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No one liked to be called on their bullshit, and I was no exception. “Well, even the devil was an angel before he fell” was all I could offer by way of an excuse, because he was right. There was a time when I’d been blissfully happy, blessed even, not because of the money and the privilege, but because I’d been in love with a man I thought felt the same way about me.
“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven,” Luca said with a flippant shrug. “Let me know your decision before we land. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to catch up on some sleep. Feel free to glower out the window, but do so silently.”
“I don’t glower,” I muttered, but he’d already tuned me out and my anxiety medication was making me sleepy. There was no point in arguing an unfortunate fact. Yes, I’d been in love with Luca, and being his bride had been my favorite daydream.
But things changed. People woke up. And rose-colored glasses often broke under the pressure of reality.
I couldn’t marry Luca—not if I wanted anything that was truly me to survive.
CHAPTER THREE
Katherine
IN SPITE OF the medication, I couldn’t sleep, unlike Luca, who slept like a baby without a care in the world. While I tried to find a comfortable position, he snored lightly, deep in dreamland.
It was just like a Donato to manipulate a situation to their advantage in any way possible. I sneaked a glance at his profile. Dark hair, sharply barbered with perfect edges, his clean-shaven jaw without a single nick, as if even the blade was afraid of failing a Donato.
But I remembered a time when Luca wasn’t so concerned with the appearance of perfection.
When he’d smiled with warmth, when his blue eyes had sparkled with mischief and fun.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the unwelcome memories that began to spill forward with the slightest encouragement. That was the thing about opening a door, right? Hard to slam shut once the wind started pushing against it.
“You’re so beautiful...”
Luca’s voice echoed, a distant remnant of a different time between two different people.
It’d been a humid day in the city, and my prep school graduation from Dalton loomed. Luca had spirited me away with a promise of a private celebration between the two of us.
I remembered everything about that day—the smell of the wind as it made my hair dance through the open convertible top of his Maserati—how I couldn’t keep the hem of my sundress from rippling up my thighs and Luca couldn’t keep his eyes on the road.
“We’re going to crash.” I’d laughed, gesturing at him to stay focused, but I was drunk on his affection, his seeming obsession with me. I teased him with flirty looks cast his way, knowing I was driving him nuts. “Where are we going?” I asked, grinning.
“You’ll see.”
I loved the way he took control. I always felt safe with Luca. He seemed so worldly, so accomplished.
Of course, he was the Donato heir—the expectations were high. Giovanni Donato had groomed him from the time he was a kid to take the reins when the time came for the mean-eyed bear to retire.
Giovanni scared me and always had. It amazed me that Luca sprang from Giovanni’s DNA. Luca was nothing like his father. Luca was kind, sweet, caring and so romantic, whereas Giovanni was cold, manipulative and quite comfortable playing the bad guy if need be. To be honest, I avoided Giovanni whenever I could, which wasn’t difficult, as Giovanni paid as little attention to me as he would the multitude of servants looking after his palatial mansion.
But who cared about Giovanni Donato, anyway? He wasn’t around. It was just me and Luca, and I was his princess. The sleek car ate the road as we headed to our unknown destination. The joy in my heart was near to bursting. I was living the dream. How’d I get so lucky?
Just as I was about to scream from the building anticipation, Luca pulled into a dirt driveway lined with a white picket fence for as far as I could see. Rolling hills with gently swaying dried grass waved as we drove by, and cows dotted the pastureland.
“Where are we?” I asked, delighted as we parked in front of a huge farmhouse, chickens clucking and scratching around the front yard. It was like the living embodiment of “The Farmer in the Dell.”
“I thought you might like this place,” Luca said, opening my door with a wide smile. “It’s a sanctuary for animals that have been rescued from abusive owners.”
My eyes widened as I exclaimed, “Do they have goats? Oh, please, say they have goats!”
“They have goats.”
I squealed and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his strong torso. His hands cupped my behind as he laughed at my enthusiasm while I peppered his adorable face with kisses. “You’re the best! This is amazing! I can’t believe you brought me here.”
Luca knew I’d always been obsessed with goats; they always made me laugh and I’d tried, unsuccessfully, to get approval from my dorm manager to have one as a pet.
I hopped down and slid my hand into his as we walked into the farmhouse, a permanent smile on my face. The old hardwood groaned in welcome beneath our feet, and the smell of beeswax and lemon was the most heavenly aroma I’d ever known.
“You must be Mr. and Mrs. Donato,” a plump woman said, coming forward as she wiped her hands on the apron tied around her ample waist.
I blushed at her assumption, biting my lip at the wild thrill of being called Mrs. Donato, but Luca corrected her with a coy “She’s not mine yet, but hopefully someday.” I wanted to pinch him playfully. Of course, I would marry him at twenty-three, after I graduated college, but no one knew that.
“Young lovebirds.” She sighed as if remembering her own youth. “Well, I’m Mrs. Ellering, but you can call me Iris. Welcome to Knucklebocker Sanctuary. We’ve prepared a special day for you and your sweetheart. Just follow me.”
Oh, that sneaky devil had prepared everything in advance, and I loved it.
“I heard someone is an animal lover?” Iris prompted as she led us to the large redwood barn.
“That’s me,” I piped up, squeezing Luca’s hand as I beamed. “I hope to work with animals someday. Maybe go to veterinary school.”
“That’s a noble profession,” Iris said, pushing open the barn doors. The scents of barn wood, hay and horse poop immediately assaulted my nose, but I liked it. It was
so earthy and unlike the city that I drank in the ambience. Plus, the fact that Luca had arranged everything made it extra special.
“Harvard,” Iris called out, “we have guests.”
A bald, wiry man in faded overalls and a full white beard appeared from a stall where a horse nickered. “You them fancy folk from the city that’s bought us out for the day?” he asked.
I tried not to blush, but Luca answered for us both, saying good-naturedly, “What gave it away? My soft hands?”
“Oh, go on now, be nice.” Iris waved at her husband with mock disapproval, but it was easy to see they were both playing around. My heart melted a little at how easily the older couple flowed together, an obvious by-product of a long, happy marriage. I tightened my grip on Luca with a wistful sigh. That will be us, someday...
I awoke with a start, realizing that I’d been dreaming and we were landing. Luca was already awake, his attention focused on his phone.
What a difference from then to now. Gone were the smiles, the laughter...the sweet, good-natured Luca who went out of his way to make me happy with an over-the-top gesture, replaced by this manipulative caricature dressed in a ten-thousand-dollar suit.
I absently rubbed at the dismal chord that twanged in my chest. If I cared, I might’ve mourned the loss of the man I used to know, but I didn’t care. Disdain had replaced any pain that lingered, and I was grateful. Just as Luca wasn’t the man he used to be, I wasn’t the girl he used to know, either.
If Luca thought he could persuade me to forget the past with this phony seduction act, he didn’t know how much I’d truly changed. Of course, Luca probably felt secure in the idea that he could win this little wager; otherwise he wouldn’t have extended the offer.
Time to negotiate. “I want our deal in writing,” I said.
“You don’t trust me?” He tsked as if I were being unfair. When I didn’t budge, he relented. “Fine. Anything else?”
“Yes, I will give you seven days, but at the end of those seven days, when I haven’t changed my mind, you will not only agree to end my contract, but you will not seek any damages from the breach and you will leave me to live in peace. I never want to see you or another Donato again. Clear?”
