Turning to me, Roman says, "You look wonderful, Roxy."
"I'm checking the wedding gift, just so you know," I tell him, and a smile settles on my lips as Roman just shakes his head and laughs.
Turning to my uncle, I take his hand.
"I'd like you to walk me down the aisle—or, I guess, to the priest, considering the ceremony will be outdoors and we don't exactly have a church and altar, but..." I stop because I already see the answer on his face.
His gaze is lowered and sad.
"My leg is killing me,amorino. I didn't want you to be alone on this day, but it's already an effort just to stand."
A wave of guilt hits me because I didn't even ask him how his pain was. This man flew all these hours for me, and I couldn't even see he was hurting. What kind of person am I?
I swallow the lump forming in my throat and manage to whisper, "I'm sorry for putting you through this."
"For you, I'd go through it every time, but I don't want your memory of this moment to be of me in pain."
I nod slightly, and Roman clears his throat. He's dressed in a gray suit without a tie, and if I get a little closer I can smell something like oranges and sea breeze.
"It would be an honor for me if you'd let me escort you, Roxy. We're not blood, I know that, but after everything that happened with Luna, I feel like you're a sister to me, and if you want..."
Before he finishes, he notices my eyes welling up, and though I want to find the strength to make a joke or somehow hide the wave of emotions that's overwhelmed me, I can only nod and lower my gaze, biting my lower lip to control my tears.
"I'd be very happy," I whisper, and without being able to control it, a tear escapes.
Roman's hand settles on my shoulder and squeezes gently, then he leaves to talk to someone behind me. And I appreciate that he didn't stay to watch me ruin two hours of makeup with sentimentality. Exactly what I told Luna I didn't want.
"I'm sorry, Roxy," Henry's voice sounds beside me, and again I'm reminded that I'm broken.
The fact that this man is always cheerful when he talks to me on the phone doesn't mean his health is fine.
"Why didn't you tell me about the pain?"
For a few moments I just watch him look at the cane he's holding.
"What's the point in worrying you?"
"You're my uncle. You're the only relative who gave two shits about me, Henry. The only one who listened to me. When you're in pain, call me. You know I'd drop everything for you."
He pulls me in for a hug and whispers in my ear, "You have her eyes."
My throat blocks up again with a thousand emotions because I wish she were here today. This isn't my real wedding, butit's the closest to what I would have wanted it to be. I always believed I'd have a marriage born from love, after a year-long engagement and at least thirty dates and several lasagnas cooked together.
I feel a tingling at the base of my neck and, without meaning to, I turn and look around.
"Did something happen, Roxy?" Henry's voice makes me turn back to him.
"I guess there are just a lot of eyes fixed on me," I murmur.
And somehow I know that among them is that obsessive gaze, capable of leaving a trail of blood in its wake just to reach me.
Instinct tells me that somewhere in this elegant, smiling crowd, a predator is hiding who would kill without blinking, just to have me.
Chapter 28
Unknown
That dress clings to every curve of her waist and chest like a second skin, and it's torture to watch. She's smiling at some associate of the bastard trying to steal her from me, but I force myself to stay calm.
