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“Go, Niko. I’m fine,” Aria says weakly.
I feel triumphant that she’s supporting my request. I watch Niko expectantly.
He glares at me. “When you’re recovered, we’re leaving here, Aria. I promise.” He leaves, and the tension in the room drops by several degrees.
“I’ll help her with lunch,” I say to Roberta, dismissing her.
Finally, we’re alone, and I sit next to Aria on the bed. It’s all I can do not to gather her close. But I can’t not touch her.
“Mio Angelo.” My hand caresses her cheek. She closes her eyes, leaning into me. It’s like a gift.
Tears run down her cheeks, and I can’t resist. I wrap her in my arms. “I’m so sorry.” I kiss her head and wish I could take back everything that brought her pain. I want to ask her why she ran off, but now is not the time to hash out such things.
“How long have I been… asleep?”
“You’ve been in and out for a few days. You had IV fluids, but mostly, we’ve let you rest.” I think she’s shaking, but then I realize it’s me. I feel like I’m coming apart, but I need to hold it together for her.
“That man called Niko. I tried to let him know that it was Sabini, not you?—”
“I know. It’s okay. Niko doesn’t like me, but he knows how I feel about you.”
She glances up at me, and I see questions in her eyes. I kiss her gently. “You’re okay now, Aria.”
“Has Niko been here long?”
Is she already thinking of leaving again?
“He arrived the day we found you.”
She settles her head against me, and I feel like maybe I have a chance to put all this right. Except I’m not quite sure where I went wrong except, of course, the ultimatum.
“I’m sorry I just left. I didn’t think. Niko’s right, I’m too immature and impulsive.”
“I think you’re perfect, Mio Angelo.”
She looks up at me, and for the first time in too long, I see the woman I fell for the moment I met her. “You do?”
“Yes, why do you think I want to marry you? But I will say that you should recognize that here, as in New York, you need to take greater caution.”
She nods. I want to ask her if she’s going to stay, but I find I’m too much of a coward.
The door opens and Roberta pokes her head in. “Scusa, Don Conte.” In Italian, she tells me the doctor has left a prescription and that Niko wants to talk to me.
I kiss Aria again and then rise. “You need to eat and rest.”
Roberta brings the tray of food to Aria, setting it in her lap.
“I’ll be back later.”
She nods, giving me a wan smile.
I step out of the room and Niko is waiting. Tension radiates off him in waves. “I know you plan to make her stay?—”
“Unlike you, Niko, I don’t have to kidnap or coerce a woman to make her stay.” Okay, so my ultimatum and seduction might be manipulative, but he kidnapped his wife.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. My wife—” He stops. “The point is, Conte, she wants to go home. If not for Sabini, she’d be home. You know that.”
I cross my arms and study him. “Would you have forged an alliance with him? Killed me for him?”
