In those few moments of alone time, I didn't have to pretend I was happy or that everything was fine.
In those few moments, I could acknowledge the fact my life had become one long nightmare from which, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't escape.
My short, skater dress covered with colorful blooming roses swirled lightly in the gentle breeze coming from the edge of the sea, and I welcomed it. With my head tilted back, I enjoyed the sunlight on my cheeks. Brown sunglasses protected me from the bright sunlight and allowed me to study the beauty of Florence.
A magnificent city.
I was on the main street where all the shopping happened alongside various cathedrals and buildings filled with famous paintings. One of the best things about this city was the fact that no matter where you went, art surrounded you in its purest and most beautiful form.
Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael. I could have looked at the work of those men forever. Renaissance, the rebirth era, was still my favorite of all the eras.
“Happy we are here?” Strong hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me back to his muscled chest, and I willed myself not to wince. He pushed the hair from my neck and rested his chin on my shoulder. “You always loved Florence. This’s where I proposed to you.” Oliver’s voice, husky and deep, did nothing to me, and for the hundredth time, I wondered why I ever considered marrying him.
Although, all those framed photos of us enjoying cruises, Europe, and ski resorts proved we once shared an unbreakable bond. The woman in those pictures seemed in love, even if I couldn't recognize it.
Not that he wasn't hot—quite the opposite, actually. He had a James Dean haircut, blond hair, and olive skin that gleamed perfectly in the sun. His lean yet muscular body caught the attention of many women. The man looked gorgeous in suits.
But something about his touch always seemed wrong.
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” I murmured. “I didn’t know you were back.”
Oliver had some serious business to attend to in the States. He didn't really share what, but he wanted to be done with everything before our wedding, which was supposed to happen in a few days.
Yay freaking me.
No matter how many times I started the conversation about postponing it with my family, they refused, claiming it all had to do with the accident, and someday, my memory would come back to me. But how could I be anyone's wife in the meantime, if I couldn't remember loving the man?
Just the idea dimmed the beauty in front of me, and it no longer excited me.
“I wanted to surprise you.” He spun me around, palming my face. “Did my girl miss me?” He leaned down, his lips a breath away from mine, but before he could press them to me, I shifted my head to the side, so his soft lips grazed my cheek lightly. Since waking up in the hospital, we didn’t even share one willing kiss. He chuckled as mischief played in his eyes. “Still so innocent. But I’m willing to wait.”
The idea of sharing a bed with him caused me to be nauseous. Before I could answer, he announced, “My business partner came with me. He agreed to attend the wedding. Dominic Konstantinov.” Oliver wrapped his hand around my shoulder and turned us to the side. I came face-to-face with the most magnificent yet dangerous-looking man I’d ever seen.
His soul-piercing eyes clashed with mine as my breath hitched.
They held so much inside, and everything in me wanted to shake the hold Oliver had on me and run with all my might toward the stranger. Both of us took a step toward each other as my mind blocked out everyone else, and when he stopped, his perfect mouth spread in a welcoming smile that didn't reach his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Angelica.”
Of their own accord, my hands closed over the cross hanging from my neck, and his attention focused there. I wondered why—through all this year after the car accident, when I was surrounded by my family and the man who loved me, and who I supposedly loved back—the voice of this stranger created a protective, safe cocoon around my heart.
Dominic
She was mine.
Mine.
No one else’s.
Rosa
By Oliver’s frown, my shocked silence had lasted too long. “I….” My voice shook, and I swallowed before clearing my throat and once again plastering a smile on my face. “Nice to meet you too.” My cheeks heated from his intense stare that created an unusual awareness inside me. Men didn't evoke any emotions within me, yet Dominic just needed a second to change that.
Virgins didn't have it, or at least everyone around me claimed so. I had no desire to explore a physical relationship with Oliver. Ciara liked to point out my lack of experience whenever I blushed when she mentioned some sexual position. Especially when she spoke of how oral sex sucked, and images of an aroused woman lost in pleasure with a dark-haired man between her thighs came to mind.
Not that I could ever share it with anyone else. They already considered me crazy.
The amnesia resulting from the car accident didn't leave any memories inside my bruised head, and more often than not, I detested it. Especially when my family came up with the weirdest things, claiming they were my favorites. Surely in that case, I’d feel some joy or happiness doing them?
Maybe then, my body wouldn't react to strangers while my fiancé stood next to me.
