Page 71 of Borrowed Bride

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GIANNA

“Will you marry me?”

I should pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Tangled in Marco’s arms as he weaves such sweet words in my ear, how can I resist? Maybe I should say no until everything is sorted and calmed down—but I know in my heart of hearts that he isn’t guilty for what happened to Fawn—and if I’ve learned anything over the years it’s that nothing ever settles down.

There’s always something more, something worse. Nothing is ever calm, and there’s never been a return to normal, so if I wait, I’ll be waiting forever. Maybe there’s more to think about, but in this moment, I just want something nice—just one thing to go right.

“Yes,” I say after a few seconds of staring into the depths of his eyes that hold warmth only for me. “Yes, I would love to marry you!” After five years, I love him as dearly now as I did when it broke my heart to run away all those years ago.

I cradle his jaw and nod as happy tears flood my eyes. “Yes, yes!”

Marco kisses me deeply and rolls us over until he’s above me, kissing me repeatedly. “We’ll be married for real,” he whispers against my lips. “A real wedding with just us and no one in the way. No guns, no shooting. And a better dress.”

He kisses me again as we laugh and blissfulness warms my tired body. It will be the best wedding in history.

Sleep comes pretty quickly after that, especially once Marco takes some of the painkillers Fawn acquired for him. I don’t tell him that part yet, instead I let him fall asleep next to me while I slip into unsettling dreams. They’re a mix of bliss with Marco and fear from the ambulance and seeing the club explosion on the news.

Even asleep, I’m distantly aware of how a third party has been playing all of us for fools.

The next morning, we wake to the scent of coffee and toast, and I show Marco where he can get some fresh clothes. They’re not his usual luxury brand but they will do. Then I take his hand and lead him through the house, following the scents. A soft murmur of conversation rises from the kitchen, and when we enter, I spot Tara and Cherry near the stove as they nurse coffee mugs and talk.

Leonardo sits at the table and my heart lurches. I’d momentarily forgotten about him. He woke up a day earlier than Marco and our reunion had been tense. He’d mostly been stunned that I was alive, then more stunned that we had saved him. He’d been subdued by the promise that answers were coming, but I’d become distracted by Marco and we’d delayed that accidentally.

“Gianna!” Tara smiles widely; then, her smile falters when she spots Marco behind me. There is a single second of peace before Marco and Leonardo spot one another, then they lunge at each other like wild animals.

“You fucker!” Marco yells. “Trying to bury me for a second time huh?!”

“Me?!” Leonardo yells back. “You’re the one fucking destroying all my property!”

Just as they clash with one another, Cherry and Tara are there to haul them apart and it’s alarming to see just how desperately each man claws the air to try and reach the other. Tara slams Leonardo back against the fridge, dislodging a few magnets in the process, while Cherry shoves Marco into the next room.

“Marco!” I run after him, placing my hands on his heaving chest as he seethes with rage. “Please, you have to listen to me okay? Leonardo’s not the bad guy you think he is. I mean, heis, but in this context, he’s really not.”

“What?” Marco turns those flaming angry eyes on me and I pull my hands back slightly.

“Trust me,” I plead. “I can explain everything.”

It takes Marco a few minutes to calm down, but eventually, he sits on the sofa and allows Leonardo into the room. While they sit as far away from each other as they can, they both accept cups of coffee. I sit next to Marco, keeping some space, as what I’m about to say will be hard for him to hear.

“For the past five years, I’ve lived thinking that you were dead, Marco. I was told and believed that the explosion that night at the safe house killed you and that Leonardo was responsible.”

“I didn’t—” Leo surges forward but he’s silenced by a dangerous look from Cherry.

“And so, for these past years I’ve been alive living in a safe house. I was put there by someone I thought was keeping me safe and I was…busy.” Bringing up Freya is a whole other can of worms I can’t get into right now. “And time passed so quickly.And then I began to think that the person keeping me safe wasn’t actually doing that. I was really a prisoner.”

“Who?” Marco demands, gripping my hand. He sends evil glances toward Leonardo. “I’ll kill them. I swear I will.”

“Dante,” I say softly.

Marco freezes and confusion washes over his face. His lips part and no sound appears. Even Leonardo seems surprised as he shifts in his seat but doesn’t speak.

“I don’t understand,” Marco says tightly as his brows knit together. “Dante—my father—has kept you hidden all these years?”

“Yes. He told me you were dead, and that the remaining family was after me as revenge. He told me Leonardo was also hunting me down because I’d embarrassed him with the wedding fiasco and he also thought that the whole thing had been a ruse.”

Leonardo had already been informed about Cherry and Tara, and why I was forced to run so he was soothed in knowing there was no grand plan there from Marco.

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