Page 63 of Isle of Beauty

It’s actually Julian who told me he killed the one who planted the bomb. I think Pierce isn’t ready yet to admit his blood-thirst. The saint is becoming the sinner and I don’t know if I’m really sorry about it when it gets him closer to me every single day.

Giulia gets me out of my reverie. “I have the perfect dress for you, babe.” Her eyes are bright with anticipation and I know I’m going to love it.

I stand to go to the dressing room and put it on. My heart slows in my chest and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. The intricate lace bodice is tight against my chest and embroidered with small dark green gems while the skirt is made of layers upon layers of tulle, with the first one the same forest green of the dress I wore at the engagement party.

This dress is a subtle nod to our history but to Pierce, it will be obvious and I know he’ll love it.

It’s been two weeks since the explosion and it’s the first time I feel really comfortable going out of my apartment. Being surrounded by my mother, sisters, Giulia and Bea Bartoli is the lightest I’ve felt in a very long time. Probably for years.

When I come out of the dressing room, oohs and aahs welcome me. And then tears, but that was expected.

“My baby, my narcisu,” my mother frames my face with her trembling hands, mist lining her eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”

Each woman embraces me with happy tears on their joyful faces. Giulia comes last and doesn’t let go for what feels like too long and too short a time. Her small hands clutch me to her, her nose buried in the crook of my neck. When she looks up, her green eyes sparkle with so much love it’s my turn to tear up.

“Tell me when and where and I’ll be there,” she whispers so no one else hears the promise of help for the retribution I deserve.

Someone else promised me the same thing and it’s time he knows why I ever left.

“Pierce?”

“In the office, mo cara.”

“Have you been working all day?”

“One of us has to, since you’ve let your duties fall to the back burner” he says with a half smile.

It’s true. I’ve let others completely take over from my duties, including Pierce, who directs our men into doubling down on security with the effectiveness of a general. With Giulia’s help, the trail of the bombing is slowly appearing.

“Any new lead?”

“The phone of the man responsible for the bombing only led us to the UK but the trail died, which makes me suspect someone else is working as hard as I do to cover their tracks. I know of only one man who could do that, I just never thought he’d do something like this.”

“Who?”

“My cousin Andrea Capaldi. He’s a sort of a genius hacker who turned his skills into a solid business, competing on the same market as me. Something just doesn’t add up” he sighs then rubs at his temples.

It’s instinct to thread my fingers into the dark locks of his hair and massage his scalp to relieve him of any tension. His eyes close and shoulders relax on an exhale before his forehead drops to my stomach and his hands brackets my hips.

Such a contrast to what I’ve known before.

His eyes are full of uncertainty when he looks up at me and says, “I don’t deserve you.”

Gratitude doesn’t begin to encompass how I feel about my fiancé. Not only for saving me the night of the explosion but for making me feel alive and cherished like I’ve never known before.

The living room is silent but for the light buzz of the electronics and I whisper when I speak again. “Meeting you was the best thing that happened to me.”

I perch on his lap because I can’t stand the distance. What I need to tell him, what I need to ask of him, it needs to be said face to face, heart to heart.

Pierce waits patiently for me to speak, giving me time to gather my thoughts. My heart swells. His hot body underneath mine and the beat of his own heart under my hand is the support I need to finally tell him my story, to finally come clean and maybe deserve to have a man like him in my life. I want to have someone I can call my own, who knows me better than anyone else, not the persona I project or the person I need to be as the face of a powerful organisation.

“When you and I met, I was to be married to Eduardo Garcia, of Garcia Hotel Management. The contract was signed and the date was set but I needed something just for myself.”

His hand comes to pet my hair and gives me the strength to continue.

“Growing up, I was always going to become the Heir to the Moretti empire, despite my sister Angèle being three years older than me. I had an appetite for it that she didn’t. I wanted to prove to my father, and maybe to myself, that I could do anything he did. The violence soothed my temper and the power fed my vanity. I was needed and revered and I loved it. I still do, to be honest.”

He chuckles.

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