Tony chokes on his argument when Nicky grabs him by the arm and drags him down the aisle.
“Angelo,” Abella curses my name under her breath. “Can you please put me down? Everyone’s staring.”
“What’s the matter?” I unceremoniously dump her onto an empty seat. “Afraid it might get back to your fiancé?”
Her cheeks flush with color as she rises and smooths out her dress. “Can I please speak to you alone?”
“I can’t imagine there’s anything we need to discuss.”
“Angelo, please.” She stares up at me with eyes so full of emotion, it only serves to breathe life into the fire of my wrath.
“Please, what?” I offer her a disinterested stare.
Ignoring my question, she glances at Natalia and Alessio. “Can we take five minutes?”
Alessio, traitor that he is, nods with a smirk. The bastard is enjoying this. He orders everyone to give us some space, and the guests move to the other side of the church, where I’m certain they’re still hanging on every word that’s about to unfold.
Abella lifts her chin and crosses her arms. “Do you want to handle our business publicly or privately?”
“You and I have no business,” I answer blandly. “Soon, you’ll be married to Matteo, at which point you’ll both be exiled from the island. You’ll live out your wedded bliss in a place of your choosing, provided it’s far away from me. Apart from that, I doubt our paths will ever cross again.”
Hurt flashes across her face, which would be amusing if it weren’t for the fact that I know exactly what’s going through her mind. My presence here is confirmation that their scheme to oust me from my rightful place as heir has failed, and she’s mourning the loss of everything she already thought was hers. The estate, the titles, the wealth, and power. She was set to be queen, and now she’s probably imagining herself as the duchess of a trailer park.
“When did you get out of prison?” she asks.
“I suppose that throws a wrench in your plans, doesn’t it?”
She sighs. “Does your family know you’ve been released?”
Her question grates at my already raw nerves, so I narrow the distance between us, lowering my voice to a threat that makes her shiver.
“That’s none of your concern, and if you value the beating hearts of your Moretti siblings, you’ll keep my name and presence here today out of your mouth.”
She stares up at me with wide eyes. “But your father?—”
“It’s not your business,” I repeat.
She stiffens, and before she can stop it, a tear leaks from the corner of her eye. She quickly dashes it away and swallows the bitter realization that I’m no longer the man she played for a fool.
“I’m here for Alessio and his family, and we’ve held them up long enough,” I say. “Today will go smoothly as long as you do your job and I do mine.”
She sucks in a sharp breath and nods. “Fine.”
When she turns on her heel and walks away, my eyes are drawn to her heart-shaped ass. That dress—soft cream lace—would be the picture of innocence on anyone else. But on Abella, it hugs all her curves, taunting every man in the room.
Temptation wrapped in sin.
I scrub a hand over my face and shake my head.
“See something interesting?” Alessio approaches me, and I have half a notion to punch that smug expression right off his face.
“Like your wife?” I throw Natalia a wink to piss him off.
He impales me with a glare. “Do I need to remind you I know a thousand different ways to torture you to death?”
Our verbal sparring match ends in a ceasefire when his wife approaches, her delicate features pinched in concern. Natalia’s eyes move over my face briefly before she turns to her husband and signs a question. I don’t know ASL, but it isn’t difficult to guess what she’s asking. She wants to know why she’s only just now finding out I have a different last name than the one she’s known me by.
Since Natalia is still relatively new to this world, she isn’t aware of my background. But the cat’s out of the bag now.
