Keeping his bride

Verona

FTER THE CEREMONY is over, my father, Dante and

I return to my father’s home to pack my things. I will be moving in with Luca Vitale, my new husband, tonight. The thought of sharing a room with him…or a bed makes me nauseous.

And the sickness stays with me, gnawing at my gut, as I pack.

“You don’t have much here,” Dante remarks as he pulls a few hangers from the closet and brings the clothes over to me. He carefully lays them out on the bed.

“I’ve never had much,” I admit. The clothes I obtained throughout the years were mostly school uniforms from the boarding school. Those are long gone now. I threw them out as soon as I graduated. And when I went to live with my great aunt, we spent a lot of time thrift store shopping. I rarely was allowed to buy anything, but I accumulated some things over the years.

The only thing of value in my entire closet is my mother’s old dress that I snuck away with me to boarding school. Papa doesn’t even know I have it. Not that he would care, I don’t think. I’ve kept the dress with me for years, and it got me through some of the worst days of my life. Having a small piece of my mom with me always kept me sane.

I fold the dress carefully along with the rest of the clothes and put them inside the suitcase.

“This isn’t going to take very long,” Dante admits with a sigh.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“You know, we could always pretend like it’s taking a long time,” I suggest with a grin.

He smiles back momentarily before a frown appears on his handsome face. “Fuck, V, I’m going to miss you.”

Tears fill my eyes when I think about Dante not being around. It’s been nice the past couple of weeks having him around on a daily basis. Our friendship has really grown lately, and I’m going to miss him horribly.

I wrap my arms around him, and he holds me tightly. We don’t normally hug or touch, but this feels nice. It feels right.

“Maybe I could talk to your father. Maybe he would let me go,” he whispers into my hair.

My mood brightens at his words. I pull back and look into his dark eyes. “You could be my…bodyguard,” I say. “I will need one.”

“Bodyguard? I like that,” he says with a chuckle. “I just don’t know if your father -.”

“Leave that part up to me. I’ll make it work,” I promise him.

Dante goes back to the closet, and I sit down on the bed.

The wedding ring on my finger feels foreign and heavy, and I take a moment to study it. There’s a large pear-shaped diamond in the center, surrounding by tiny round diamonds. On the white gold band are two infinity symbols encased in diamonds on either side of the center stone.

Infinity. Eternity. I’m sure it will only feel like eternity, I tell myself, sulking.

“How do you only have two pairs of shoes?” Dante yells from the closet, making me laugh. “I thought girls were supposed to hoard these things?”

“Just shut up and put them in my suitcase,” I tell him with a grin.

AFTER A FEW HOURS of pretending to pack my things, Dante and I go downstairs to my father’s office. He’s sitting behind his desk, looking through some paperwork. He glances up over the rim of his reading glasses when we enter.

“Dante is going with me. I want him to be my bodyguard while I live with Luca Vitale,” I announce, holding my chin up high.

I expect a fight from my father, but instead he says, “All right. Fine.”

“Then it’s settled.” I turn to Dante, overwhelmed with joy.

“If Luca Vitale actually lets him stay, then he can stay,” Father says, bursting my bubble.

I didn’t even think about Luca protesting to this decision. Chances are he will say no, but I’m willing to fight for Dante to stay. I will do whatever it takes and not back down from my new husband. We’ve both had to make sacrifices for this marriage, and my friendship with Dante is not one I’m willing to part with.

I’ll need someone on my side in that house. Maybe even someone to protect me from my own husband.