Dante's Wedding Deception by Day Leclaire Read Free Book Online Page B

complete what they’d started. More than anything she wanted to walk out of this room and into the bedroom that she’d once shared with him. Where she belonged.
    Before she could put thought to action, he said, “There’s one other thing missing.”
    You, she wanted to say. His mouth on hers. His skin against her skin. Taking her and making her his. “What’s missing?”
    He lifted her hand. “Your wedding rings.”
    Her eyes widened in alarm. “Did I lose them in the accident?”
    “As I mentioned, our wedding was a spur-of-the-moment affair. We were supposed to buy our rings the day you were injured.”
    “Oh, how sad.”
    “Don’t worry. We’ll get it taken care of as soon as you’ve recovered. We’ll make a special day of it. How about that?”
    She hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until I get my memory back?”
    “I hadn’t considered that.” Again came that penetrating look. “Do you think you’ll change your mind about the style between now and then?”
    She spared an uneasy glancce toward the closet. “It’s possible. Maybe our tastes are formed by our past experiences. I wouldn’t want to make any decisions I’ll regret later.”
    “If you change your mind later, we’ll simply replace the rings.”
    “Just like that?” she marveled, before confronting him. “As though they had no meaning? As though one ring is as good as another? Tell me something, Nicolò, is that what you believe? More to the point, is that what I believed?”
    He shook his head. “We never discussed it.”
    “No, of course not. Why would we?” Who could have imagined something like this happening? Or made contingency plans in the event it did. “I’ll tell you what, let’s stick with something simple. Something along the line of a plain pair of bands. If we change our mind later on, we can choose rings that strike us as more meaningful.”
    “You don’t have to make a decision right now. You never know. You might see something you fall in love with when we go to the shop.” He opened the top dresser door and removed a small square box. “Here. This is yours. You were wearing it the day of your accident.”
    She took the box from him, surprised by the weight of it. Removing the top, she found an intricate silver locket on a matching chain. “It’s beautiful.” She shot him a hopeful glance. “Did you give this to me?”
    “I can’t take credit for that, I’m afraid. It’s your favorite piece of jewelry. A family heirloom, I believe.”
    “It does appear old.” She turned it over, searching for a hinge. “It looks like it should open, but I don’t see how. Do you know?”
    He shook his head. “If it opens, you never showed me the secret. If you’re curious, we can take it to a jeweler and see if they can figure it out.”
    “That’s a good idea.” She held the locket out to him. “Would you mind putting it on?”
    He took the necklace and she turned, sweeping her hair aside so he could fasten the chain around her neck. She caught a brief glimpse of herself in the huge antique mirror hanging above the dresser and it gave her a start. From the moment she’d first seen her reflection in the hospital, it never failed to surprise her.
    “What is it?” Nicolò asked as he fastened the locket in place.
    The instant he finished, she turned her back on her image. “Nothing.” She offered a bright smile. “Everything’s terrific.”
    She could tell he didn’t buy it. He dropped his hands to her shoulders and forced her to face her reflection once again. “Why do you have so much difficulty looking at yourself?”
    “I guess because I see the sort of woman I wish I were.” She released a frustrated laugh. “That sounds bizarre, doesn’t it?”
    “A little.” He eased her hair back from her face so it poured down her back. “You don’t have to wish to be the woman you see. You are her.”
    “You don’t understand.”
    His hands tightened on her shoulders, giving them a