Page 135 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
I’m about to be engaged.
In the kitchen, I chug a glass of cold water, then follow it with another. The cook is making dinner, and she shoots me a worried look. “Are you all right, signorina?”
“No.”
She hands me a cannoli from a tray on the counter. “Here, you look pale.”
“I don’t think sugar’s going to be enough.”
She nods knowingly and splashes some vermouth into a thin glass. “Someaperitivobefore dinner,” she says as she passes it to me. “Signora De Rossi told me to have everything ready in fifteen minutes.”
I thank her and head outside to the interior courtyard. There’s a table with two chairs, and I take one of them as I sip my drink and nibble on the cannoli.
A fountain trills nearby, and the din of cicadas streams in from a nearby grove. It’s far hotter in this region than back at the castello, and I wish I’d worn a lighter shirt. Closing my eyes, I meditate on the sounds, allowing them to pull me into the present moment. I don’t want to think.
The door behind me opens. I recognize him from the sound of his footsteps, slow and steady and sure. He pulls a chair out and sits beside me, propping his forearm on the table, his fingers inches from my own. “How are you feeling?”
“You don’t need to pretend to care.”
“I do care, Mari.”
I shake my head, refusing to look at him. “Enough. Like you said, it’s over.”
There’s a pause. “You’ve come to terms with it then.”
“Did you think I’d cry over you for days?” I flick my gaze to him. “I’ll save my tears for far more worthy causes.”
He recoils slightly, pain crisscrossing his face, but I don’t care. I finish my vermouth and get up. “Dinner is about to start.”
I hear him follow behind me, my awareness of his body still tuned to high.
I hope it won’t last.
We sit down across the table from each other just as Ras, Vale, and Dem enter the room.
I reach for the bottle of wine and pour myself a big glass while everyone settles in. Is Giorgio going to join us for dinner every night from now on? God help me. I meant what I said. I’m done crying over him, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy being around him all the time like nothing’s happened.
The food is served. Once the staff leave the room, Dem stands and picks up his glass, meaning to give a toast. “I have an important announcement to make.” His gaze lands on me. “But first, I want to say how happy I am to have my sister back with us.”
I smile.
“The last few months have been difficult for you,” he continues. “You’ve lost someone important to you—Imogen. It was a senseless death. I have to admit that I spent many sleepless nights thinking about what I would do if you never returned to me. It is a hard thing to imagine. It’s also the reason why I asked Napoletano to take you with him. I thought it was the best way to keep you safe, given his unique skillset.” He turns to face Giorgio, who’s looking at him with an unreadable expression. “It’s a good thing you had the foresight to prepare Mari for the worst-case scenario, and of course, she was smart to listen to you. I want to thank you for ensuring that Mari got back to us in one piece.”
We raise our glasses and take a sip. Vale shoots me a careful smile before turning back to Dem. My brother’s clearly not done with his speech.
He swirls his glass, his expression pensive. “Mari, I can see that the time you’ve spent with Napoletano has had a positive effect on you.”
Giorgio shoots me a look, and heat rises up my cheeks. If only Dem knew exactly how we spent some of that time.
“You’ll always be my little sister,” Dem says, his eyes warm, “but I have to come to terms that you’re an adult now. Your decision earlier today confirmed that.”
My eyes widen. Is he going to tell them now?
“Martina has agreed to marry Matteo Grassi.”
The announcement is met with a momentary stunned silence before something shatters.
“I’m so sorry,” Vale stammers, sliding out of her seat to pick up pieces of her glass. “I just…wasn’t expecting that.”
