turns toward the farmhouse, men falling into step behind him, sunlight glinting off
08:42his tailored suit as he moves with all the calm certainty of a man who owns everything
08:46he touches.
08:47I stand there, paint roller dangling from my hand, one thought ricocheting around my skull
08:53like a pinball.
08:53What the hell did I just get myself into?
08:57And why does my heart feel like it's sprinting toward whatever comes next?
09:01Dominic Viscari returns the next morning like he's clocking into a job I never hired him
09:05for.
09:06I'm halfway up the ladder again, sun bright enough to warm my neck and melt whatever
09:10resolve I swore I'd have today.
09:13I'm determined to pretend yesterday didn't happen.
09:16Determined to act like a mafia king didn't buy an entire farm because he...
09:20What?
09:21Found me interesting?
09:23The man arrives in another immaculate suit, like he's about to broker a corporate takeover
09:28instead of walk through hay-dusted pastures.
09:30I try to ignore him.
09:32It lasts maybe twelve seconds.
09:34You missed a spot, he says.
09:36I freeze.
09:37Are you kidding me?
09:39Roughly halfway up, two inches to the left.
09:42I glare down.
09:43Do you hear yourself?
09:44Frequently.
09:45It's why I rarely repeat myself.
09:48I inhale through my teeth.
09:49You're unbelievable.
09:52Not a compliment.
09:54He stands there with his hands in his pockets, sunlight catching the gloss of his hair, the
09:59faintest smile tugging at the edge of his mouth like he's enjoying himself way too much.
10:03His men linger near the fence line, trying very hard not to smirk.
10:08I climb one more rung on the ladder, speaking through gritted teeth.
10:11I told you to stop showing up.
10:13And I declined.
10:16You can't just...
10:17Callie.
10:19His voice smooths into something lower, like velvet with intent.
10:23I'm not here to bother you.
10:25Then why are you here?
10:27To see what you'll do.
10:29I nearly drop the paint roller.
10:31What does that mean?
10:33It means you're unpredictable.
10:35Refreshing.
10:36He lifts his chin toward the barn.
10:39Most people freeze when I walk into a room.
10:42You argue with me while holding a bucket of paint like it's a weapon.
10:45I could weaponize it, I say.
10:48A gleam sparks in his eyes.
10:50I believe you.
10:51My cheeks flare with heat.
10:54I hate how annoyingly calm he is.
10:56How he watches me like I'm a puzzle box he enjoys struggling with.
10:59I dip the roller back into the tray.
11:02Fine.
11:03Watch quietly.
11:05I can do that.
11:06He absolutely cannot.
11:08By noon, he somehow talked three contractors, an architect, and the previous owners into hanging
11:13around the property with clipboards, discussing renovations like I ordered them.
11:16He stands beside me as I paint, hands behind his back like he's the supervisor of a very
11:21specific, very bizarre department.
11:23I gesture to the farmhouse where people keep bustling in and out.
11:26Are all those people because of you?
11:28Yes.
11:30And they're...
11:31working on stuff?
11:33Improvements.
11:35You didn't ask me.
11:36I didn't need to.
11:38I narrow my eyes.
11:39This is still my project.
11:41And I'm honoring it, he says simply.
11:44I don't know whether to shove him or kiss him.
11:47The impulse terrifies me.
11:49He notices.
11:50Of course he notices.
11:51Dominic Viscari doesn't miss micro-expressions.
11:54His voice softens.
11:56Tell me something.
11:57No.
11:58You don't know what I'm asking yet.
12:00It's going to be annoying or personal.
12:03Both.
12:04A faint smirk.
12:05Why does this place matter to you?
12:08Something in my chest cracks open just an inch.
12:10I stare at the brush strokes on the barn,
12:13sunlight glinting off the newly painted boards.
12:16It's the only place I don't feel like a screw-up.
12:19He studies me carefully.
12:21Who told you you were one?
12:23Life, I say with a dry laugh.
12:27My job vanished.
12:28My roommate bailed.
12:30My landlord wants rent I don't have.
12:32This farm was the only thing left that didn't treat me like trash.
12:35He listens.
12:36Really listens.
12:37Like my words aren't messy or embarrassing.
12:40Like they matter.
12:41You deserved better, he says.
12:44My throat tightens.
12:45You barely know me.
12:47He looks at me then.
12:49Really looks.
12:50With that unsettling, anchoring focus.
12:53Sometimes that makes it easier to see clearly.
12:56I have to look away before I unravel.
12:58He shifts the subject like he senses it.
13:01Hungry?
13:01Are you offering food or ordering me to eat?
13:04A bit of both.
13:06I'll pass.
13:06He nods.
13:08Steps back.
13:09Then snaps his fingers once.
13:11A man jogs over.
13:13Hands him a brown paper bag.
13:14Dominic sets it on the step beside my paint tray.
13:17What's this?
13:18I ask.
13:19Lunch.
13:20I said I wasn't hungry.
13:22And I said I don't repeat myself.
13:24I'm not your employee.
13:27No.
13:27He says softly.
13:29You're something else entirely.
13:31That one sparks lightning low in my stomach.
13:34I turn away quickly and throw myself back into painting because if I keep listening to him, my knees will forget their job.
13:41He stays.
13:42He always stays.
13:44Hours pass in bright daylight, and every quiet moment between us feels like a string pulled tighter.
13:48Then danger arrives in khakis.
13:52Two black SUVs barrel down the gravel road, dust pluming behind them.
13:56Not Dominic's.
13:57These are wrong.
13:59Aggressive.
14:00Shiny in a way that signals trouble.
14:03Dominic's posture changes instantly.
14:05Not scared.
14:06Just sharper.
14:07His men tense.
14:08The air shifts like a silent alarm tripped.
14:11My pulse rockets.
14:13Is this...
14:14Normal?
14:15I whisper.
14:16No.
14:18The SUVs skid to a stop.
14:20Three men climb out.
14:21Loud clothes.
14:23Louder attitudes.
14:24Gold chains flashing like they want the sun to know they're important.
14:27The one in front grins at Dominic.
14:30Viscari?
14:31Heard you bought the place?
14:33Thought we'd come congratulate you?
14:34Dom's voice smooths into something deadly calm.
14:38Go congratulate yourselves somewhere else.
14:42The man smirks.
14:43We're making rounds, you know?
14:46Making sure territory lines stay?
14:48Respectful.
14:50I feel my knees wobble.
14:51Dominic steps subtly in front of me.
14:54You're not welcome here.
14:56We heard you're expanding your holdings.
14:58The man glances at me.
15:00A slow, greasy sweep of his eyes.
15:02Cute staff you've got.
15:04Dominic's jaw flexes.
15:06I step back, pulse punching my ribs.
15:09Eyes on me.
15:10Dominic says quietly.
15:12The man chuckles, lifting his palms like he's harmless.
15:16Relax.
15:17We're just chatting.
15:18But since we're being neighborly...
15:20He reaches into his jacket.
15:22Dom's men reach for holsters.
15:24My breath seizes.
15:26The stranger pulls out.
15:27Not a gun.
15:28But a thin envelope.
15:30He offers it forward.
15:32You've got two days to reconsider this farm purchase.
15:35The Rosati family has first claim.
15:37Dominic doesn't move.
15:38That's not true.
15:40It is now.
15:41You forged documents.
15:43The man shrugs.
15:45Details.
15:46But hey, wouldn't want anything...
15:47bad...
15:48to happen to the property.
15:50His eyes flick to me again.
15:52Something inside Dominic snaps quiet and lethal.
15:54You look at her again, Dominic says in a voice calm enough to freeze the sun.
16:00And I will end your entire bloodline before dinner.
16:04My lungs stop functioning.
16:06The man's smirk falters.
16:08Just a hair.
16:10Touchy.
16:10Didn't know she was...
16:11She's under my protection.
16:14Dominic cuts sharply.
16:15Leave.
16:16The man hesitates, sizing him up, then signals to his crew.
16:21The SUVs reverse down the road, disappearing around a hill, leaving behind a crackling silence.
16:26I let out a shaky breath.
16:29Who...
16:30Who were they?
16:31Trouble, Dominic says.
16:33And they're testing boundaries.
16:35Are you in danger?
16:37No.
16:38Are we in danger?
16:39His eyes snap to mine.
16:41Not while I'm breathing.
16:43My whole body vibrates, adrenaline mixing with something dangerously close to trust.
16:48Dominic turns to one of his men.
16:50Double security.
16:51Nobody gets near the property without clearance.
16:54The man nods and rushes off.
16:57I grip the ladder like it's the only solid thing in the world.
17:00This is because of me, isn't it?
17:03They would have come regardless.
17:05But you put yourself in their way for me.
17:08My voice wavers.
17:09Why?
17:10He steps closer, sunlight reflecting off his watch, his gaze a molten warning and something
17:15softer beneath it.
17:17Callie, he says, voice low.
17:20When someone threatens what I care about, I respond.
17:24What you care about?
17:26My heart stutters.
17:27I'm just a barn painter.
17:29No, he says, and the word vibrates through me.
17:33You're the reason I bought this place.
17:36That doesn't make sense.
17:37It will.
17:39He reaches out slowly, like he's giving me time to run.
17:43His knuckles brush my wrist.
17:44Feather light.
17:46The touch sparks warm and terrifying.
17:48You don't have to be scared, he murmurs.
17:51I'm not scared.
17:52You are.
17:54He says it softly, not mocking.
17:56But not of them.
17:58My breath stumbles.
17:59Of what then?
18:01He looks at my mouth.
18:02Just for a second.
18:03A second that feels like gravity tipping.
18:06Of me, he says.
18:08The sun leans warm on my back.
18:10Horses graze somewhere behind us.
18:12Contractors pretend not to stare.
18:14My pulse beats like a trapped bird.
18:16Dominic, I whisper.
18:18He steps back, giving me air I didn't know I needed.
18:21Finish your painting, Callie.
18:23That's it?
18:24I ask, voice thin.
18:26After all that?
18:27For now.
18:28For now?
18:29His smile is soft.
18:31Devastating.
18:32Everything with you is slow burn.
18:34I'm not rushing something that already feels inevitable.
18:38My knees forget how to stand.
18:40He walks away, issuing orders to his men.
18:43Every movement gliding with purpose.
18:45I stay frozen beside the ladder, watching him command an army while the sun frames him in gold.
18:50Powerful.
18:52Dangerous.
18:53Protective in a way that makes my heart pick sides I'm not ready for.
18:57But something inside me knows.
18:59This thing between us?
19:00It's no longer avoidable.
19:03Sunlight is ruthless the next morning.
19:06No clouds.
19:07No shadows.
19:08Just bright, unforgiving clarity.
19:10Which feels a little on the nose for how today is going.
19:14Dominic doesn't show up at sunrise like he has every other day.
19:17His men do.
19:19A few contractors.
19:20Some security.
19:21But not him.
19:23I pretend that doesn't bother me.
19:25I paint the barn like it owes me money.
19:27Cheesecake the horse watches me like he knows exactly how delusional I am.
19:31I'm halfway down the last plank when a black truck pulls into the gravel drive.
19:35Not one of Dominic's.
19:37Definitely not friendly.
19:39Security stiffens.
19:40I jump down, heart already slingshotting into my throat.
19:44Three men climb out.
19:45Rosati men.
19:47Same ones from yesterday, except now they look smug enough to power a small city.
19:52Their leader smirks.
19:54Afternoon, sweetheart.
19:55I'm not your sweetheart.
19:57And you're trespassing.
19:59I snap, surprising myself with the spine in my voice.
20:03We're here for a little business chat.
20:05With your boyfriend.
20:07He's not my...
20:08Where is he?
20:09I lift my chin.
20:11Not here.
20:12Leave.
20:13He laughs and steps closer.
20:15Too close.
20:16You've got nerve.
20:17Cute.
20:18But dangerous.
20:20Security moves in.
20:21But the Rosati guys lift their hands like they're totally harmless.
20:24Which somehow makes it worse.
20:26We're giving Viscari options.
20:28The leader says.
20:29Either he backs off claiming this property, or we take something he cares about.
20:34And then he looks right at me.
20:35My stomach twists, cold and furious.
20:38You touch me, I say.
20:40And Dominic will make sure you never walk again.
20:43Maybe.
20:44But he's not here, is he?
20:46He reaches for my arm.
20:48A voice cuts the air clean open.
20:50Move your hand.
20:52I whip around.
20:54Dominic stands at the top of the gravel slope.
20:56Sunlight slashing over his suit.
20:58Jaw locked so tight the whole world goes quiet.
21:01He walks toward us.
21:02Slow and lethal.
21:04Not loud.
21:05Not rushed.
21:07Just this terrifying calm.
21:09Like he's already planned ten different ways to end these men,
21:11and is deciding which one is the least messy.
21:14The leader smirks.
21:16Viscari.
21:17Good.
21:18Saves me a trip.
21:20Dominic doesn't even glance at him.
21:21His eyes are fully, sharply on me.
21:24Are you hurt?
21:24No, I say.
21:26But I'm shaking.
21:28He sees it.
21:29His voice turns darker.
21:30Did he touch you?
21:32No.
21:33Good.
21:33I prefer not having to bury people in daylight.
21:36The Rosati men stiffen.
21:38Finally, the leader snaps.
21:40This land belongs to us.
21:41Not you.
21:42You can't just buy a county landmark out from under the family.
21:46Dominic steps forward, hands loose at his sides.
21:49A man who doesn't need weapons to be dangerous.
21:51The papers are legal.
21:54Yours are forged.
21:55If you think you're walking away with this property, you're stupider than I assumed.
21:59This is your last warning, Viscari.
22:02Walk away.
22:03No.
22:05The man laughs, frustrated.
22:07You're doing this for her?
22:09A barn painter?
22:10I feel my pulse blow open.
22:12Dominic's jaw tightens.
22:13But he doesn't look away from the threat.
22:16She's worth more than every piece of dirt you've ever touched.
22:19Dominic says simply.
22:21My breath stops.
22:23The Rosati leader scoffs.
22:25You're going soft.
22:26No.
22:28Dominic says quietly.
22:29I'm getting very tired.
22:32What happens next is a blur.
22:34One Rosati guy lunges.
22:36Not for Dominic, but for me.
22:39Dumb move.
22:40Dominic is on him in a flash, pinning him with one arm across his throat.
22:43Not enough to kill, but enough to make the guy rethink everything.
22:48Security swarms the others, forcing them back without a single gun drawn because this
22:52is daylight, and Dominic plays by different rules under the sun.
22:56Dominic leans down just enough for the man to hear him.
22:59You ever step foot near her again, and your entire organization evaporates.
23:04Tell Paolo Rosati I said that.
23:07He releases him.
23:08The Rosati men scramble back into their truck, engines roaring as they peel out of the driveway.
23:14Silence slams down.
23:16I exhale shakily.
23:18You could have gotten hurt.
23:20Dominic turns to me, eyes still crackling with adrenaline.
23:23I don't care.
23:25Well, I do.
23:26We stare at each other, heat and panic and something dangerous weaving between us.
23:31Then he steps closer, slower now, hands open at his sides.
23:35Callie.
23:36My voice barely works.
23:38You didn't have to do that.
23:40I did.
23:42His tone is sure, unwavering.
23:44Because they threatened you.
23:46Because you were scared.
23:48Because I watched a man put his hand toward you and it felt like someone was trying to
23:51rip a nerve out of my spine.
23:53I swallow.
23:55Overwhelmed.
23:57Dominic.
23:58He takes another step, sunlight catching the gold flecks in his dark eyes.
24:03I know you didn't ask for me.
24:05Or this.
24:06Or the chaos that comes with my name.
24:09But I'm not walking away.
24:11You should, I whisper.
24:13I don't want to be the reason your world explodes.
24:16It's already exploding, he says, voice low.
24:20You're the only part that feels sane.
24:23The words hit me in the chest like a warm shockwave, melting every inch of resistance
24:27I've been hoarding.
24:29I laugh shakily.
24:30You can't just say things like that.
24:33He lifts a hand, giving me space to pull away.
24:36I don't.
24:38His fingers brush my waist, gentle, grounding.
24:41Then tell me to stop.
24:43I don't.
24:44He leans closer.
24:46This farm.
24:47This barn.
24:48You.
24:48I didn't buy them for power.
24:51I bought them because for the first time in years, I wanted something for myself.
24:56My breath hitches.
24:57The world narrows to sunlight.
24:59Woodgrain.
25:00And him.
25:01And what exactly is it you want?
25:03I whisper.
25:05Dominic's voice softens.
25:07You.
25:09Everything inside me fractures and reforms.
25:11I lift my hand to his chest, steadying myself.
25:14You're impossible.
25:16So I've been told.
25:17And intense.
25:19Only with things that matter.
25:22And you're...
25:22My voice wavers.
25:25God, Dominic, you're going to ruin my entire life.
25:29He slips a hand around my jaw, thumb brushing my cheek in a touch so tender it nearly unravels me.
25:34Or make it better.
25:36I don't know who moves first.
25:38Maybe we both do.
25:39But suddenly his lips are on mine, warm, certain, devastatingly gentle.
25:45The world brightens instead of dimming.
25:48Everything feels like relief and ignition at once.
25:51When we break apart, I'm breathless.
25:54So is he.
25:55He rests his forehead against mine, voice rough.
25:59Tell me you want this, too.
26:00I inhale sunlight.
26:03Fresh paint.
26:04Him.
26:05I want you.
26:07Something fierce softens inside him.
26:09He pulls back slightly, eyes warm for the first time since I met him.
26:13Then it's done.
26:14You stay.
26:15I protect you.
26:16And we figure out whatever this is without letting half the city burn down.
26:20Is that your version of a romantic proposal?
26:24It's the best you'll get from a man whose daily calendar includes avoid assassination attempts.
26:29I snort, laughing for real this time.
26:32Okay.
26:33Deal.
26:34He looks around the farm, hands settling at my waist, like he's claiming the moment, not the land.
26:40The barn looks good.
26:42You mean I missed a spot?
26:44You missed several, he says dryly.
26:47But I like watching you fix them.
26:49You're impossible.
26:51You already said that.
26:53And it's still true.
26:55He smiles.
26:56Really smiles.
26:58And something in me folds and fits into place like it was meant to.
27:01His men pretend not to stare.
27:03Cheesecake.
27:05The horse snorts like he's judging us.
27:07Contractors whisper behind clipboards.
27:09None of it matters.
27:11It's all bright daylight and brand new beginnings.
27:13Dominic turns to me.
27:15Callie?
27:16Yeah?
27:17I'm not going anywhere.
27:20And for the first time in a long time, neither am I.
27:23Hey love.
27:24If you devoured this sun-drenched mafia romance and felt that delicious jolt when Dominic said he bought the land because of her,
27:30hit that like button and drop a comment so I know you're here for more heat and broad daylight chaos.
27:35Make sure you subscribe, too.
27:37I've got more bold heroines, dangerously irresistible mafia kings, and sunlit confrontations coming your way.
27:44Your emojis, reactions, and support keep these stories alive and blazing.
27:49Don't be shy.
27:50Let me know your favorite moment.
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