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Renato’s mouth pulled to the side in a half-grin, and then he was lifting the jewels out of the box. “Think of them as a wedding gift.”
I’d never seen such beautiful jewelry, even at the fancy galas I’d served at La Leonora.
“Mynonnowas a powerful man. He wasn’t born into it. He made the first steps toward De Sanctis power in Napoli. Back then, the man who ruled the city was called Stromboli. The story goes that mynonnosaw Stromboli’s daughter one day while she was walking in the garden of their home. He was the driver. He was twenty-five, and she was eighteen. He fell in love at first glance.
Ten years later, when her father died, he named mynonnohis successor, despite the fact that he had three sons. No one knows what passed between the dying man and the man who was his chauffeur, but within a week, mynonnohad married Stromboli’s daughter and seized power. As he grew in power, they say he became more and more paranoid about his bride’s safety. He lavished her with gifts and built her a house that only a queen could dream of, but he didn’t let her outside.”
“Sounds like your kind of relationship.”
Renato smiled, but it was sad somehow. “My father was of the same mentality as mynonno. A gilded cage for flightless birds. Turn around.”
I complied slowly, hyperaware of his hot breath on the back of my neck. His hands circled around me, fitting the necklace into place.
“Why would you give these to me? Am I doomed to repeat yournonna’sfate?” He fastened the clasp, and the silver felt cold against my skin.
“She never wore them. She had nowhere to go. It was her silent protest at how her life turned out. She accepted the gifts but never wore a single one.”
I didn’t know what to say in this unexpectedly intimate moment. I had nothing to reciprocate his family secrets with. My mother died giving birth to Lucy, and with every day that passed, I remembered her less and less.
“I’m giving these to you because I’ve never met anyone else I’d rather give them to,” he murmured. “And I want you towearthem, little nurse, and not just today.”
His touch made my skin burn. How could my body behave like this? Soaking up even the slightest brush of this man’s fingers like they were water in a desert? Did he mean he wouldn’t keep me locked up a luxurious cage, like his grandfather had done to his grandmother?
“They suit you. Priceless jewels for a one-of-a-kind woman.”
His thumb stroked up the nape of my neck, sending tingles out in waves across my shoulders. We could both feel it. The tension between us was like nothing I’d ever felt before. My body was attuned to his. I could tell where he was with my eyes shut. It was like my body lit up when he was near and faded into darkness when he was gone.
And I was spying on him.
“Are you sure we have to do this?” The question left me before I could stop it. The thought of the bug, sitting right now in the potted plant in Renato’s office, kept playing on my mind. Not because betraying him was undeserved, but because I was sure it wouldn’t turn out well for me or Lucy. We were just collateral damage in a game being played between giants.
“I’m sure. Today, you will be my wife. And if someone should try to take you from me?” he added. “No one could stop me from taking you back. Not the cops, not a guardian angel with a flaming sword, not even the Pearly Gates themselves could stop me. Remember that.”
Not the cops?Fear doused me at his words. Was he talking generally, or did he already know? I didn’t dare meet his eyes for fear of what I’d see.
“I’ll let you handle the earrings,” he suggested, stepping away.
I swallowed past the dry hunk of awkwardness lodged in my throat and simply nodded.
A knock sounded at the door, and Elena, the makeup artist, entered.
“Keep her natural. I want her to look like herself,” Renato snapped to the girl before striding toward the doorway.
“But the photographs…” Elena started.
“Will be perfect.”
I turned around just in time to see him disappear without a backward glance.
* * *
I peereddown at the ring on my finger, marveling at the weight of it.
The ceremony had passed in a blur, and now the reception was speeding by, bringing us closer and closer to the wedding night. I felt so nervous I could throw up.
Was it nerves or excitement?
Ignoring the traitorous voice in my head, I glanced around the huge ballroom where the reception was being held. It was so full of flowers and glittering lights, it hurt to look at. Stares followed my every move. Questions were whispered in my wake.
