Page 97 of The Proposal

“Keep it down,” I say, stepping closer, grabbing his elbow and guiding him towards the back sliding doors that open onto the lake.

I don’t speak another word until we’re out on the deck, away from anyone who can overhear. The last thing I need is for my wife to get upset.

After shutting the door behind me, I turn to face my brother, who’s now visibly on edge.

“I know this is probably a shock, and I’ll admit, in the beginning, marrying her was the last thing I wanted. But she’s quickly become the best part of me.”

“Did Stefano force you into this? Did Papa do something to him when he was alive, and you ended up being forced into cleaning up his mess? You should’ve come to me if you needed help.”

My brother … always the fixer. He’s been doing this my entire life. “That’s the thing; I wasn’t in trouble, you were.”

That gives him pause. “What?”

“How do you think I got Giovanni back when that bitch ran off with him?”

“You married Stefano’s daughter to get Giovanni back.”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

The weight of the revelation hits him hard, exactly as I anticipated, and I watch as he clutches his head. This is why I’ve stayed silent … why I never told him about my marriage to Italy’s most feared crime boss. I don’t want him to feel responsible.

He moves over to one of the deck chairs and takes a seat. “Fuck.”

“Alex,” I say, approaching him and taking the chair beside him. “It turned out to be a good thing. She makes me happy. She’s my Chloe.”

He turns his face towards me, but I can still see the turmoil my revelation has caused. “I hate that you’re bound to that man.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re married to his daughter, for fuck’s sake. Can you even trust her?”

“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. “She hates her father.”

“Why?”

I’m not going to go into specifics; that’s a whole other can of worms I’m not ready to discuss with him. “She just does … with good reason.” I stand and make eye contact with him. “Arabella is a good person; please don’t make her feel like she’s anything less than that. She didn’t choose him to be her father, just like you never chose Papa.”

“I may not have agreed with a lot of things our father did, but I loved him.”

“Arabella doesn’t love Stefano. She loathes him.”

“Okay,” he says with a nod. “I’m sorry I unknowingly got you into this mess.”

“I’m not,” I reply as I head back into the house because that’s the truth.

Chapter 23

Dante

Although the day started rough, it’s only gotten better from there. I’m happy we came; we’ve had a wonderful time filled with great food and plenty of laughs.

Arabella has slotted into my family better than I could’ve imagined. She and Chloe are already acting like long-lost friends. It’s beautiful to see.

My brother and I are sitting back, nursing a glass of his twenty-five-year-old scotch while our wives bust a move on the makeshift dancefloor—the back deck—with Giovanni.

Our wives.

How crazy is that?

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