22. Summer #2
One of his shoulders rose in a half-shrug. “Allegra and I had an arranged marriage.”
Allegra. That was the name Gabi had mentioned when we were inside the club.
Matteo continued to explain. “Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. In powerful mafia families, it’s widely accepted that matches are crafted to align interests and forge alliances. Love was never part of the bargain.” He heaved a sigh. “Heirs, however . . . those are a requirement.”
“Oh.” The picture was becoming clearer.
“You have to secure the bloodline. Without it, your family’s legacy dies with you.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Allegra and I understood the assignment. She was pregnant with Bianca only a few months after our wedding. But only boys can inherit.”
I bristled. “Well, that’s stupid.”
He huffed out a laugh. “My cousin, Gemma, would agree. While I want my girls to be able to achieve anything they set their minds to, I can understand the tradition to a certain extent. As a father, I would do anything in my power to protect my daughters. And taking a life? It steals a part of your soul. Do it enough times and, eventually, there’s nothing left. ”
Brushing a lock of hair away from his forehead, I pressed a kiss to the center of it.
“Since Allegra was young, only twenty when she became a mother, we decided to hold off on trying again. Figured we’d wait and see if Gio and his wife, Rory, managed to conceive.”
Riveted by his story, I asked, “And did they?”
“No.” Matteo shook his head. “Rory disappeared.”
Rearing back, my eyes bulged. “ Disappeared ?”
“Well, that’s what we told everyone. The reality is that she just left.”
My head cocked to the side. “Left? Like, they got divorced?”
“The only way to divorce a don is through death.”
I cringed. “Great job sugarcoating what to expect.”
He didn’t show a single sign of remorse. “It’s better that you know now.”
“Yep. Got it.”
“To answer your question, Rory ran away, went into hiding. Gio’s been searching for her ever since. That’s what he’s off doing now; it’s why I’ve been left in charge.”
Something Matteo said at the casino came to mind. “Vengeful game of hide and seek, right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why is it vengeful?” I dared to ask.
“Our family is kinda big on settling debts.”
Wryly, I muttered, “I remember.”
“So, in Gio’s mind, Rory owes him an heir. And judging from the way he was talking the last time I saw him, he’s going to stop at nothing until she’s given him one.”
“Th-that’s—that’s—” I sputtered, trying to reconcile that in my mind.
“Psychotic?” Matteo supplied.
Reeling, I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go with that.” While it wasn’t particularly flattering, it was a hell of a lot nicer than any of the words I’d conjured up to describe his brother’s behavior.
“That’s Gio. Being the firstborn, he doesn’t deal with it well when things don’t go his way.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m good if I never get to meet him.”
The smile that stretched across his face reached his eyes.
“No offense taken. Honestly, Rory’s been a ghost for three years, and while he might’ve discovered her location, there’s nothing to say she’s not leading him on a wild goose chase.
That girl is a lot smarter than he gives her credit for.
I think sometimes he forgets he’s dealing with the daughter of an Irish mob boss. ”
Yeah, I was totally cool keeping a safe distance from that powder keg set to blow.
“So, anyway, after that, Allegra and I decided to try for a boy. It took a little longer the second time around, but eventually Serafina was on her way.” With his eyes cast downward, he said, “And then there was the accident.”
“Accident? But I thought . . .” When he’d mentioned that his wife passed around the same time Serafina was born, I automatically assumed the two events were related.
“I let you think that because it was easier than admitting the truth.”
“And what’s the truth?” I pressed.
“That she’s dead because of me.”
I sucked in a sharp breath even though it felt like my lungs were collapsing. “How?”
Matteo buried his face in his hands. It was almost as if he couldn’t bear to look at me while relaying this information.
“It was just a regular Tuesday. She went out for lunch with some of the other high-level wives. But on the way back, her car got a flat. She was right by Gio’s place, so her driver called over for another car.
There was an ambush. Someone thought since it was Gio’s car, he was inside, but he wasn’t.
No, it was my pregnant wife. And she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt when that SUV rolled.
It was a damn miracle they were able to deliver Serafina before it was too late, but that baby girl had to fight for her life from the minute she was born. And it’s all my fault.”
My heart broke for him, and I struggled to get both of my arms around him with my leg suspended like it was. “I can see how it might feel that way, but in reality, it was an extremely unfortunate series of events that you had no control over.”
With his head burrowed against my chest, his entire body trembled in my arms. “And the worst part? She was my wife for four years, but I didn’t even grieve.
I only mourned the loss my daughters suffered and sought vengeance in their names.
Allegra deserved better. And I worry I don’t know how to be the kind of husband that’s worthy of you. ”
It was in these moments, when he let his guard down and vulnerability rose to the surface, that it solidified my love for him. He wanted to be a good man—for me, for his girls—but the world he’d been raised in hadn’t provided the best role models.
“Hey.” I tugged on the sides of his face so that I could look him right in the eye when I confessed, “I don’t know the first thing about being a wife, but who’s to say we can’t figure that part out together?”
“Can we?” A rare glimmer of hope lit up in Matteo’s eyes.
“I mean, you kinda ran into a burning building to save me. It’s the least I can offer in return.”
His brows drew down, and his lips pressed into a thin line.
“Too soon?” I teased.
“I’m never going to find any jokes about the most frightening day of my life even remotely funny.”
Okay then.
“Right. Well, how about we pinky promise?”
A corner of his lips twitched at my suggestion. “What are we promising?”
I extended my pinky. “With how quickly we are rushing into this, there are bound to be some speed bumps. So, the promise is to give each other grace and not be too harsh on ourselves, while we settle into our new roles as a married couple.”
His pinky curled around mine, and we shook. “Promise.”
“See? Was that so hard?” I teased.
Matteo’s eyes dropped to his lap. “Well, I’ve got something else that is.”
That lifted the heavy blanket of tension, and we both burst out laughing.
There might initially be a period of trial and error, but I had a feeling we were going to be just fine.