Keeping his bride

Verona

A

FTER THE NIGHT that Luca suddenly left dinner, I didn’t see him again for a couple of days. I have no idea who was on the other end of that phone call, but I hope it’s nothing serious. And I hope it’s not him plotting revenge against my father, you know, the usual Vitale thing to do.

It’s late in the evening when Benito informs me dinner will be served outside tonight. Confused, I try to ask him questions, but he walks away before I can get any answers.

I can’t help but get excited about eating outside, though. The property is massive, so hopefully we’ll be in a place where we’ll be able to see all the stars. I’ve missed staring up at the night sky, which was an almost nightly ritual for me before I married Luca.

After I shower and get dressed for dinner in a simple navy-blue dress and matching heels, I bump into Dante in the hallway on the way to his room. “Are you changing for dinner?” I ask him.

“I already ate,” he says with a furrowed brow.

“Oh.” I just ssumed the four of us would be dining again, but no matter. It must just be Benito, Luca and me. I know Luca can’t stand to be alone with me in the same room for very long, so he’ll use Benito and whoever else as a buffer so that he can tolerate me during the meal.

“I’m going to bed early. Goodnight, V,” Dante tells me before leaning in and kissing my cheek.

I’m taken aback by the gesture, but it makes me smile. “Goodnight,” I call after him before I make my descent down the stairs.

Sure enough, Benito is waiting for me. “Shall we?” he asks, extending his arm like a gentleman.

“We shall,” I say with a giggle.

Benito leads me outside the patio, and I hold his arm a little tighter than necessary as we walk past the swimming pool.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall in,” Benito reassures me in a whisper.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“I’m surprised Luca didn’t want to dine in the water tonight as a cruel joke on me,” I tell him with a huff.

Benito is quiet for several steps before he says, “Be patient with him, Verona. Everything will work out in the end. You’ll see.”

I’m about to ask him what he means by that; but then we round the corner, and I stop dead in my tracks.

The backyard has been transformed into some magical place with fairy lights, a small, white tent with a table and two chairs. I’m in awe as Benito pulls me forward, and it almost feels like I’m floating to the most serene place in the world.

There’s even a blanket with pillows laid out in the grass, and I am practically bursting with excitement. “Benny, did you do all of this?” I ask him.

“No. He did,” he says, gesturing to the tent.

And that’s when Luca steps out, looking brutally handsome in a black tailored suit. He’s sans tie, and the buttons at the top of his black button-up shirt are undone. He looks like he just stepped out of the cover of GQ magazine, and I can’t help but admit that my husband looks hot.

Benito carefully drops my arm and walks away, leaving Luca and I alone. My hands fidget at my sides. I don’t know why I’m so incredibly nervous all of a sudden.

Luca motions to the table and chairs. “Please. Sit,” he says.

He pulls out a chair for me; and when I’m seated, he slides me in closer to the table. “Thank you,” I whisper to him.

I watch his every move as he goes to the other side and takes a seat across from me. I look around the gauze tent, which is decorated with more fairy lights than I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

“Benny said you did this,” I say, my eyes darting around before finally landing on Luca. “When did you do this?”

“Today.” He glances around and grimaces before confessing, “Took a long time too.”

“I bet.” Even though I want to let my guard down around Luca, I know I can’t. This could just be another ploy to get me to trust him. I think back to the party, in the back of the car…when he tricked me into saying all those things so that Dante could hear them. Nothing Luca ever does is out of the kindness of his heart, so what does this grand gesture mean for me? He must want something big in return.

Before I can question him, a few members of the kitchen staff come out with our entrees. When they lift the silver lids, I’m expecting some fancy Italian dish. But I’m shocked when I see…a cheeseburger and French fries?

I laugh out loud at the sight. “What…” I can’t even finish my sentence. “I haven’t had a burger in so long,” I say, my mouth watering at the sight.

“I thought we could try something different tonight,” he offers.

I don’t even wait for him to start. Instead, I pick up that big, juicy burger and bite into it. It’s cooked to perfection and topped with all of my favorite things – lettuce, pickles, tomato and the perfect combo of mayonnaise and ketchup.

After I’m done chewing my first bite, I ask him, “How did you know I would like this?”

“It was just a hunch. After you told me you didn’t really grow up around here, I figured burger and fries would be your go-to meal.”

I nod in agreement. Whenever I was feeling down about stuff, I would always go to the nearest burger joint and indulge. It was only ever a temporary fix; but while I was eating, I could just pretend that everything was…normal.

I watch in amusement as Luca rolls up his suit sleeves and grabs his burger. He takes a hearty bite, the juices running down his stubbled chin as he chews. He’s quick to grab a napkin and wipe his face, and the smile he gives me when he sees me watching is breathtaking. He looks so boyish and carefree. I would never assume that the man sitting across from me is a dangerous mafia boss.

No, right now it feels like we’re on a date. A real date. Just two people getting to know each other without a care in the world.

The fries are fresh cut, salty and oh so good. I shovel a couple in my mouth after dipping them in ketchup, of course. “I’m assuming Greta didn’t cook this?” I ask.

Amusement crinkles the corners of his eyes when he shakes his head. “No, I had one of the other cooks prepare this. Greta was upset with me when I told her we didn’t want her pasta carbonara tonight.”

“Maybe she can make it for us tomorrow,” I tell him with a shy grin.

“Sure,” he agrees.

We eat our cheeseburgers and fries in silence for a while. I’m actually enjoying Luca’s company tonight. He doesn’t seem so…tense and overbearing. Usually he has this aura around him that’s so unapproachable. But tonight, everything feels different. I still don’t know what to make of it all, though. My guard is definitely still up, because I’ve been tricked before by my husband.

After we’re done eating, the staff brings out a mint chocolate cake, my favorite. My eyes bounce up to meet

Luca’s. “How did you know?” He shrugs with a smile.

“Dante told you, didn’t he?” I ask.

Instantly, the smile on Luca’s face turns into a frown. “No,” he says, his eyes narrowing. “Actually you chose that cake the first time we had a meal together.”

“Oh.” I shrug off his reaction to me mentioning Dante’s name and dig into the cake. I savor every bite, even licking the fork clean after I’m done. “That was delicious.”

Luca barely touched his cake, but he doesn’t seem put off by it. It’s almost like he wants me to be happy tonight, for some odd reason. I just wish I could figure him out.

After the plates are cleared from the table, I’m sipping on a very expensive red wine when Luca picks up something from underneath the table and places it near me on the white tablecloth. I stare at the wrapped gift in confusion. “What’s this for?” I ask, feeling skeptical already.

“I wanted to give you something,” he says before clearing his throat. “I haven’t exactly treated you fairly since you arrived here, and I’m hoping to make amends.” His eyes shift to mine before he adds, “Starting tonight.”

The present is wrapped beautifully in white paper and teal ribbon. I carefully remove the ribbon and open the lid. My brows furrow when I inspect the contents of the box.

It’s some kind of photo album.

Curious, I pull out the album and open it to the first page. It’s a beautiful black and white photograph of Luca and I standing at the altar in the church on the day we were married. Our eyes are locked in some kind of weird trance. I think it might have been the first moment I looked at him. The expression in our faces is a mixture of curiosity and amazement. The photographer captured it perfectly, and I’m taken aback by the raw magnetism we felt in that moment together without even realizing it.

“I didn’t even notice the photographer,” I admit to him in a soft tone. I was so disheveled and nervous that day that I wasn’t able to focus on anything other than the fact that I needed to walk down that aisle and marry a total stranger.

I flip through the next few pages. There are more pictures of the wedding, people in attendance, and my father walking me down the aisle, which makes tears well up in my eyes. There are even candid photos of the back of my dress and veil and my bouquet.

“Wow,” I gasp when I stare at all the photos in awe.

“This is amazing,” I tell Luca.

“You like it?”

I look up to meet his eyes, and I can see the trepidation in his expression. He really wants me to like this. “Did you…did you put this album together yourself?” I ask him.

“Yes,” he says with a nod. “Do you like it?” he asks again.

“No, I don’t like it.” I can see his expression fall right before I tell him, “I absolutely love it.”

His lips stretch into a grin, and I can’t help but smile back. Flipping back to the beginning, I look at the photographs all over again, one by one. I’m so enamored by the album that I don’t even realize Luca left the table until I hear him calling my name from somewhere nearby.

I glance over to where his voice came from, and I see that he’s lying on the blanket in the grass that I spotted earlier. His suit jacket is now gone, and his black button-up shirt sleeves are rolled up, showcasing his muscular forearms and tattoos.

I gently set the photo album down on the table, and I slip out of my high heels before sinking my bare feet into the cool grass. I walk over to him and stare down at him, switching from foot to foot nervously.

Luca pats the blanket beside him with a warm smile on his face. I only hesitate a second longer before I sink down to my knees and lie beside him on the blanket.

“Give me one sec,” he tells me before pushing a button on a remote. The fairy lights suddenly turn off, and then we’re surrounded by darkness. “Now…look up,” he whispers from beside me.

And when I look up to the night sky, I gasp in awe at the millions of stars in the sky.