The Secret One

by Cardello, Ruth

  Dominic’s whole body tightened painfully. “And later? I never stopped looking for her.”

  “She’d started a new life under a new name. Her second husband died shortly after Gian was born. She thought your father was responsible. He might have been. That’s how Gian came to our family, and your mother went deeper into hiding.”

  “She doesn’t talk about that time in her life.” His head started to pound. “I didn’t know she had another child. No one thought that was something I might want to know? I could have protected him.”

  “Telling you would have been too much of a risk. Your father took out his anger on everyone he thought was helping your mother. Stripped them of everything. I can’t blame any of them for cringing when they hear the name Corisi. Things don’t have to remain that way, though. Gian is on his way. You could meet him tomorrow morning also if—”

  “If?” Here it comes.

  “I know what you’ve survived, and I can only guess what that has done to your head, but the people you’re considering ripping everything away from—they’re innocents. Your father ruined their businesses, stole their land, brought them to their knees—but he didn’t break them. They are good people with strong family values. I won’t let you near any of them if I feel you’re here to hurt them. Our brother Gian is coming to meet family. Family doesn’t keep grudges. We make mistakes. We disagree. We yell. Then we apologize, forgive, and move on. You’re welcome tomorrow morning, but only if you come as family.”

  Dominic rubbed a hand over his face. Christof was painting a nice picture, but it wasn’t a realistic one. With no ill intentions and an open mind, Dominic had come to the family just a few months ago, and they’d shut him out as coldly as they had all those years ago. One smooth-talking cousin wouldn’t change that. “They don’t want me there.”

  “Because they don’t know you.” A small smile stretched Christof’s lips. “I should warn you: Nona might not understand who you are. Don’t be offended—she thinks I’m Mauricio half the time.”

  Negotiations were as much a part of Dominic’s life as getting up each morning and putting on pants. They were a part of business, and he’d participated in all kinds. The key to winning any negotiation was to understand what the other side wanted and use it as leverage. Christof knows what I want; what is he hoping to leave with? It couldn’t be as straightforward as what he was claiming. Dominic shook his head. “What do you really want?”

  “To put an end to the fighting. It’s time to. Nothing matters more than family.”

  “You think inviting the man who is buying up everyone’s land to breakfast has any chance of not ending badly? They call me the devil.” It was what they’d called him when they’d blocked him from seeing his grandmother. Something ugly had risen in him, something that was only now beginning to subside.

  “I didn’t come here without finding out as much as I could about you. You’ve done a lot of good over the past decade. Unless that was all an act, you’re not as badass as you think you are. You’re in a position to right something your father did. Give them their land back, their businesses. Help rebuild what your father tore down.” Christof stood. “That’s what I would do if I were you.” With that, Christof walked to the bathroom door and opened it. “I’ll let myself out the way I came in. If you want to meet Nona, come at nine a.m., and come hungry. We’ll make extra for you.”

  Dominic rose to his feet. “I’ll be there.”

  Christof nodded. “I’ll make sure everything on my side is good. I’d leave the security squad behind. They’ll only make people nervous.”

  Dominic stood there staring at the once-again-closed door to the bathroom. Not much about the meeting had felt real. He wouldn’t have been shocked if Christof’s last words had been, You’ll be visited by three spirits . . .

  He opened the door to the bathroom and saw a discreetly disguised door on the other side. Christof had come in through a fucking hidden door in the bathroom. How would he have even known it was there?

  Alethea.

  It had to be.

  Dominic took out his phone and called his head of security. “Marc, your wife is here in Italy. Tell her to come see me.”

  “Oh no, what did she do?”

  Still weighing everything he’d just learned, Dominic said, “Nothing unforgivable. In fact, I might have to thank her.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  MCKENNA

  Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Christof said, “Still alive and in one piece. Stepping out the back of the building.”

  In a scramble, I pocketed my phone and let myself out of the car. I remembered this feeling of relief and pride. Every time my father had won a race and I’d seen him standing safely outside his car again, my heart would soar. I hadn’t let myself be afraid for my father when he raced, and I’d held my fear in check the whole time Christof had spoken to Dominic. He was safe, though, and I could finally let my emotions out. I half ran, half flew, I thought, down the block to the alley he’d disappeared into earlier.

  As soon as I spotted him, I launched myself at him, wrapped my legs around his waist, dug my hands into his hair, and kissed him with all the emotion welling inside me. It was a long, deep expression of gratitude with a dash of never-put-me-through-that-again passion.

  When we came up for air, we were both breathing raggedly and half laughing. “So,” he joked, “tell me how you really feel.”

  “I’m hating you a little right now,” I said even as I squeezed my thighs around him tighter.

  He chuckled. “I like the way you hate.”

  I kissed his smug mouth, then nipped his bottom lip. “That was pure torture.”

  “I’ll make it up to you.” The look he gave me was a mixture of desire and pride. “Did you hear everything?”

  “I did.”

  “I wasn’t sure I could sway him.”

  “I was.” It wasn’t a lie. Christof was a man I imagined most people found easy to believe in.

  “If my family wasn’t due to arrive at Nona’s soon, I’d take you right back to the guesthouse.”

  Oh yes. I easily imagined all the ways we could release some of the nervous tension in me, but the look in his eyes told me he was also pulled by responsibility. I respected that about him. Slowly, I released him and slid down the length of him until I was back on my own feet. We’re here for a reason. Focus, McKenna. “Gian handled talking to Nona for the first time better than I would have expected.”

  “I’m sure my brother and his wife played a large part in that. Seeing her in person will be more of a challenge. I’ll ask Luigi to gather some of the family for tonight. Gian would like that. When Dominic comes, I think having Gian, Nona, Mauricio, and Wren there will be enough.”

  Holding hands, we started back toward the car. “Would it be best if I make myself scarce?”

  He stopped and turned me toward him. “Hey, we’re doing this together, right?”

  “Right.” It was difficult to breathe when he looked at me like we were so much more to each other than we were. “Do your brothers know we’re engaged?”

  “Shit, I didn’t mention it. I’m not sure. They know you’re here, though.”

  That stung a bit. It shouldn’t have, but it did. I didn’t want to make this about me, but I also didn’t like feeling like an afterthought. “Will you tell them the truth?”

  He didn’t answer at first, and we started toward the car again. “I can’t lie to my brothers. They know me too well. Wren would figure it out also. The two of you have a lot in common; she also likes to know how things work. Did I tell you she’s an engineer? She and Mauricio are developing prosthetic limbs that incorporate AI. It’s fascinating stuff.”

  “Really?” I didn’t tell him that he had shared some of that with me already because I was beginning to think he was speaking to fill the silence. When he’d spoken to the woman in the alley, he’d said he was nervous. He hadn’t sounded it, but maybe he had been.

  “She’s a
brilliant woman.” He opened my car door for me and, in a deceptively sweet tone, added, “Had no problem changing her last name when they married.”

  My head snapped up, and whatever rush of irritation I’d felt dissolved when I saw the laughter in his eyes. “You really want to go there?”

  “Just saying. McKenna Romano has a ring to it.”

  He was just giving me shit. I decided to give it right back. After I slid into my seat, I said, “Almost as good as Christof Decker. Now that’s a name that would open doors.”

  Ironically he closed mine after I said it. In the time it took him to walk around the car and get in on his side, I had time to wonder if this was a topic we should have reopened.

  Before he started the engine, he paused. “What do you want me to tell my brothers?” His question was so simply stated some might have missed the enormity of it, but I didn’t. He cared how I felt—even in the chaos. That was the Christof I’d come to Italy to help, the one I was helplessly falling for.

  “The truth, I guess. I can handle it. I’m a big girl.”

  “If I threaten his life, Mauricio should be able to keep our secret.” He searched my face, then started the car. “I told myself I’d take things slowly with you. How am I doing so far?”

  “I enjoyed the guesthouse.” The tension ebbed out of me. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made that Christof hadn’t told his brothers everything already. The most successful strategies were often the least complicated ones. He was adapting to the situation as it evolved . . . just as I was. “My crew doesn’t know about our fake engagement, either, because I didn’t want them to think I’d lost my mind.”

  He pulled out into traffic. “It is a little crazy.”

  “A little.”

  He offered me his free hand. I took it. “I don’t regret it. I’ve never brought a woman to meet Nona. Now I can’t imagine bringing anyone else.”

  I closed my eyes and savored his words. One day soon we’d be heading home. Would he say the same then, or were we both caught up in the magic of our Italian adventure? I joked, “Is your mother as quick with a wooden spoon?”

  “She used to be. She’s mellowing with age. Don’t tell her I said that.”

  I promised not to, even though I had no idea if I’d ever actually meet her.

  The ride back was mostly uneventful. Christof made a few calls and arranged for Luigi to pick up his car later that evening when he visited with Gian.

  While stopped at a crossroad, Christof met my gaze. “Mauricio should be able to take a call even if they’re still up in the air. If I’m going to tell him, I should do it before they’re at Nona’s.”

  “I agree.”

  He dialed his brother, put it on speakerphone, and gave it to me to hold. As soon as it connected, he said, “Mauricio, how far off are you?”

  “We land in about a half hour,” a male voice responded.

  “Is everyone awake?”

  A woman chimed in, “And having coffee.”

  “Everything still good there, Christof?” a younger-sounding male voice asked. Gian?

  “It’s good.” I half expected him to share how his meeting with Dominic had gone, but when he didn’t, I could see the sense in that as well. There were only so many bombs you could drop on a person at a time. “There’s something I forgot to mention earlier.”

  “Okay,” the voice that likely belonged to Mauricio said.

  Christof met my gaze one last time, as if confirming that I was still okay with them knowing the truth. I nodded. “Coming here was Mom and Dad’s idea. They were hoping things would go as they have, and funny thing, it was also their idea to not only bring McKenna but . . .”

  “But?” Mauricio asked.

  I held my breath.

  “To tell everyone we’re engaged,” Christof said. “They thought it would set a festive tone that would put everyone in a better mood, and it has.”

  “You’re engaged?” his sister-in-law asked in a squeal of delight.

  “That’s not what he’s saying,” Mauricio cut in.

  “So it’s all a pretense,” his younger brother clarified.

  “It’s a bit of a mess,” Christof said, then met my gaze again. “McKenna means a lot to me. We’re full-on pretending to be engaged for now. We’ll figure out the rest when we get home. For now, we need all of you to play along. No one here knows it’s not real.”

  I had asked him to be honest. There it was, the truth about how he saw this going. What would I have done had he proclaimed he loved me already? I doubted I would have believed it.

  Something he’d said echoed in my head. “No one here knows it’s not real.” No one besides us, I amended silently. All I had to do was not get distracted by the lure of the lie.

  “Is she there with you?” the female voice asked.

  “She is,” Christof answered. “And you’re all on speaker.”

  “We should at least introduce ourselves, then. Hi, McKenna. I’m Wren. I can’t wait to meet you. This is my husband, Mauricio. Mauricio, say something.”

  “Welcome to the family?” Mauricio said in an amused tone.

  “You must be a good sport to have agreed to this. I’m Gian. Ignore most of what Mauricio says. The rest of us do.” A second later, Gian said, “Ouch. I would punch you back if seeing you cry wouldn’t upset your wife.”

  Mauricio laughed. “Have you ever seen Gian so feisty? I think he’s nervous.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Mauricio.”

  Christof intervened. “There’s nothing to worry about, Gian. What you need to remember, though, is that Nona gets confused easily. If she calls you someone else’s name or says something that doesn’t fit what we’re discussing, just go with it. If you correct her too much, she gets upset.”

  “What’s the cause? Has she been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? Lewy body disorder? There are many possible causes for confusion in the elderly. She might have vitamin deficiencies or a UTI. People think confusion is a natural byproduct of aging, so often it goes untreated.”

  Christof looked uncomfortable as he admitted he didn’t know what steps the family had taken with her doctors.

  “I’ll look into it while I’m there,” Gian said with the same confidence I’d seen in Christof. He might have been young and walking into an emotional and possibly explosive situation, but his pedal was to the floor. I respected that.

  Mauricio said, “The pilot just announced we’re beginning our descent. I hired a car to take us to Nona’s. My thought was to give Gian a little time alone with Nona before we open the floodgate of family.”

  “I agree,” Christof said. “We’ll meet you at the house.” The call ended, and Christof looked deep in thought.

  When a significant amount of time had passed without him speaking, I asked, “What are you thinking?”

  “A thousand different things, not many of them good.”

  I took his hand in mine again and said, “Tell me one.”

  He sighed. “How do I not know if Nona is being treated for dementia or not? Seems like something I should have inquired about.”

  “Hey, hey. You’re not studying to be a doctor. Gian is, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Since I met you, you’ve been saying that your family pulls together when there’s a problem and that you raise each other up. When I heard Gian’s questions, I saw that in action. If you all had the same skills, the same personality, you wouldn’t be able to help each other the way you do. Everyone in the pit crew has their own part they play. Don’t undervalue what you bring to the table.”

  He smiled. “You?”

  “Damn right.” I decided to go with his joke to lighten the mood. “There is no better fake fiancée in all of Italy . . . nay, I’d say in all of Europe.”

  “The world.”

  “The fucking universe.”

  He laughed, then sobered. “I’m glad we told them the truth.”

  “Me too.”

  Even if I didn’t want
it, I needed a reality check on a regular basis.

  The ride back to Nona’s felt a thousand times shorter. We parked Luigi’s car where he had the day before. Funny how much could change in a day. As I walked back into the house, it didn’t feel foreign.

  Nona met us at the door, apron on, hands on hips. She said something in Italian, then greeted me and asked if I was hungry.

  “Starving,” I said. I was. In all the excitement of the day, we’d forgotten to eat. “Haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

  Nona wagged a finger at Christof, said something in a sarcastic tone, then turned and headed toward the kitchen. I couldn’t contain my curiosity. “What did she say?”

  “She said in her day when a man gave his fiancée a ‘tour of the town,’ he at least fed her. She said she thought my mother had raised me better.”

  I laughed into my hand. “I love her.”

  He gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I’m not surprised. The two of you have a lot in common—well, outside of the dementia.”

  I tipped my head to one side. Nothing against Nona, but we didn’t seem to have much, if anything, in common. “Thanks?”

  “I’m serious. Nona survived World War II, Mussolini—although she would tell you some things were better when he was in charge, at least before the war. She has real grit. The loss of her husband couldn’t have been easy. Then an all-out battle with a vindictive billionaire? Imagine—no matter what he did, she never bowed to Antonio Corisi, never told him where Aunt Rosella was. He took their land, their jobs, their very homes . . . but she made sure he didn’t break their spirits. The family is still here, still close. Life threw some tough challenges her way, but she faced them . . . and won. Her dream might have been a different one than yours, but you faced your own challenges and came out on top. You’re both incredibly strong women.”