AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He glared at me out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not sure I like where this is heading.”
“Too bad,” I said quietly. I paused, then finally asked what this had all been leading up to. “She’s the One, isn’t she.”
He closed his eyes and grimaced like I’d stabbed him.
“Isn’t she,” I repeated.
Dario didn’t open his eyes, and he didn’t stop frowning… but he nodded Yes.
“You know how I know that’s the truth?” I asked.
He opened his eyes and waited for the answer.
“Because it hurt,” I said.
He gave a rueful hmph, then slugged back his scotch and returned to staring into the distance. “Do you know what our fight was about?” It was a rhetorical question, and I stayed silent so he could answer it. “She wanted to marry me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Alessandra moves fast.”
Dario chuckled darkly, then went back to being somber. “Actually, what I said was only part of it. What she really wanted was for me to tell her I loved her.”
“From everything that’s happened since then, I assume you didn’t.”
“You would be correct,” he said sardonically.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I told Niccolo it was because there’s no place for love in what we do. Then I told him that her staying here would only endanger her further.”
“…and what’s the real reason?”
“Niccolo gave me an earful. He got most of it right, but not all of it. He said I was afraid it would make me weak if I loved her. I’ve been don for three weeks, and I’m struggling to keep my head above water. He said I’m afraid that if I make one mistake, I’ll lose everything my father and grandfather fought so hard to build… and I think it will be all my fault.”
“And is that really how you feel?”
“Partly.”
“What’s the other part? The part Niccolo didn’t get right?”
Dario finally looked over at me.
“In prison, I could have lost my life. Now that I’m free, I could lose everything my family owns – everything my brothers have entrusted me with. But as stressful as those possibilities are, they feel like…” He paused, struggling to find the words. “Like they’re outside me, if that makes any sense.
“In the short time I’ve known Alessandra, she has become everything to me. What I couldn’t tell Niccolo is that I fear my feelings for her are becoming stronger than my feelings of obligation to our family. And I know what I feel for her is far more important to me than my own life.
“It feels like if I lost her, I would lose everything. EVERYTHING. Do you know how terrifying that is? One day you’re dealing with life, the world, and all the obstacles you’re up against – and then the next day a woman comes along, and suddenly she’s the only thing that matters. The only thing that makes you happy, or could ever make you happy.”
I nodded. “I know exactly how that feels.”
He groaned. “Shit… then she really is the One.”
I half-smiled. “A little advice from a sniper?”
Dario looked over at me, waiting to hear what I would say.
“When you have the shot,” I said slowly, “take the shot.”
He frowned like he didn’t understand.
