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“There, done.” He stands, pulling me up with him. “Now, can I please fuck my future wife?”
I bring my hand up and admire the sparkly ring. “D, with this ring on my finger, you can do whatever you want to me.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear, sweetheart.” He bends down, sweeps me into his arms and marches us toward the bedroom.
EPILOGUE
Maisy
“You know, a limo would’ve been much more comfortable,” Dante grumbles from the back of my Mini Cooper, popping his head between the front seats.
“Oh, shush.” Rose swats at him and he sits back, wedged between two enormous suitcases. “I won’t get to see Maisy for who knows how long. I want to get in every last minute of girl time.”
I catch Dante’s eyeroll in the rearview mirror along with the silly grin that tugs at his lips. He’s clearly head over heels for my friend, and despite everything, I’m so happy things worked out for them.
“I’m sorry, you guys, I just wanted to help.” I turn the volume up on the latest Taylor Swift hit, but it goes up way too fast and too high. “Eek, sorry!” I shout as Dante claps his hands over his ears.
“And you are being very helpful,” Rose croons. “I’d much rather you drive us than grumpy Aldo.”
Dante grunts from the backseat, and heat flares across my cheeks. I can’t seem to do anything right. Driving Rose and her new fiancé to the airport is the least I could do. Ever since the truth came out about my ex-husband, a.k.a. Rose’s stalker, I’ve been weighed down by this overwhelming guilt. How could you know someone for years and never reallyknowthem? I’m clearly not only naïve and stupid, but I’m also blind.
What other terrible things had Jasper done while we were married? Or before? We’d been together since my senior year of high school and married before my twentieth birthday. Jasper was a friend’s older brother, which accounted for our rather significant age gap of fifteen years. When had the charming, tempting older man become the sinister stalker with a secret life?
After he disappeared from the shipping yard last week, I’d immediately contacted my lawyer to get to the bottom of his alter ego, Dr. Mark Rattinger, the plastic surgeon. Jasper had gone to medical school but had opted to join the family business instead. Or at least that’s the story I’d been fed. How does one get a medical license under a fake name anyway? It’s all so surreal; I still can’t wrap my head around it.
Rose convinced me to let Dante handle it, but now that they’re leaving town for this pre-wedding honeymoon, I’m worried Jasper will slip through the cracks. And I need answers. Was any of it real? Was our entire marriage a sham?
My throat constricts, and I force the dismal thoughts to the farthest recesses of my mind. I did not offer my friend a ride today to dwell on my dark past.
Turning to Rose, I catch her ogling her ring. I’m not sure she even notices she’s doing it, but her eyes constantly flicker to the huge diamond. My gaze drifts to my hands wrapped around the steering wheel, and the pale band of skin on my ring finger. It took a long time for me to take my wedding band off, but the moment I did, I felt free.
“So, you’re sure I can have my job back at Palestra when I return?” Rose’s hopeful eyes dart to mine.
“Yes, it’s totally fine. All the clients love you.”
Dante mutters a curse, the deep tone only accentuated with the gruff Italian. I don’t need to speak the language to guess what he’s saying. Rose has already filled me in on the ongoing argument about her returning to work. I told her to stick to her guns. I’d been so young when I married Jasper, I never had a career. Now here I am at twenty-three, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life.
“Thank you!” Rose cries. “I really like them too, and of course, I adore working with you.”
“You mean you love our coffee and lunch breaks.”
She smiles. “Yup, exactly.”
The signs for JFK appear overhead, and Rose starts to squirm in her seat. “I can’t believe we’re doing this!” She claps her hands and pivots around to face her fiancé. “Can I please just tell Maisy where we’re going?”
“No,” he barks, his tone brooking no room for argument.
But she tries anyway. “Please, Dante … she’s not going to tell anyone.”
“Rosa, it’s not that I think she would be stupid enough to reveal our secret willingly. My concern is thatsomeonemight force her to.”
A chill squirms up my back at the implied threat in his words. “But why would anyone think I know anything?” I blurt. After the little bits and pieces that Rose has shared in the past week about the Kings, it’s become clear there’s more going on in that multi-billion-dollar company than meets the eye, but I kept my mouth shut and didn’t ask any questions. Now I’m starting to regret any involvement.
“They won’t,” Dante growls. “Just stay the course, Maisy. Go through your lawyers and the private investigators. They’ll find your ex and send him to jail for the rest of his life where thatfiglio di puttanabelongs.” A scowl slashes across his lips, and the tendon in his jaw pulses. “If they don’t, I’ll deal with it when we get back.”
“Okay. You’re right, I’m sure they’ll take care of it.” I heave in a deep breath and focus on the exit sign ahead. The last thing I need is to get lost on the way to the airport, which is totally something I’d do.Everything’s going to be fine, Maisy. Jasper is finally out of your life, and it’s going to stay that way.
* * *
