After the tense dinner the night before, Riana was looking forward to a day of relaxing with Allan—and Von.
She still didn’t like having a bodyguard, a third wheel, but Allan was adamant about Von following them around. She only wished Von wouldn’t be so obvious and that he would blend in with the crowd like all the other bodyguards had done in the other cities.
She wanted to keep up the delusion that she and Allan were on their honeymoon, and no one went on their honeymoon with a third person.
She was glad, finally, when she got her wish. The moment they stepped out of the hotel, Von was nowhere to be seen. She looked around, searching for him, and spotted him a few feet away. He was dressed in a white linen shirt, blue jeans, and a white, woven hat—unlike the black suit he had on the night before. He looked like a tourist, completely blending in with the crowd.
Riana’s attention was pulled back to Allan when he tugged her h
“What?” Riana looked from him to Dante as she pulled the dress to cover her leg. It stayed put for a while before it fluidly slipped off her leg like water against marble. Oh damn! Mr. Torino chuckled, and Dante groaned, his eyes riveted on her leg. Allan cursed, quickly taking the seat next to her teasing leg and placing the napkin from the table to cover her thigh. She looked at him with a quirked brow before she smiled that ‘oh, not so innocent’ teasing smile and said, “Oops!” “Yeah right, little witch!” Dante took the seat next to him laughing. “Remind me to send Guliana a thank you gift basket.” “Remind me to send Guliana a pink slip,” Allan grumbled. Riana giggled and cupped his cheek in her hand. “No, you won’t. She was going for a specific reaction from you, and I think she accomplished it. Her masterpiece was a success.” Allan leaned in close and whispered, “Her master piece is about to be
Allan leaned against the doorframe and watched Riana as she cooked in their hotel kitchen. She was humming and swaying to a tune he recognized. It was the same one the gondolier sang.Being with her in the gondola, made him feel…he wasn’t sure the emotion had a name because he’d never felt it before. All he knew was it was pure magic.It put a kink in his plans when she fell asleep but he understood. She was still feeling sick. Carrying her weightless body back to the hotel did make him worry, though…just until she woke up hungry and she devoured a plate of chicken saltimbocca and an entire pizza. He was glad she was getting her appetite back.He continued to watch her, and eventually joined in, as she spun on her heels, curtsied, and did a few steps of the waltz and began humming another tune, reminding him of their dinner with Mr. Torino.He had loved holding her in his arms as they moved to the gentle music, lost in their own
The setting was perfect, romantic even, if he had any intention of admit to his feelings and confess them as she had just done. He knew she had fallen for him and the usual protocol for this kind of complication was…He let go of her and stepped away. “I’m going to the upper deck. You should go pack.”He heard her quick intake of breath as more tears spilled. “Go pack,” she whispered in a deadpan voice. “I tell you I love you and you respond with ‘go pack’?”Allan remained silent. There was nothing he could say that would salvage this moment. Anything that came out of his mouth would only make things worse.He turned around to leave. He had gotten as far as the railing before he felt something hit his back, making him arch forward in pain with a hiss. Allan looked down at the offensive object and cursed loudly. “My iPad! Of all the stuff in this room you choose my iPad? I have work on it!”She chortled bitterly throwing her hands up. “Of course, the only thing you love—your damn work!
Riana shoved her things into the suitcase. She’d thought about leaving everything he’d bought her, but decided against it. When, not if, he decided to get another bedmate to keep him company, there was no way she was going to let her wear the stuff Allan had bought for her. Each piece held a wonderful memory for her. And despite Allan being such a bastard, she was going to treasure each and every memory and someday tell it to their child.Riana rested her hand on her belly and permitted herself two minutes to cry. She fell onto the bed and sobbed for the end of a love affair, for the unrequited love, for the future that would never be, and for the child who may never have an active father in its life.When she was done, she sat up, wiped the tears away and promised herself to never ever shed another tear for Allan Sinclair.She wrote Allan a goodbye note and placed it in the case that once held a diamond pendant—which was now in one of the six
“What?”“You took what is important to me so I took what is important to you,” he announced with a sadistic laugh.Alan felt his chest crush into his heart. She couldn’t be…she just couldn’t be!“The beautiful Riana is dead. But I made sure to taste her wonderful charms before I put a bullet in her kind warm heart.” He kissed his fingers. “Deliziosa!”“You are lying!” Allan yelled.He refused to believe she was dead. He refused to believe Anthony had violated her. Riana was strong. She would have fought. She would have found a way to get away from him.With new hope, Allan asked, “She isn’t even here is she?”Anthony shook his head with a tsk. “Wishful thinking my friend.”Allan held onto hope. “She would have fought you! She would rather be dead than have you touch her!”Anthony shru
Two and a half years later.Matthew looked across the jet at Allan, shell-shocked. Who was this guy? He couldn’t possibly be the Allan Sinclair?The man he had known for twelve years couldn’t possibly be the same one sitting across from him now.The Allan he knew was always sharp, poised, and elegant. He exuded power and commanded the attention of a room by just walking into it. He was imposing, both by body statue of a six foot three build with broad shoulders to match and by nature of how he spoke and how he moved. Even a glance from Allan could reduce a man in size. There was always a shine in his eyes that sparkled more in his rare moments of mischief. A subtle smile on his lips would either tighten and turn up in a sign that he was quickly losing his temper, or spread in a wide grin that Matthew’s own wife had described as breathtaking when he was happy.He was Allan Sinclair, billionaire and businessman extraordinaire and as cutthroat a businessman as he was a lover. Which is wh
Melody paced in the living room of Allan’s condo, switching between wringing her hands and raking them through her hair. Her nerves were shot and her patience was worn. If she had to watch her brother sit against the glass wall looking out at the Hudson River as he clutched onto a piece of paper like it was a lifeline one more day she was going to break the glass and push him out!It had been two weeks since Matthew forced him back to the States. Two weeks of him sitting in the same spot only leaving it to use the bathroom. Two weeks of him looking out at that damn river like it was some sort of world wonder. He didn’t use another part of his condo, and if Melody hadn’t made it a point to cook and force the food down his throat, he would have starved to death.She had left her comfortable home to sleep on her big brother’s couch so she could watch him every single minute of the day because she was afraid he might finally kill himself.Mel
Allan stood staring at the wall, biting down the pain as the memories assaulted him.Why did they pick this place?Fine, he had refused to set foot in what used to be New York’s Casa Italiano hotel but why out of all the other hotels did they pick this one?He slowly raised his hand, his breathing growing labored as he moved closer to the wall. Tentatively, like he was about to touch an open flame, Allan placed his shaky hand on the wall.His heart lurched.He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cold surface.He could see that day in his mind like it had happened yesterday. Just standing there made him relive each and every second of the moment his life had changed forever.Her tears and her sobs as she cried over her broken heart and the fierce determination that came after to get over her disappointment and move on.Her startled gasp as she jumped around to face him. Her saucy, brown g