Chapter Thirty

Iwatch Marco rise to his feet and I start to move toward him, but he stops me with a gesture.

He clearly doesn't think that it's safe for me to be close to him yet.

I'm furious at this point and I start scooping up all the beads that the intruder, this Elio, ripped from my dress.

"La Rosa," Luca says to the interloper who is ruining my wedding. "Didn't think you were on the guest list."

"He wasn't," I snap at the room in general, still scooping up beads. Elio turns to look at me, and I glare definitely at him for a moment.

He turns away from me with a sardonic smile, spreading his hands and saying, "And yet, here I stand."

"What do you want?" Enzo says, having joined us on Luca's heels.

"Kate," Elio says. "Marco can keep the bastard child. Kate is still engaged to me and I still intend to marry her. Many things depend on our marriage. Nothing has changed during the last seven years."

Luca laughs. "The mother of Marco's bastard child? Oh, this is getting really interesting. Grazia, did you know about this?"

I send an angry glare in Marco's direction, but feel bad as soon as I look at his battered and bloody face. He is cradling his ribs with one hand, but attempting to stand up straight.

"No," I say bitterly. "Kate just told me who she was moments before…all of this happened."

"It's true," Marco says, his voice sounding thick and muffled due to his swollen nose.

Everyone around me begins talking about what to do with Kate and Elio, and Kate goes back to pleading for the safety of her child and asking not to be sent away with this Elio person.

I am sick to death of everything that is going on already, and shout, "You are not going to ruin my wedding!"

Elio turns his strikingly handsome face in my direction, and I feel a tightness in my chest, as though he has wrapped a hand around my heart and given it a tug.

"Look, Grazia, isn't it?" he says to me in that velvet-soft voice.

"I don't want to ruin your wedding. Kate and I are destined to be together and there are important trade routes that I want that her family controls. They don't have any other daughters, you see, so Kate is my only option to get my money.'

I sneer at him. "All you men and your "trade" deals." I spit on the floor. "Maybe you should marry your money instead of us."

The invader has the nerve to laugh at me, but his gaze is warm on my face, and I feel myself softening toward him unwillingly.

"Well, when that becomes legal, I might just consider it," he tells me.

"You aren't going to be considering much of anything for a while," Enzo says, and brings the butt of his pistol down hard on Elio's head.

The man drops in a heap on the floor, and I sigh in relief.

Kate cries out and struggles to get free from Luca. Didn't she just say she didn't want to be taken away by this man?

I'm getting more annoyed by her with each passing moment.

"Thank goodness," I spit out, done collecting beads off the floor. "That asshole. Threatening to ruin my wedding."

Enzo and Luca begin discussing how Elio and Kate can help them with some business deal, but I tune them out and turn toward my husband.

"Is the child yours?" I ask him. My voice is sharp even to my own ears.

He shakes his head, then winces. "No. It's Elio's."

"Well, thank goodness for small favors," I mutter. "Can't you just let La Rosa have her? You know his reputation. I don't think it's worth tangling with him."

I can already tell my logical arguments are going to fall on deaf ears.

I watch my brothers tie up Kate and drop her onto the floor next to Elio's unconscious body. She weeps and lies down, looking at him.

I sigh. I hope I wasn't this pathetic when I was Marco's prisoner.

"What about the kid?" I ask my brothers.

"Can you find him?" Enzo asks me. "Do you know what he looks like?"

I nod. "Yes. Let me know when you are ready to take him away. I'll keep him busy."

I clutch the little round beads in my hand and leave to go find Mateo, who thankfully, is not actually my stepson.

I figure that the swing set on the other side of the hotel is a safe place for a little boy to play before my brothers kidnap him.

I don't even feel anger anymore—I just feel numb.

I suppose it was greedy of me to think that I could have just one simple day to enjoy my wedding.

I easily locate the gaggle of Baldini children near the dessert table. They are happily feasting on sweets until they catch sight of me walking their way.

They all freeze and look up at me guiltily, as though they will be in trouble.

I smile at them reassuringly. "Just don't expect me to feel bad for you guys later if you get sick," I tell them with a wink.

I hunker down by the little boy I saw with Kate earlier.

"Are you Mateo?" I ask him.

He nods, swiping at the chocolate that is all over his face.

I smile at him and reach over to the table to grab a napkin.

"Here," I say to him, passing him the napkin. "Want to come with me for a moment?"

He looks worried, and I feel bad for taking him away from his friends. It sounds like he and his mother have been in hiding for all of his life.

Thankfully, he just smiles at me and nods, eager to be asked to go on an adventure.

I take his slightly sticky hand and lead him away from the reception, and out to the swings I saw on the other side of the hotel.

"You're so pretty," Mateo says to me, looking a little shy.

I laugh. "Thank you," I tell him honestly.

I'm still clutching the beads from my dress in my other hand. I think about his father flinging me to the floor and feel a jolt of sadness lance through me.

Marco was not always kind to me, but he would never have thrown me to the floor in a fit of rage.

Maybe Kate was right to ask Marco for help in hiding her from a man like that.

I remember the way Elio's voice washed over me like a fall of decadent silk and I shiver. I also think I understand why she succumbed to his obvious charms in the past, in spite of the violence he seems to be capable of.

"Is my mommy your friend?" Mateo says to me as we reach the swings.

I bite the inside of my cheek. I am starting to feel guilty about being so angry at her.

"No," I say to the child, who is already swinging happily. "I just met her today."

Mateo nods. "We don't see too many people. Mostly just Marco and sometimes delivery people who bring us food and stuff."

I take a seat in the swing next to Mateo, pushing myself lightly forward and backward.

I have so many questions about all of this, but now isn't the time. I hope that I can trust my brothers to keep this sweet little boy safe.

"Would you like to go on an adventure with your mom to the US?" I ask the little boy happily pumping his legs so that his swing will go as high as possible.

He looks over at me as he passes by, a huge grin on his face.

"Yes! That would be super fun!" he exclaims.

I smile at him. "Good. Pretty soon, one of the security guys will tell me it's time to go meet up with your mom, and then you guys will get on a plane to go to the States."

"Yay!" he cries out, swinging even harder.

I watch him for a moment and press my hand to my belly again. Maybe soon Mateo will get to meet another Baldini child who he can be friends with.

I notice movement from the corner of my eye and see that one of our security staff members is walking toward me.

I push back up out of the swing and hold out my hand to Mateo.

"Ready?" I ask him.

"Yes!" he says, dragging his feet to stop himself and hopping from the swing.

He takes my hand again and grins up at me as we walk away from the playground toward the front of the hotel.

"Is my mom in the car?" he asks me as we approach a black SUV under the portico of the hotel building.

"She is!" I tell him.

I open the door to the back seat and point at his mother. I see her force a happy look onto her face and my heart pinches in my chest.

I suddenly feel worried about this woman I barely know who almost ruined my entire wedding.

"Mommy!" the little boy cries, letting go of my hand and flinging himself into the SUV. "Grazia says we are going on an adventure!"

"She's right," Kate says. "Tell Grazia goodbye."

"Bye!" Mateo says to me, waving merrily.

I wave back and close the car door.

I can't stand another moment of lying to this sweet child. I feel like a terrible person, but there's nothing I can do about any of this now.

I walk away from the car, determined to find my husband and ask him what in the world is going on.