Page 61 of Dangerous Deception

“We married young, and everyone told us it would fail. They were right, in the end. Just not in the correct way.”

“What happened?” I ask softly when Raffaele allows for a longer silence.

“She died when I was twenty-nine. Cancer. Nearly ten years ago now. She was sick for a long time, and nothing I could do helped. I didn’t have the money I have now, so I couldn’t help her with her treatments. I don’t even know if treatment would have helped but in the end, I just had to watch her fade away.”

My chest squeezes like a weight has been placed on it, and my thoughts turn to my mother. While her illness was never diagnosed, the pain of watching a loved one suffer and fade away is painfully familiar.

“I’m so sorry.” My thumb skims over his knuckles. “That must have been so terrible for you.”

“When she died, my world turned black and it stayed that way. Nothing mattered. For years, I didn’t think there was any color left at all and I was happy to just let everything fizzle out until my time came.” He stops walking, gently pulling me to a stop, and our eyes meet. “Until I met you.”

My heart flutters like a caged butterfly and I look away, fighting the rather excitable wave of tension knotting my stomach. “I’m sorry you lost her,” I say. “I can relate a little.”

“With your mother?”

I nod and resume walking with Raffaele at my side. “I was only a child, so I don’t remember a lot. But I remember feeling so frustrated that I couldn’t do anything to help. My father would scold me for looking up remedies online, but my mother, bless her heart, she tried every healing tea I could get my hands on.” A fond smile steals across my lips. “But in the end, there was nothing I could do.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Raffaele says quietly, and he leans closer, brushing his lips against my temple. “It seems we’re cut from a similar cloth with grief.”

“Mmhmm.” I nod slowly. There’s nothing quite like watching your world waste away and being powerless to intervene. “Itnever gets easier, does it?” I look up at him, his hair gleaming like liquid gold in the sun. “The pain.”

“No. But it becomes easier to deal with. Sometimes when it hits, it’s worse than any blade or bullet. But finding something else to focus on helps.”

I understand it now, I think. Why Raffaele looks at me with such intensity. He’s lived with watching his previous wife fade away and die, so he’s earned an appreciation for moments such as these, no matter how small.

“And I promise you,” he continues softly. “You will never have to witness such a thing ever again. I will take care of you and everyone you remotely care about. No one in your life that you care about will suffer if I can help it.”

“A hard promise,” I say, coming to a halt at the shoreline. Warm water laps at my bare feet and ankles as Raffaele’s arm drapes lightly across my shoulders. My thoughts turn briefly to Marie, and while the pain is still as vibrant as the cut of a razor, I believe Raffaele would have saved her if there were a way.

“A promise I intend to keep,” he replies, gazing out at the ocean. “And maybe one day, you will stop hating me.”

“Never,” I tease softly. “The sex wouldn’t be half as good if I didn’t hate you.”

Raffaele laughs loudly.

Inside, my stomach twists at the noise of his amusement.

I don’t hate him.

Not anymore.

Honestly, I’m not even sure I ever did.

But one thing is becoming abundantly clear throughout this trip.

I have feelings for him.

And I’m scared of how deep they go.

25

ADELINA

“You’ll be unrecognizable when you go home,” jokes Caterina from where she lounges next to me beside the pool.

“How do you mean?” I crack open one eye and peer at her over the top of my sunglasses.

“Well, when I met you, you were understandably timid. You’d been through hell, and I’m not faulting for that. But look at you now. It’s what, July? And you’ve turned into this gorgeous, bronzed goddess.”

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