Page 100 of Bellini Born

“I let you think that because it was easier than admitting the truth.”

“And what’s the truth?” I pressed.

“That she’s dead because of me.”

I sucked in a sharp breath even though it felt like my lungs were collapsing. “How?”

Matteo buried his face in his hands. It was almost as if he couldn’t bear to look at me while relaying this information. “It was just a regular Tuesday. She went out for lunch with some of the other high-level wives. But on the way back, her car got a flat. She was right by Gio’s place, so her driver called over for another car. There was an ambush. Someone thought since it was Gio’s car, he was inside, but he wasn’t. No, it was my pregnant wife. And she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt when that SUV rolled. It was a damn miracle they were able to deliver Serafina before it was too late, but that baby girl had to fight for her life from the minute she was born. And it’s all my fault.”

My heart broke for him, and I struggled to get both of my arms around him with my leg suspended like it was. “I can see how it might feel that way, but in reality, it was an extremely unfortunate series of events that you had no control over.”

With his head burrowed against my chest, his entire body trembled in my arms. “And the worst part? She was my wife for four years, but I didn’t even grieve. I only mourned the loss my daughters suffered and sought vengeance in their names. Allegra deserved better. And I worry I don’t know how to be the kind of husband that’s worthy of you.”

It was in these moments, when he let his guard down and vulnerability rose to the surface, that it solidified my love for him. He wanted to be a good man—for me, for his girls—but the world he’d been raised in hadn’t provided the best role models.

“Hey.” I tugged on the sides of his face so that I could look him right in the eye when I confessed, “I don’t know the first thing about being a wife, but who’s to say we can’t figure that part out together?”

“Can we?” A rare glimmer of hope lit up in Matteo’s eyes.

“I mean, you kinda ran into a burning building to save me. It’s the least I can offer in return.”

His brows drew down, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

“Too soon?” I teased.

“I’m never going to find any jokes about the most frightening day of my life even remotely funny.”

Okay then.

“Right. Well, how about we pinky promise?”

A corner of his lips twitched at my suggestion. “What are we promising?”

I extended my pinky. “With how quickly we are rushing into this, there are bound to be some speed bumps. So, the promise is to give each other grace and not be too harsh on ourselves, while we settle into our new roles as a married couple.”

His pinky curled around mine, and we shook. “Promise.”

“See? Was that so hard?” I teased.

Matteo’s eyes dropped to his lap. “Well, I’ve got something else that is.”

That lifted the heavy blanket of tension, and we both burst out laughing.

There might initially be a period of trial and error, but I had a feeling we were going to be just fine.

Chapter 23

Summer

WewereinItaly.That much, I gathered from the endless hours spent flying over the ocean and the familiar yet unintelligible—at least, to me; Matteo had no trouble conversing—language spoken once we landed.

The flight was hell. The dry cabin air irritated my nasal cavity, which was sensitive due to the fire, and I spent a good portion of our time airborne battling the persistent nosebleeds. Then there was the fact that the burns on the back of my leg made it so I couldn’t bend my knee, so sitting in one of the plush captain’s chairs aboard the private jet was impossible. I attempted to rest on the couch-type seating, but it was too narrow for me to find a comfortable position. Eventually, I gave up and was forced to lie face down on the bed situated in the back.

The only saving grace was that Matteo had been thoughtful enough to purchase me a new e-reader—mine had been lost, along with all our other worldly possessions, in the blaze that destroyed our house—and the newest D.D. Morgan hockeyromance was already pre-loaded onto it. Never let it be said that the man didn’t have an eye for details. He knew exactly how I liked to unwindandmy favorite author.

Once we touched down, we loaded up into an SUV and drove an additional hour before arriving at a gated estate. After another fifteen minutes of traveling down a winding road, a massive villa came into view, and I couldn’t stifle my gasp. The old-world architecture was simply stunning, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the Mediterranean Sea could be seen just beyond where the structure sat on the edge of a cliff.

Matteo leaned over to speak in my ear. “Bought this place through a shell corporation. There’s no paper trail that can link it to us.”