Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rachel
"No, ma'am, I can't accept this." I tried to slip the ring off immediately. "It's too valuable, and..."
And I'd never even thought about being some kind of mistress of the house. Hell, I still hadn't figured out what Matteo and I even were.
"Keep it." Camilla caught my hand. "Rachel, this ring only goes to the woman the head of the family chooses. There's no other option."
"But—"
"No buts." Camilla pressed the ring into my palm. "This is the Vitale family's acceptance of you."
I stared at the ring in my hand. It was lighter than I'd expected, yet heavy enough to make my fingers tremble. Finally, I tucked it into the small pocket inside my coat, close to my body.
Under the careful watch of her private medical team, Camilla's health improved day by day. Today she'd even agreed to take Sofia to pick oranges in the orchard on the south side of the estate.
"Mommy! Mommy! Come with us!" Sofia grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the orchard. "Grandmother says today's oranges are the sweetest!"
As soon as we reached the orchard, Camilla had a gardener bring Sofia a wicker basket. Sofia immediately stood on her tiptoes, reaching for the lower fruit trees.
Cassius, apparently bored, started chasing a butterfly between the trees. Moments later, a bright green bird caught his eye. He lunged upward. The startled bird fluttered away. Cassius kept climbing until he was clinging to a branch, too scared to come down, letting out pitiful, anxious meows.
"Cassius!"
Sofia spotted him first. She dropped her basket and ran to the base of the tree, stamping her feet in distress. Cassius hugged the branch, his tail puffed into a ball. I stood beneath the tree, palms sweating, afraid he'd fall but equally afraid Sofia would try to climb up after him.
Footsteps approached from the path outside the orchard. Matteo appeared. Sofia threw herself at him, grabbing his pant leg. "Cassius won't come down!"
Matteo gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "Don't worry, little princess." He looked up at the troublemaking cat. "He just needs a little dignity."
Sofia sniffled. "Cats care about dignity too?"
"Of course." Matteo took off his watch and handed it to me. "Especially Vitale cats."
He tested the lowest branch, preparing to climb the tree and rescue the cat.
"Matteo, be careful."
"You worried about me?"
The question caught me off guard. I said nothing. Matteo smiled faintly and kept climbing. When Cassius saw him approaching, he scrambled higher up thinner branches, wedging himself into an even more dangerous position.
"What do we do now?" I watched him teetering, my own anxiety rising.
Just when we were all at a loss, Camilla, who'd been standing quietly nearby, cleared her throat. Then she let out a long, soft "meow-ow-ow."
The entire orchard went silent. Cassius froze. He cocked his head, ears perked, eyes wide and round. While he was distracted, Matteo climbed up quickly, reached out, and grabbed him firmly by the scruff.
Matteo came down with Cassius, who'd lost all his earlier bravado and was now curled pathetically in Matteo's arms. Sofia reached up to pat his head. "Bad kitty. You scared me."
"He should be punished," Matteo spoke seriously. "Fewer treats tonight."
Cassius seemed to understand. He immediately ran to Camilla's feet, rubbing his head against her skirt, purring apologetically.
Sunlight fell across them. Sofia laughed until her cheeks flushed.
Camilla looked down at her, expression tender.
Matteo hoisted Sofia onto his shoulders to pick oranges from higher branches.
Wasn't this exactly what I'd dreamed of?
For a moment, I actually thought maybe this was enough. Maybe this could work.
"Hey, what's on your mind?"
Matteo had appeared beside me. He took his watch back from my palm and waved his hand in front of my face.
"Nothing. I should get back." I turned to leave, but Matteo caught my arm.
"Free tonight?" He smiled, eyes burning. "The terrace by the chapel. I had dinner prepared."
"Matteo, I—"
"Say yes?" His expression was full of hope.
These past days, Matteo and I had seen each other almost daily, but mostly around Sofia and Camilla. This kind of private invitation... I wasn't ready.
"Go on, Rachel." Camilla pushed me toward Matteo, then called to Rosalia. "Bring out that dress Milan sent last time. Take it to Rachel's room."
Sofia chimed in. "I'll stay with Grandmother!"
Well then. I'd completely lost any ground to refuse.
That evening, I walked the white-pebbled path toward the chapel on the hill behind the estate.
The terrace was on the side. When I arrived, Matteo was already waiting.
Silver cutlery sat on a white linen tablecloth, candlelight flickering gently in the evening breeze.
Beyond lay the Mediterranean, the sunset turning the entire sea molten gold.
Matteo stood by the railing, his profile sharp in the backlight, so handsome against the dying sun I couldn't look away.
"You came!" He turned, saw me, and his eyes lit up. He immediately pulled out my chair, his hand on my shoulder as I sat.
"This place is beautiful!"
He smiled and sat across from me. "Wanted you to see the sunset from here."
The words felt intimate. I shifted uncomfortably.
"Relax, Rachel. Just the two of us. No need to be nervous."
"I'm not nervous."
He laughed. "No?"
"Of course not!"
"Then try this first." Matteo pushed a plate of thinly sliced veal toward me. "Antonia's specialty."
It had been so long since we'd eaten alone together like this. I nodded awkwardly. "Thank you."
He poured me half a glass of red wine. "A drink?"
I took a sip. The wine opened on my tongue, and my tight shoulders eased. "This is good."
"I'm glad you like it."
"What new words did Sofia learn today?"
At the mention of Sofia, I couldn't help smiling. "She learned 'orange,' but insists on saying 'orojo.'"
"Sounds like her." He chuckled. "Lately, she mixes Italian and English constantly. One second she's playing teacher, the next she's making up words."
"Good thing Camilla's there."
"But Sofia always finds a way to make her bend the rules."
He raised his glass and clinked it gently against mine, then placed a piece of fish on my plate.
I looked down. Every bone had been picked clean. Something softened in my chest.
"You did all this?"
"You love fish, but you hate picking bones."
My throat tightened. I fought back the heat behind my eyes.
Matteo suddenly took my hand, his dark eyes burning with intensity.
"Rachel, I've done a lot of things wrong. I lied to you. I hid things from you. I made you suffer, and I made you and Sofia... spend four years struggling alone out there."
"But please," he looked into my eyes, utterly serious, "give me one chance."
I'd known this was coming. Now it was here.
"Matteo," I finally spoke, "you talk about starting over, but do you know what that means?"
"When I left, I wasn't just running from a man who deceived me.
I was running from a world I couldn't even imagine.
" I met his gaze. "I can't accept the dark world behind you—where blood flows and people die at any moment.
Sofia just turned four. I can't imagine what it would do to her if one day she saw you come home with a gunshot wound, if she saw the things you deal with. Would it destroy her?"
He didn't speak. He simply stood, walked around the table, and knelt beside me on one knee, holding my hand.
"Rachel, I've thought about all of this. I've eliminated the enemies. No one's stupid enough to come looking for trouble anytime soon."
"I know that's not enough." His eyes suddenly became fiercely determined. "When we get back to New York, I'm officially starting the family asset separation plan."
I froze.
"I'm going to completely sever the Vitale family's underground operations from all the legitimate assets." He explained patiently. "The legal businesses—I'll take them over personally. Consolidate them into something completely clean, operating in broad daylight."
"From then on, those things will have nothing to do with us."
"I promise you, Rachel." He gripped my hand with almost all his strength. "I'll protect you and Sofia with everything I have. You'll never have to live in the shadows."