Page 60 of Dangerous Deception

24

ADELINA

Aweek of absolute bliss passes.

Good food. Good wine. Amazing sex. Raffaele wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to explore everything with me. Maybe it’s the fresh Italian air, or the warmth of the sun, or the fact that we’re on holiday. Something is different, and I like it.

I like it a lot.

The people who run the manor in Raffaele’s absence are just as kind as he is. The head of the house teaches me to cook. I do terribly, but she praises my enthusiasm. We also make wine together, and after the initial gross sensation of crushing grapes between my toes, it becomes incredibly fun. But something sticks out to me more than anything else.

There are children here—two children who are clearly American. When I ask about them, everyone gets quiet and it isn’t until late one night during a cooking lesson that I learn the truth. These children belonged to a family in the States, the Amantes. Their family is dead, and while no one gives me the exact details, it seems Raffaele was involved but not to the degree that I’d expect. Raffaele sent the children here at theirmother’s request to keep them safe. She took her own life not long after, and Raffaele made sure the people who drove her to that no longer walk this earth. And now they are being cared for on Raffaele’s dime.

This is yet another tidbit of information that blurs Raffaele’s monster reputation. The children are young but clearly happy, and while my heart goes out to their mother, I’m sure she’d be happy to see them safe and alive.

Raffaele has so many secrets. I haven’t spent much time getting to know him because in the beginning, I didn’t care, but the story regarding the children further fuels my interest in something I overheard a week ago.

A name.

Caught between the glaze of wakefulness and sleep, I heard Raffaele out on the balcony talking to someone. His words were low, and the hum of his voice was soothing me back to sleep just as a name slipped through.

Serena.

Who is she?

Is that something I can ask?

My curiosity bubbles over one afternoon while we’re walking hand in hand along the beach. The sand warms between my toes, the waves roll gently over one another, and a cool breeze keeps the smothering heat of the sun at bay for the moment.

“Raffaele?”

“Hmm?” He glances down at me with a light smile, causing a few strands of his blond hair to drift across his forehead.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Who is Serena?”

His hand tightens briefly in mine. “Where did you hear that name?”

Maybe this is a bad topic. “Last week, I think. I was falling back asleep and you were on the balcony, and it sounded like you said something about someone called Serena? Unless I misheard, in which case, just ignore me.” I attempt to laugh it off, suddenly wary that pressing into this matter might turn Raffaele into some angry, irritated mess. My father is exactly like that when I press into matters that don’t involve me.

“That’s all you heard?” Raffaele asks softly. “Just a name?”

“If it even was a name.” I laugh awkwardly and shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.” Focusing hard on my next few steps in the sand, I dodge around a cluster of shells and turn my attention to the gorgeous white buildings that line the beach in the distance.

“She was my childhood sweetheart,” Raffaele replies after a lengthy silence. “And my wife.”

Sand turns into mud and I stumble in surprise, gaping up at him. “Your wife? You were married before?”

“Is that really a surprise?”

“Well, I mean no. But also kind of?” Stumbling over my words, heat warms my cheeks.I really dove into something incredibly personal, didn’t I?“I just had no idea that there was anyone before me, that’s all.”

“It was a long time ago.” His smile fades slightly, although he briefly maintains eye contact. “We grew up together. My mother was close with her mother, and we were firm friends before anything romantic developed. Puberty hit us both hard, and she was the only person I could stand to be around when life got hard. And life gotreallyhard.”

I don’t speak. Interrupting him seems too rude.

---