"And you look like you'd rather be anywhere else." The words slip out before I can stop them.
To my surprise, the corner of his mouth quirks up. "That makes two of us."
My father clears his throat. "The photographer is waiting. We need pictures for tomorrow's papers."
As Alessandro leads me toward the photographer, his hand rests lightly on my lower back. He leans close, his breath warm against my ear.
“He hurt you.”
I glance up at him, surprised that he noticed and a little worried that I hadn’t hidden it well enough. “He’s eager to have this night go well.”
Alessandro doesn’t say anything, but for the first time in my life, I wonder if I have found someone who values me enough to protect me from my father or others who might seek to hurt me.
The photographer arranges us in a series of artificial poses.
Alessandro's arm around my waist, my hand on his chest, our faces close enough that I can smell his cologne.
It’s all I can do not to inhale and swoon.
"Last one," the photographer promises. "Give me something romantic."
Alessandro's eyes meet mine, questioning. I give a subtle nod. Might as well make this convincing. He cups my face with gentleness, his thumb brushing my cheek. For a moment, the room falls away and it's just us. I’m back at the wedding venue anticipating his lips pressing against mine.
"Perfect!" The photographer breaks the spell. "Beautiful couple."
Alessandro steps back, clearing his throat. "My brother just arrived. Would you like to meet him?"
"Your brother?" I blink, caught off guard by the sudden shift. "Of course."
He guides me through the crowd toward the entrance where a man who could be Alessandro's younger twin scans the room with intense gray eyes.
I can see how people would fear him, but with a little girl in his arms, he doesn’t look fierce at all.
Beside him stands a petite woman with chestnut hair and a distinctly rounded belly.
"Adriano," Alessandro calls. The brothers embrace with the easy affection of men who trust each other implicitly.
"Isabella, meet my younger brother, Adriano, his wife, Eva, and their daughter, Mirabella."
Adriano's handshake is firm. "So you're the woman brave enough to take on Alessandro."
"Or foolish enough," I reply.
His brows shoot up in surprise, and then he laughs. "I like her already."
Eva embraces me, her pregnant belly pressing against me. "Welcome to the family. Don't worry, their bark is worse than their bite."
"Most of the time," Adriano adds, his arm sliding around Eva's shoulders with casual possessiveness.
He looks at her like she's hung the moon and stars, and it makes something twist inside me.
Not jealousy, exactly, but longing for something I know I can’t have.
"When are you due?" I ask Eva, nodding toward her belly.
Her face lights up. "Three more months."
“I’m going to have a brother,” Mirabella says. “Huh, Daddy?”
