Chapter 1

Nina's smug voice came through the phone.

"Sorry, Sophia. I was just so tired and wanted to unwind a little. You don't mind, do you? Thanks for picking up the soufflé for me. You can have some too."

Before I could answer, Luca laughed. "Sophia's not a glutton like you. She's got real work to do."

"Sophia, let's push the wedding to another day. You've already waited this many years—a few more days won't make a difference. I promise, once things settle down, I'll throw you the biggest wedding you've ever seen."

I nodded. I didn't expect anything from that wedding anymore.

After I hung up, I looked down at the ring on my ring finger.

Luca's initials were engraved on the inside of the band. He'd tossed it to me two years ago without so much as a box.

"Wear it," he'd said at the time. "It'll keep other men from getting ideas."

I stood by the side of the road for a while.

My phone lit up. It was a message from Nina.

A photo she'd taken at the bar. She and Luca were holding a playing card between their lips, their faces barely a finger's width apart.

The caption read: [Unwinding with Luca makes me so happy!]

I sent back a thumbs-up.

Early the next morning, I went to family headquarters and handed in my resignation.

For the past five years, I'd been his chief secretary. Every schedule, every account, every negotiation record had passed through my hands.

"You're resigning? Does the boss know?" Marco, his secretary, shot to his feet.

"He'll find out when the new secretary starts."

I turned and left.

When I got back to the house, Luca was standing in the foyer.

He looked down, adjusting a cuff link. "We stayed out pretty late last night. I didn't want to wake you coming in, so I didn't come home."

It was the first time in five years he'd explained where he'd been without being asked.

I nodded and didn't ask anything.

"Where'd you go this morning?" He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the empty dining table.

In the past, whenever he stayed out all night, I'd get up before dawn to make him a pot of hot soup.

"I had some personal things to take care of."

I turned to go, but he frowned and grabbed my wrist. "Sophia, that's enough. It's just a change of date. It's not like I'm refusing to marry you. How long are you going to keep this up?"

I wasn't making a scene. I just didn't want that wedding anymore.

I was about to tell him so when the bedroom door swung open.

Nina came out wrapped in his suit jacket. She didn't seem to be wearing anything under it, and through the open collar, faint red marks showed on her neck.

"Luca! This is all your fault! The jacket you picked out for me yesterday was such a frumpy color. It didn't go with my dress at all!"

She trotted over, hooked her arm through his, and nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder.

The crease between Luca's brows vanished, and his voice softened. "Why didn't you sleep in? Next time, I'll get a few in different colors so you can pick."

He even reached up and tucked her sleep-tousled hair behind her ear, as naturally as if he'd done it a thousand times.

I stood there, something clamping down on my chest. But the sharp pain I used to feel was gone. All that was left was a hollow numbness.

Only then did Nina "notice" me, a flicker of triumph in her eyes. "Oh, Sophia, you're here too? I thought it was just the two of us."

She leaned hard on the words "just the two of us."

Luca didn't deny it. He only shot me a glance, a little impatient.

"I just came back to grab a few things. I'll be out of here soon," I said evenly, without a trace of emotion.