Page 293

He shook his head. “And I don’t? I’m leaving soon for a long mission. I won’t be home for months. I can’t afford distractions in my line of work.”
“There’s nothing we can do to change the situation,” I pointed out. “Would it matter if I’m having your child? No one would ever know.”
“It would change everything,” he shot back. “You are my queen. My child would have the same claim as Luca’s.”
“What are you talking about?”
He rubbed his hand in a circle over my stomach. “If the baby is mine, he would have a claim to the Knights. He could take over for Luca when he’s of age.”
I gasped. “You’re joking?”
He shook his head. “Afraid not.”
“Marcello, what am I supposed to do?”
He hugged me, holding my head on his chest as his masculine scent filled my nostrils. “I love you, Alex. I think you know that.”
I placed my hand over his heart. “I do. But our love for each other isn’t the same as what I have with Luca.”
“No, it’s not.” He slid his fingers beneath my chin and tilted my head until our eyes met. “I couldn’t allow myself to fall in love with you, not when I knew your heart already belonged to Luca.”
“You’re my best friend, Marcello.”
He kissed the top of my head. “If the baby is mine, we will raise it as a family. You, me, and Luca.”
“This is so fucked up.” I laughed through the tears streaming down my cheeks. “I feel like I’m on an episode of Jerry Springer.”
He chuckled. “No matter what, this child will be a Salvatore. That’s all anyone outside of our family will ever know.”
“You would be okay with pretending the baby is Luca’s?”
Marcello nodded. “Optics are important in our world. You will be Luca’s wife in a few days. The media would tear you apart if the baby were mine.”
“We should go,” I told him. “Take me to the drugstore so I can find out if I’m even pregnant.”
He brushed my cheek with his thumb and gave me a rare smile. “We’ll figure this out, okay?”
“Thank you, Marcello. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
He stared at me for a long, hard second, then pulled me into his warm embrace.
An hour later,we walked into Caio Bella with Kali and a bag of pregnancy tests. The boutique owner, Domenica, guided us into the store, wearing a knee-length green dress that fit her curvy frame.
I entered the dressing room with Kali, and Domenica slid the curtain over to give us privacy. Marcello waited for us on the couch, afraid to let me out of his sight. For the next hour, we had the entire store to ourselves.
Kali tried on her bridesmaid dress, a strapless pale blue gown that fit her lithe body perfectly. “You’re glowing. Marriage suits you.”
I laughed. “I’m not married yet.”
“But you look happy, like a woman in love.”
I grinned in response. “How about you? I haven’t seen you without Damian or Bastian in weeks.”
She rolled her shoulders. “Honestly, they are driving me crazy. I haven’t had a moment alone since your return. Your kidnapping shook them. I think they’re afraid someone will take me.” Kali chuckled. “But I’m not that important.”
“You’re the daughter of our future governor and the girlfriend of two Salvatores.”
“I’m just getting sick of them watching over me.” Kali flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and sighed. “I miss being alone, traveling around Europe, and living in different hostels. It was fun having a life outside of Devil’s Creek.”