“Looking forward to it. I hear she’s quite the handful.”
If only he knew.
“Get some rest, Marco. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
16
KASI
Maria wakesme with news that makes my morning infinitely more interesting.
“Mrs. Moretti, you have a visitor today,” she says, setting down my breakfast tray.
“Visitor?”
“Mr. Marco arrived last night from London. Mr. Moretti would like you to join them for breakfast in the dining room.”
“Marco?”
“Mr. Moretti’s nephew. Dante’s cousin.”
Oh.
Dante used to talk about his cousin occasionally—stories about their childhood, mentions of business trips to California. But I never met him in person. Dante kept our relationship surprisingly isolated from extended family.
“What’s he like?” I ask.
Maria’s face brightens. “Oh, he’s lovely. Very charming, very funny. Nothing like…” She stops herself, probably remembering she’s talking about my dead ex-fiancé.
“Nothing like Dante?”
“Marco is much more…approachable.”
I dress in a simple blue sundress and go to the dining room, where I find Alaric and another man seated at the long table. Lionel stands at his usual post by the door.
The stranger looks up when I enter, and my breath catches.
He has Dante’s face.
Not exactly, but close enough to make my stomach clench with unwelcome memories. Same green eyes, same sharp cheekbones, same dark hair. But where Dante’s expression was always calculating, this man’s face is open and friendly.
“I’m sorry,” he says, standing with a grin. “I am not Dante. As a matter of fact, he stole my face.”
“Dante was older than you,” Alaric says dryly. “You stole his face.”
“Ignore my uncle.” The man extends his hand to me. “You must be the newest bride in the family. I’m Marco.”
“Kasi.” I shake his hand, surprised by his warmth. “Nice to finally meet you. Dante mentioned you occasionally.”
“All good things, I hope.”
“He said you were trouble.”
Marco laughs, a genuine sound that fills the room. “He wasn’t wrong. Please, sit. I’ve been dying to meet the woman who finally tamed Uncle Alaric.”
I glance at Alaric, who’s cutting his eggs with unnecessary force. “I wouldn’t say tamed.”
“No? Then what would you call it?”
