Page 148 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

When he raised his eyebrows, she added, warmth creeping into her cheeks, “To talk.”

That same amusement she’d seen when she had reacted to his slow perusal in the pub danced in his dark eyes now. “Got it.” For a few seconds, he gazed out over the lake and mountains, his features growing serious. Then he nodded, as though he hadwaged some internal battle before making a decision. “Three years ago, I was engaged to a woman named Carina. She was fantastic. Funny, brilliant, beautiful heart. I spent our entire engagement hardly able to believe that she had agreed to marry me. Then, a few days before the wedding…”

“She dumped you?” Jules desperately needed to lighten up this conversation before she became too invested in Dante de Marco’s life. In him.

He managed a sad half smile before saying, “She died.”

Jules closed her eyes and exhaled. When she opened them, she reached out and pressed a palm to the table between them. “I’m so sorry, Dante.”

“Thanks. It was terrible. Worse than terrible.”

“What happened?”

He shifted his gaze to the mountains in the distance. “We were out hiking. It was a gorgeous day, and we were laughing and having a great time, talking about our wedding plans and our life together. Then, suddenly, she held both hands to her head and let out this terrible cry of pain before she collapsed. I had no idea what to do. None of my rudimentary medical training had prepared me for anything like that. I called 911 and waited beside her, holding her hand and praying like I had never prayed before. It took them thirty minutes to get to us and by then she was gone. Brain aneurism.”

Jules felt sick. “I can’t imagine what you went through. That day or afterwards.”

He inhaled slowly, still gazing out at the mountains. “It was a long journey. Still ongoing. My sisters were there for me, which I’m sure saved my life. You know the hardest thing, though?” He turned in his chair to face her.

“What?”

“I’d had this strong faith before it happened. I truly believed in a God who was good all the time. A God who loved us andwanted the best for us. But after what happened…” He drove his fingers through his hair, leaving it slightly disheveled. “Well, I’ve struggled to believe that any of that is true.”

His words resonated deeply with Jules. She understood them completely, far more than she would like. “I get that.”

He studied her a moment, his eyes probing hers. “You do, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“I hope you’ll share your story with me sometime.”

Was she ready to do that? “Maybe.”

Dante nodded. “Anyway, like I said, my sisters have really been there for me. A few months ago, they got it in their collective head that I should move on, find another person to share my life with. I wasn’t nearly ready for that. I mean, what I had with Carina was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. At least,”—he shot her a glance before looking away—“I thought so. Which is why I was so resistant to my sisters setting me up with anyone else.”

“And why you were so obnoxious when they did.”

“Yeah.” A sheepish look crossed his face. “I held them off for months, but when they wouldn’t drop it, I decided I would go but that I would pull aHow to Lose a Guy in Ten Dayson whatever poor woman they picked for me.”

Jules raised her eyebrows. “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days?”

“Yeah, that rom-com with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson?”

“I’m embarrassed for you that you know that.”

He laughed, and the heaviness that had settled over the two of them lifted. “I’membarrassed for me. That’s what comes of having three sisters. Anyway, I figured I could do the reverse version, only I planned to pull aHow to Lose a Girl in Ten Minutesinstead of ten days. You know, intentionally doeverything guys do that drive women crazy. Take her to the worst possible place for a first date. Make zero effort to dress nicely or groom yourself. Be rude, uninterested in anything she has to say, ogle other women in front of her, act resentful about having to buy even a drink for her, that kind of thing. All designed so she would have absolutely no interest in seeing me again, which would let me off the hook. I figured it was their own fault, since they’d forced me to watch that movie with them a few weeks earlier.”

“Wow. Okay. I’ve never seen it, or I might have recognized the moves.”

“You should.” Dante glanced around as though someone might overhear him, even though they were miles from civilization. “It’s actually pretty good. Funny. Just do not ever tell my sisters I said that, or I shall be forced to retaliate.”

Jules mimed folding something up and sticking it in her jeans pocket. “I’m tucking that one away for future use.”

Dante rolled his eyes. “Anyway, that’s the story of howFrat Boycame to be. And speaking of him, I owe you a huge apology. Even at the time, I wasn’t proud of it. And after all the terrible things that have happened since, I’ve felt sicker and sicker about pulling a stunt like that. Although, even if none of that had happened, you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. So, I’m truly sorry.”

Jules sighed. “I appreciate that, although I have to take some responsibility. I came in with a really bad attitude myself. There was no way that night was going to go well.”

“Yet here we are.” He lifted his glass of water in her direction. “Friends, maybe.”