He Favored The One That Got Away I Left

Erin's POV: The ceremony coordinator didn't take the badge. She looked from me to Luca and lowered her voice. "Mr. Moretti, tonight's family betrothal ceremony is listed under your name and Ms. Whitlock's." My mother's hand-embroidered tablecloth covered the long table. Her eyesight had been failing before she died. She'd sat by the window, using what light she could to stitch my name into one corner. Luca had sat across from her and promised to take care of me for the rest of my life. Now Sophia was standing beside that name. Her father had been a capo in the Moretti family. He'd shielded Luca during an ambush, and before he died, he'd entrusted his only daughter to him. Ever since, anything she wanted had come with a reason more compelling than mine. "I don't have to go in." She tucked the sapphire necklace at her chest beneath her neckline. "But the Valenti people have already sent a threatening letter to my apartment. I don't want them to take me away." Luca immediately turned to the deputy in charge of security. "Are the car and accommodations ready?" The man nodded. "We can move her tonight, Boss." Sophia caught Luca's sleeve. "And then what? I hide for the rest of my life? My father's gone. They aren't afraid of a few guards." Luca was quiet for a moment before he turned to me. "Erin, negotiations will be much easier if people believe she's under my protection as my wife." He spoke softly, as though he were afraid of startling me. "We'll only announce it to a few family representatives tonight. There won't be a civil marriage. You'll still be the one standing beside me in church next week." I stared at the silver tie pin on his chest. To finish it in time for today, I'd stayed up for 3 nights in a row, taking pearls from my mother's old jewelry and setting them into it by hand. He hadn't asked where it had come from when he put it on to leave. Yet when Sophia said the white roses in the banquet hall reminded her of her father's funeral, he'd immediately ordered every one of them replaced. "So you don't need me here tonight?" "Of course you're coming." He frowned. "Nothing has changed between us." The coordinator still held the schedule, unsure what to do. I put the badge into her hand. "Do as he says." Surprise flickered in Luca's eyes. He reached to straighten the shawl on my shoulders, but Sophia suddenly turned away from a camera flash at the entrance. "Is that someone the Valentis sent?" His hand stopped in midair. A moment later, he'd stepped in front of her to shield her and was leading her into the inner hall. I stood there for a while, then folded my shawl and laid it over the coordinator's arm. For 6 years, I'd waited for him to finish dealing with people and problems more urgent than me, then come back and hear the rest of what I had to say. Tonight, I stopped waiting. After I left the estate, I emailed the wedding planner. I told her to cancel next week's ceremony and settle the costs already incurred under the contract. Then I opened the job offer I'd left unanswered for 2 months. A documentary studio in Westhaven was preparing a coastal conservation series with a 3-year shooting schedule. The producer had seen my short film and held a camera operator's spot for me. I'd already drafted an email declining. Now I deleted all my explanations and replied that I could start on time. My phone soon buzzed. My friend Leah Abbott had sent a photograph. Sophia stood beside Luca, an antique Moretti family bracelet now around her wrist. When Luca's grandmother had given it to him, she'd explicitly said it was for me. The caption was a single line. At last, someone can protect me in my father's place. Leah asked where I was and whether I wanted her to pick me up. I told her I was in a cab. She sent several out-of-town job opportunities, followed by a photo of a man standing by a dock. Leah: This is Simon Mercer. He does marine rescue and works as a safety consultant for film crews. I helped raise funds for him. If you're going to work by the sea, you could get to know him. I glanced at it and replied that I would. Leah: Are you still going to dinner tonight? I'd spent 2 weeks organizing that dinner as the hostess, right down to recording every guest's food allergies. My camera was still at the club, and I had one last supplier invoice to approve. Erin: I'll stop by. That evening, Luca came to pick me up himself. He brought my favorite hot chocolate, with a florist's card tucked beneath the paper cup. "I'll get the bracelet back for you." I didn't reach for the drink. He put it in the cup holder and softened his voice. "It'll be difficult to explain if my grandmother asks. Don't take this the wrong way." His phone kept buzzing all the way to the club. Sophia hadn't taken the car he'd arranged. She said she didn't want to bother anyone else tonight. As I unfastened my seat belt, he finally closed his hand around my fingers. "I don't know how to make it up to you when you won't talk to me." Outside, a guard greeted someone. Sophia was walking up the steps alone in a white gown. Luca immediately let go of my hand and got out to call after her. The hot chocolate tipped in the cup holder, soaking the florist's card. I wiped up the spill with tissues and went inside alone. Ten minutes later, they arrived together. The host went to greet them and handed Sophia the white rose that had been waiting at my seat. "Since you've made your betrothal public, perhaps Mrs. Moretti would like to give tonight's opening toast."