Page 19 of Stolen Union

And it’s refreshing. It’s exhilarating. It makes me want to be with him just to be in rebellion against my brother, who kept me under lock and key for most of my life.

I try to be sneaky and slip my fingers under the blindfold to see where we’re going, but Dante catches me.

“I see you, you know,” he says.

I put the blindfold back in place. “I just wanted to see where we’re going. I’m going to be your wife, Dante. You might as well start trusting me now.”

He scoffs. “I don’t trust you at all not to run given the chance. You claim you want to marry me, but you also don’t want to be tied down. So, which is it? And which one can I trust?”

“It’s both,” I admit. “I think I’d much prefer to be married to you than Antonio. You’re a lot more fun than he is. But I never wanted to be a wife. I’ve only ever wanted freedom.”

He’s silent for so long I think it’s the end of our conversation. Until he says, “I want you to have freedom, Gabriella. I just want you to have it with me.”

“Why do you like me? Is it just to hurt my brothers or …”

“Or because I can’t stop fantasizing about you at night? Is that what you want to know?”

His words send a heat through my body. “You really fantasize about me at night?”

“Every damn night,” he growls.

I shudder. It’s like every nerve within my body has woken up.

“You like that,” he says. “I know you do.”

“Who says I like it? In fact, I’m repulsed.”

He chuckles. “I’m sure you are. Not so repulsed to not marry me.”

He has me there. My feelings for Dante are mixed. A large part of me wants him to kiss the life out of me while another part of me wants nothing to do with him.

“Let's just get this over with,” I mutter.

“We can do that. I can’t wait to be married to you, Gabriella De Luca.”

I don’t respond.

We continue driving for quite some time. I count the minutes in my head as we go but quickly lose track of time. It’s hard when you can’t see.

Eventually, Dante stops the car and tells me I can take off my blindfold.

We’re parked in front of a small church. Looking around, I see we’re in a small town. It just has that small town vibe, from the buildings to the cute shops to the people walking around. I try to look for street signs, but Dante is already out of the car and opening my door for me before I can see anything. Once we’re out of the car, he ushers me inside the church.

A reverend stands at the end of the aisle, holding onto a Bible.

“I’m Dante. I called earlier.”

The reverend nods his head. “I’m Reverend John. I’m glad I can marry you two today.”

There’s no one else inside the church. Dante really did plan this so I couldn’t escape.

“So, how much are you paying him off?” I whisper to Dante, nodding at Reverend John.

“Not much. But enough to keep him quiet.” Dante turns to the reverend. “We’d like to start the ceremony immediately.”

Dante and I face each other as Reverend John begins reciting things about marriage. I zone out. I never cared about marriage-related things, and I still don’t. But if my fate is to marry a Mafia man, then I’d much prefer it be Dante than Antonio. So far, Dante has proven just how exciting he can be. I don’t want a boring life locked in a tower.

Though, right now, I have a boring life locked in a cabin, which is worse. Hopefully, Dante will trust me more once we’re married and give me more freedom.

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