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When the girl stepped from the dark confines, the shadowed light and closeness allowed me to see her beautiful face, the one I’d seen in my dreams so often.
“She is incredible,” Cayman half whispered.
“More than you know, brother. More than you know.”
I pressed my hand against my chest as our eyes locked, just as they’d done on a dark, stormy night three years before.
Dominick eased by her side, whispering something to her. She glanced at him then back to me, nodding only once.
“Chrissy,” I stated, my deep voice causing her to flinch.
There was such sadness in her eyes as she glanced down the length of me. At least she didn’t run away like I’d feared she would do, instead taking a single step toward me.
I shifted closer, realizing I was holding my breath. I wanted to touch her, taste her. I needed to be inside of her, but that wasn’t going to happen tonight. Too much had happened, too many years passing by.
But goddamn it, I needed her more than the air required to breathe.
“Francesco Arturo.”
Christiana stated my name as if announcing that she knew me. She’d changed, but not only in the sense of her hair color. She was taller, her hourglass figure more pronounced, her face carved as if out of diamonds. Only where her eyes had once been filled with joy from sharing our moments of passion, they were now dull and lifeless, smudges of her eyeliner from crying creating far too many shadows.
And the bruise on her cheek couldn’t be hidden by any amount of makeup. When I took another step closer, she threw out her arm.
“Don’t,” she begged. “He’ll hurt you. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“No, my little dove. Dante can’t hurt me, and I certainly won’t allow him to touch you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Her lower lip quivered, her eyes searching mine. For truth. For reality.
For love.
I fisted my hands, obviously not finding the right words. “We need to talk for a few minutes. There are some things you need to hear.”
“That you’re a bad man, Francesco? That you’re no different than Dante? I already know that. It no longer matters. I just…”
“I didn’t lie to you three years ago.”
“No, you didn’t. We both wanted the fantasy, not the reality of who and what we are as people. Our families. Our lives. It’s complicated and ugly.”
“It doesn’t have to be, at least not always. You need to try and trust me, Chrissy.”
“Don’t call me that. Chrissy was a girl who believed in love and knights in shining armor. I’m not that girl any longer. Besides, if Dante discovers me here, he’ll burn down the church.”
I glanced at Dom who moved directly beside her.
“Child. Talk to Francesco. Allow him to help you. My church will be protected by God. This is a house of worship. No man will ever be able to take it from all of us.”
“I wish I had your faith, Father, but I can’t. My own father has decided to throw me away.”
The sound of her voice was heartbreaking.
“Please. Just talk with him. He’s willing to give up his life to protect you. What happened between the two of you has haunted him as well. He tried to find you. You were all he could think about for years.”
Hearing Dominick’s conviction forced me to suck in my breath.
My gorgeous, innocent dove glanced into Dom’s eyes, searching his very soul for the truth I hadn’t been man enough to give her. Finally, she nodded, taking careful steps toward me. When she lowered down in the pew several feet away, I didn’t push her, stiff as I sat down. Cayman immediately left us alone, moving toward the entrance to ensure we wouldn’t be interrupted.
“You’re a criminal,” she said after a few seconds had passed.
