Now I stand, taking in the woman who will be my wife.
My first thought is that while she works to appear obedient, the fire in her eyes tells me she’s not a meek woman like her mother.
My second thought is that Isabella Vitale is stunning.
Her dark hair cascades in waves past her shoulders, framing a face that belongs in Renaissance paintings.
Her green eyes hold mine, openly assessing me.
"Isabella." Her name feels like a song as it rolls off my tongue.
She dips her head in respect. "Don Dante."
She crosses the room without hesitation. She’s not afraid of me. Not that she should be.
Sure, I have a lethal reputation, but not toward women.
Never toward women.
Still, from a young, innocent woman being sent to the marriage bed of her father’s rival, I’d have thought I’d see apprehension.
All I see is curiosity and perhaps interest.
I extend my hand, curious how she'll respond.
Her hand meets mine, her grip firm. The contact sends an unexpected current up my arm that I promptly ignore.
"Perhaps you'd like to show Don Dante the gardens, Isabella," her father suggests, though it's clearly a command.
"Of course." She turns to me. "Don Dante.”
“Under the circumstances, you can call me Alessandro.”
She gestures with her hand to the door like a game show hostess. “Alessandro.”
Hearing my name on her lips sends yet another unwanted spark straight to my dick.
What the fuck?
As we step outside, away from her father's watchful eyes, I notice how her shoulders relax infinitesimally.
"You’ve been told why I'm here," I state rather than ask.
"To secure a peace that benefits our families." She glances sideways at me. "And to acquire an asset."
I can't help the smile that tugs at my lips. "Is that what you consider yourself? An asset?"
"It's what my father considers me." She stops walking, turns to face me fully. "What I consider myself is irrelevant to this arrangement, isn't it?"
There's no self-pity in her voice.
Just pragmatism that I wasn’t expecting, especially from a woman so young.
She is not a naive child.
She understands the game, understands her place in it.
I find myself intrigued by her.
