Chapter 1 - THE STRANGER AT TABLE TWELVE
“I want you to say yes,” Giovanni said, holding out his hand.
I stared at him.
Beyond his shoulder, two hundred wedding guests swayed beneath the chandeliers. My sister Sophia was laughing with her new husband, my mother was entertaining a circle of wealthy relatives, and my ex-husband Tyler was standing beside Vanessa, wearing the satisfied expression of a man who had just humiliated someone and expected no consequences.
“Why?” I asked.
Giovanni Fioraldi tilted his head.
“Why what?”
“Why would you want to pretend I'm your wife?”
His amber eyes remained on mine.
“Because that man wanted you to feel small.”
“And?”
“And I dislike men who mistake cruelty for power.”
I almost smiled.
“That sounds like something a man says when he's accustomed to getting his way.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“I am.”
“At least you're honest.”
“Whenever possible.”
I glanced at his outstretched hand.
“You realize people will ask questions.”
“Let them.”
“My family is very good at asking questions.”
“Then perhaps tonight they'll finally ask the right ones.”
I looked across the ballroom.
Tyler was laughing.
Vanessa rested a possessive hand against his chest.
My mother stood beside them, smiling as though nothing unpleasant had happened.
Something inside me shifted.
For five years, I'd been the family disappointment.
The daughter who abandoned medical school.
The woman whose boyfriend left her pregnant.
The single mother who worked long shifts in a pediatric hospital while everyone else collected degrees, husbands, and expensive vacations.
I had spent five years apologizing for surviving.
Perhaps I was tired of apologizing.
I placed my hand in Giovanni's.
“One dance.”
He stood.
“One dance.”
“And no ridiculous lies.”
His smile widened.
“I'll do my best.”
“That doesn't sound reassuring.”
“Jessica.”
“Yes?”
He leaned closer.
“Trust me for three minutes.”
May you like
Then he led me onto the dance floor.
And every conversation around us began to die.
