Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 24323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Keiran could not believe what he was hearing.
"I don't want—-"
Fingers gripped her shoulders, cutting her words short.
And then he was giving her a hard shake as if he believed she had lost her senses.
"You got it all wrong," Keiran said fiercely. "Completely wrong."
"M-My b-brother—-"
"—-wanted to kill me for marrying you."
She stared at him, unable to understand what he was saying.
"He wanted me to protect you from afar. Not make you my wife and have you enter the world he had tried to keep you from."
"I d-don't understand."
"I had no right to be with you," Keiran said unevenly. "But you were just so hard to stay away from. And you just keep getting into trouble, and the next thing I knew—-"
Cadence could barely hear his voice over the thunderous pounding of her heart.
Was this really happening?
Was it?
Really?
"I fell in love with you."
Keiran...loved her?
"And I never stopped," Keiran said rawly. "I thought I did. When I thought I hated you. But even that was a mistake, and I...I know I don't deserve to be forgiven for that either. I didn't even know I was putting you through hell. You have every right to hate me, but I just...I can't let you go, Cadence. I love you. I will always—-"
Keiran didn't get to finish, with Cadence throwing herself into his arms with such force that they both nearly fell.
His arms closed around her automatically as he lost their balance. They tumbled onto the soft grass, with Keiran making sure he landed on his back and Cadence on top of him.
"Cadence?"
She gazed down at him, and her heart ached upon seeing how her husband—-her husband!—-was still ashen with fear.
"I love you, Keiran," she said, her voice steady despite the tears still glistening on her cheeks. "So, so much."
His kiss was desperate, filled with all the words he couldn't say. When he finally pulled back, Cadence could see the wetness in his own eyes, though he would never admit to tears.
Keiran rolled her to her back, and her tears fell faster at the way his hand shook as he touched her cheek. "I was sure I had lost you."
She shook her head as she covered his hand with hers. "Not possible." Her voice caught. "B-Because I think I know the truth now. I was born to be yours."
Epilogue
ONE MONTH LATER
Cadence slipped through the back door of the Harbour Locke Country Club. Technically, she could enter the place any way she wanted. Keiran, after all, had purchased this as his belated wedding gift to her.
But...it was still something she had a hard time wrapping her head around, and so she ended up tiptoeing around the place and...
"Good morning, Mrs. de Laigny."
Cadence quickly summoned a smile when a member caught sight of her. "G-Good morning."
Would she ever get used to people talking to her so...respectfully?
Cadence could only shake her head as she thought of how much life had changed in the past month. With Cadence now hands-on in managing the club, Gemma had been promoted to manager, and Bex, the club's chief of security (Cadence was quite happy about this, since she no longer had any reason to be jealous of the other woman).
Her parents, on the other hand, had been relocated with new identities after agreeing to testify against the Castellos. Moreover, they were also forbidden to have any contact with anyone from their former lives—including her.
It made her sad at times, but she could also see that maybe...it was for the best for now.
As Cadence passed the pro shop on her way to the offices, she caught sight of La Strega surveying the newest selection of golf clubs, and of course she had to drop in and say hi.
"Signora Marchetti, buongiorno," she greeted the older woman with a smile. "I hope you're enjoying your stay in our club?"
"Indeed, I am. It is nice to get away from Boston once in a while, be an ordinary citizen."
Riiiight.
The matriarch arched a brow. "You do not believe it's possible for me to ordinary?"
"I'd really like to," she said earnestly.
"But?"
"For one thing—-" She gave the older woman a helpless look. "Your family is New England's most powerful mafia—-" Cadence caught the older woman wincing, and she hurriedly corrected herself. "I mean, famiglia." She really had to remember that in this new world she lived in, the M-word was considered a terrible cliché.
"I may be famiglia," the matriarch was saying, "but surely I do not look one?"
Hmm.
It was true that La Strega looked no different from all the other rich old women who were members of their country club, but—-
"You still have your pearl-studded revolver in your handbag, don't you?"
"Of course!"
"And you really think that's something any ordinary person would do?"
"Ah." The older woman's expression turned thoughtful. "So you want me to carry just an ordinary revolver, is that it?"
Cadence could only bite back a smile, knowing when to admit defeat. Anyway, it was really quite cute of La Strega to want to be ordinary.