Ruined in Vows (Marchetti Family #3)

20. Allegra

Chapter 20

Allegra

A fter Dante leaves, the rest of the day passes in a blur.

To try and keep my mind off everything, Nico arranges a private evening helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon for us. I commend his and the rest of my family’s efforts, but they must know that it is in vain. Anxiety bubbles underneath the surface of my skin, threatening to boil over. The uncertainty of what is going to happen next making me feel constant nausea.

Though I try several times to concentrate on the now, on the stunning sites of one of the seven wonders of the world, my thoughts never stray too far from Dante. As always, he is a constant. Dante is at the forefront of my mind no matter how many times my family tries to distract me. It’s exhausting. The relentless back and forth with myself, the worry.

But truthfully, I would take this unsettling feeling every day, if it means him being alive. His memory loss, and not knowing or understanding the extent of the damage to his brain is concerning. And despite wanting nothing more than him to come back to me, to remember everything about us and who he is, the niggling worry that it might never happen is persistent in my mind. His memories never returning would be a bittersweet pill to swallow, but again, he is alive. And never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted that.

His wife called. Several times.

The painstaking heartbreak I felt was nearly as much as when I thought he was dead. Dante is married. A fact I am either ignoring or stupidly keep forgetting. It’s most likely the former. My brain keeps blocking that little tidbit out, not wanting to face the possibility he has a wife.

“Are you okay, Tesoro ?” my brother's rumbled voice pulls me from my thoughts.

Glancing over, I find him frowning down at Ocean as he swipes her blonde hair from her face. We are in an SUV on our way back to the hotel after our excursion. To be honest, I enjoyed our trip, but I am anxious to get back to my suite. Right now, all I want to do is get into bed and sleep the stress of this day away.

“I’m fine. Just tired. Your baby is testing me today.” She smiles up at him with hearts in her eyes.

He pulls her in close, kissing the top of her head. “ Our baby,” he reminds her as if she could ever forget. “Sleep when we get back.” It’s not a question, more of an expectation.

Ocean chuckles at his demand. “I need to make sure Romeo is okay.”

“I can do that. And anyway, Marcia knows what she is doing. She should already have our son fed, bathed, and in bed,” he grunts.

“She will.” Ocean rushes to defend their nanny. “I just wanted to spend some time with him. I am struggling to keep my eyes open though.” She yawns, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment before opening once more.

My gaze locks on them, engrossed by the way they interact with each other. The love that sparks between them is tangible and clear on both their faces. For a split second, I wonder if ever having the possibility of the same with Dante will happen, or if too much has happened for us to ever get our happy ever after.

My throat tightens with emotion, heart panging in my chest when reality hits me like a ton of bricks. There is a very real chance that it might never happen for us. Unless we can figure everything out, and make Dante recall his life, I might have to face a future without him. Then there is the other big issue preventing us from being together. Riccardo and our impending wedding. Somehow though, I get the feeling that my fiancé has had a hand in all this, and I believe Nico suspects the same. Knowing my brother’s calculated mind, he has already started putting the twisted puzzle together.

Since the moment I found Dante alive, my thoughts - though mainly spent on him- have also been trying to work out the reasons behind someone doing this. I have thought over every possible scenario for faking Dante’s death, but I always end up circling back to one thing. Did Riccardo think Dante was a threat, so to solve the problem he eliminated the competition?

Not that it was ever a competition between Dante and Riccardo. I have always been, and will always be, the former’s, no matter what happens.

But… Riccardo was at my papà’s funeral, witnessing what even a blind man could have seen. The love between me and my brother’s best friend. A shiver wracks my body when I remember the way Riccardo’s face had twisted in anger, his eyes lighting up with clear venom. Was that day the catalyst for something more sinister? Did a plot for revenge form as he watched us like a hawk. After all, he is the only person that had something to lose by Dante being around. So, the question is, is Riccardo responsible for this whole thing?

Honestly, I could be barking up the completely wrong tree. But there is also a chance that I could be right.

And from what I overheard Nico talking about with Matteo yesterday, my brother has the exact same thoughts as me. Despite not being allowed to get involved in business, I voiced my suspicions to Nico. He had listened intently to my fears, and though he didn’t give me much of a response, I know he is investigating the possibility that Riccardo was involved with Dante’s disappearance.

I just hope he can find concrete evidence to bring Riccardo down, so that we can be done with my farce of an engagement once and for all.

“What do you want to do after we get back to the suite?” Athena asks, startling me from my reverie.

Glancing over, I find her watching me with hopeful eyes. Athena wants to go to a club, and I hate to disappoint her, but… I am just not feeling it right now.

“I was hoping we could get an early night. I am beat,” I murmur. The guilt of my best friend being stuck with me, hits me hard in the chest.

But even if we did go to a club, we wouldn’t be alone. Nico’s men would follow us. Watch our every move. Being surrounded by guards is stifling on the best of days, and right now it's the last thing I want.

Athena sighs, reaching out and taking my hand in a comforting squeeze. “We can do that. But tomorrow night, promise me we can go out dancing?”

Smiling, I squeeze her back. Though I can think of nothing worse, it’s the least I can do for her. Athena has been with me through it all, supporting me and holding me for hours when I cried. One night of dancing won’t kill me. “Deal.”

“Let me know which club you want to go to. I will arrange everything. Including the guards.” My brother butts into our conversation. I roll my eyes at the mention of security. As if I would ever forget the men continually following us, or the stipulations Nico enforced before our trip.

Ignoring him, I turn my attention to his wife. “What do you say, Ocean? Are you up for a night of dancing?”

My brother growls, the heat of his glower burning the side of my face. Ocean rolls her eyes, no doubt at his show of possessiveness, before taking his hand in hers. It’s a placating move. And once again, I’m impressed at the way my sister-in-law handles my brother. I never thought I would see the day that a woman could bring Nico to his knees, but here Ocean is, proving me wrong.

“Thank you for the offer, Allegra, but if I feel anything like I do now, I am going to have to pass,” she replies, a big genuine smile on her face as she snuggles into Nico.

“See how you feel tomorrow?” I ask hopefully.

She laughs, appeasing me with her answer. “I will see how I feel tomorrow.”

My smug smile goes to my brother, who glares at me as if I asked Ocean to sleep with a hundred different men and not to just go dancing. Anyone else would recoil at the look on his face but not me. I know he would never hurt me. Ignoring him, I turn to my mother.

“What about you Mamma? Girls’ night?”

She grins at me. “Girl’s night sounds good, honey.”

Smiling, I settle back into the seat, my thoughts going back to...

Dante.

His memory loss.

My wedding.

We need to figure things out and fast.

Because now that I know Dante is alive.

There is no way I am marrying another man.

Even if the man I love broke his promise and married another woman.