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“Because I knew this moment would come, and you’d hate me.” His face went slack, and his shoulders slumped. It was so clear he was hurt by it all, and I felt a strong desire to hold him and make him feel better.
“I…I don’t hate you, Rocco.” I cleared my throat. “I get why you kept it from me, and I wish I never knew about Luca’s betrayal. But you told me it was because you wanted us to always be honest with each other.”
The Rocco I’d come to know couldn’t live with deception. He would rather risk my hate than lie to me.
He pushed back his hair and nodded. “That’s right. A marriage should have all the scars and wounds out in the open to heal and flourish. I’d never risk you finding out later fromsomeone else.” He pressed on his chest. “You’re my wife. I made vows, and that means something to me. I work to earn your trust today, not the future.”
Rocco wasn’t backing away or down, and I appreciated that. In fact, I believed him. He was probably the most principled man I’d ever known, and I respected that. But feeling overwhelmed, I felt honesty was what he deserved as well. “Thank you for saying that. I need time, though.”
“You’ll have it,” he assured. “Just give me a chance. That’s all I can hope for.”
Maggie came in with an assistant who served plates with our meal, and we both thanked them. I swirled a fork full of pasta and took the first heavenly bite. The dish’s magic portal rolled back time, returning us to Florence.
Memories surfaced of sitting down to dinner in the evenings and laughing with his family and friends. We’d rise from the meal and take a walk sometimes. But most times, we’d end up all over each other, his heated kisses and my legs around him trembling as he’d lose himself deep inside of me. Later, we’d make it in his bed, but I wouldn’t fall asleep right away. I’d stare at the moon that shone through the stone balcony and savor the heat of his body holding me while a breeze of fragrant fruit and flowers cooled the room and my skin. Those nights were in every bite, along with the comfort and contentment I’d never known.This meal was a romantic sonnet, a lost lover’s longing.
Will we ever have that again?
Chime.I left the desk to check the phone.Rocco.A rush of excitement rose inside me, and I answered quickly. “Hello, Rocco.” My voice came out scratchy.
It had been almost a week since Rocco confessed what Luca had done to my family. We both went back to work, which was all we could do. I stayed busy drawing scenes for the sample submission and remained in the guest room. Rocco worked longer hours at the office. Still, he checked in every day, primarily by text.
“Hello, Adelina.” His tone was light, but he called me Adelina instead of Bella. My disappointment caught me off guard, and I sank into my seat at the desk. The line went silent, and a surge of panic rose inside me, fearing our call would end prematurely.
“How’s work?” I blurted.
“Good. Very busy. Yours?”
“I’ve got plenty of wasted paper; I should plant trees. My sketchbooks are full, but I’ve nothing good enough to use. Maybe the Bumble Bee Book was a fluke?” I scrunched up my face.
“Not at all. It’ll come; just give yourself time. You’ve got this.”
Rocco’s certainty was also something I missed.And waking up with his arms around me.
“I’m not giving up yet. What about you? How’s the litigation going on Luca’s will?” I lifted my hair off my neck.
He sighed down the line. “Slow. We’re not sure the will’s real.”
My mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
“Yep. We have experts examining it because it’s so drastically different from the one he approved through the board five months ago.”
“Didn’t Mr. Sears say he rewrote it only a few months ago?”
“Yes, which is why a judge approved to have an outside company authenticate it. It’s odd.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“What did you think?” his tone held interest.
“That the video wasn’t new. Luca didn’t look like that when we saw him in Italy. So, I thought maybe this will was written back then, and never submitted?”
“I like your theory and I thought the same thing. That video was from at least eight years ago. That’s when we used to fight about me leaving Marini Corporate.”
My stomach squelched. Luca must have planned to marry me to Rocco that night he met me. But the cruelty to his own family I still didn’t understand. “Yeah, it seems odd. It’s like he reverted to the man he was years ago. If we didn’t see him in Italy, I’d wonder, but that will wasn’t Luca.”Or was it?I didn’t really know him. “I don’t know.”
“You do, Adelina. The trust can’t explain why Luca sent a will to the board and verbally entered into several recent meetingminutes that I was to be his successor. The new will is not board-certified. Gunnar believes we have many arguments to invalidate it.”
“Then, why can’t you?” I asked, closing the sketchbooks and laptop.