Page 4 of Bride of Betrayal
Angelica was tense as the car slowed and came to a stop outside a small church. Ornate. Old. Forbidding with its time-mottled walls and crumbling religious statues. She could see a small cluster of men in suits near the entrance. Her heart beat loudly. What was going on?
Leonardo got out of the car and came around to open her door. Sunlight blazed into the dark, making her squint. Now that she knew who he was, she couldn’tunsee that formidable build. Tall and powerful. Every muscle taut and honed. And yet even now she could sense something that hadn’t been there before. An edge. As if he’d cultivated another layer of steel since she’d seen him last.
Well, so had she. She pushed down the tumult inside her and determined not to let him see how much he’d surprised her. He put out a hand to help her out but she ignored it, taking her time to put back on her shoes before stepping out with as much grace as she could muster.
She regretted undoing her hair and taking off the veil now. Clearly she’d celebrated her freedom too soon. But when she stood up straight she was much closer to Leonardo than she’d anticipated, because he hadn’t moved back.
They were practically touching. Even in the heels, her head only came to his shoulder. His scent wrapped around her, mocking her for not noticing it before. Musky and woodsy. Sandalwood. His scent had always made her feel safe and that reminder made her jerk back so suddenly that she would have fallen if he hadn’t reached out to take her upper arm in his hand.
His touch was like a bomb detonating inside her, blasting apart the ice that she’d cultivated over three years. The ice was melting and becoming molten faster than she could stop it. She looked up, stunned and dismayed that he could still have this effect on her.
His eyes were golden now, blazing down into hers. Nostrils flaring. Jaw taut. He was the one to let her go and she took a jerky step back, thankfully not falling down.
‘What’s going on, Leonardo?’
He closed the door of the car and leaned back against it, folding his arms across his chest as if they had all the time in the world. ‘No chit-chat? I think after three years where you’ve lived handsomely off the proceeds of my work you owe me a civil conversation.’
Angelica felt the sun on her head, beating down. Merciless. Like this man. He had definitely changed. Gone was the kindness she’d seen in his eyes and face when they’d first met. It was one of the first things that had attracted her to him—the fact that he didn’t appear to have the same air of jaded, brittle ennui as everyone else around them. He’d still had an almost childlike enthusiasm.
Not any more. He was as hardened as everyone else. And no wonder. He’d been in jail. She swallowed. ‘What do you want?’
He tipped his head on one side as if considering. ‘Well, for a start, it would have been satisfying to look Aldo in the eye and make him tell me why he set me up.’
She’d known why. Aldo’s jealousy for Leonardo’s success had turned into something toxic and bitter.
Leonardo went on, ‘But he denied me that by dying.’
‘You’ve been fully exonerated,’ she pointed out, as if that could make up for what had happened.
‘The least that I’m due. I’ve lost three years of my life.’
So have I,Angelica responded silently.
‘You’ve been busy.’
Angelica blinked. Her work was the only thing that Aldo hadn’t sought to control because he’d liked the kudos of being married to one of the world’s top models too much. It had probably saved her life.
‘Yes, I have.’ This year alone she’d traversed the globe more times than she could count. And she was weary. Weary of the travelling and the work. She’d used it as a shield for the last three years but the truth was that she wanted out. And she wanted so much more. To spend time with her family. To see them with her own eyes. Touch them. Talk to them. Aldo hadn’t allowed her to visit them, threatening them if she did.
She hadn’t seen them now for four years. Her brother had almost finished his university course. Angelica was so proud of him. And in a few hours she would finally have her longed-for reunion.
She lifted her wrist and looked at her watch, panic solidifying in the pit of her belly. She looked at Leonardo. ‘I have to be at the airport now or I’ll miss my flight.’
He arched a brow. ‘Going somewhere nice?’
‘It’s none of your business.’
‘I think it is actually.’
Angelica’s heart palpitated. ‘Why is that?’
He straightened up from the car and unfolded his arms. ‘Because you’ve got something far more important to attend to.’
Tension spiralled inside her, making her voice sharp, and she spoke without thinking using the shortened version of his name. ‘Stop these riddles, Leo, and tell me what’s going on.’
His eyes flashed. Angelica cursed her lapse of judgment.Leohad been a term of endearment.
But now he was speaking. ‘I’ll tell you what’s going on. There’s a local legal official inside that church, vested with the power to marry us. You, Angelica Malgeri, are going to marry me and become my wife until such time as I feel like I’ve got all the retribution and rehabilitation I need out of our relationship.’
