His eyes were fixed directly on her.
The ice in her veins melted and began to heat rapidly. By the time Elsbeth took Amadeo’s hand and the bridesmaids’ mothers beckoned them to their seats, her whole body was burning, her heart beating like a hummingbird in her chest.
That was her family in their pride of place, the women in the perfect royal attire for a wedding, the men in identical long-tailed charcoal morning suits. Her father. Her mother. Her brother Marcelo. Her sister-in-law, Clara. Her husband...
He held a hand out to her. His features were tight but his eyes were an explosion of gold.
Her hand slipped into his without any input from her brain.
The service began.
Alessia didn’t hear a word of it.
Her body went into autopilot, standing and sitting as directed, singing the hymns, clapping politely when the groom kissed the bride. It stayed on autopilot as they filed out of the cathedral, tipped confetti and rice over the happy-ish couple, smiled for the numerous photos that were taken. And it remained in autopilot in the carriage she shared with Gabriel, Marcelo and Clara, all waving at the cheering crowds, back to the castle and throughout the entire wedding banquet.
Gabriel could see Alessia was in shock and was working entirely in princess mode. She ate and conversed, laughed when appropriate, but she’d shut something off in herself. Even when he spoke directly to her she answered politely but there was a dazed quality to her eyes and no real engagement. It was as if he were a not particularly interesting stranger she’d been paired with for the day.
The banquet ended. The five hundred guests moved into the adjoining stateroom where the evening party was being held. Decorated in golds and silvers that shimmered and glittered from floor to ceiling, the round tables with no official place-settings quickly filled. He followed Alessia to the one she joined Marcelo and Clara at. They exchanged a significant look and then Marcelo fixed his stare on Gabriel.
The look clearly said, ‘Fix things now or I will do what I would have done if my wife hadn’t taken pity on you and made me help you today: I will throw you out of a window.’
He wouldn’t blame him. It was nothing less than he deserved.
The bride and groom took to the dance floor.
Alessia’s knuckles whitened around her glass of water.
Gabriel’s heart splintered.
The first dance finished.
Gabriel got to his feet and tapped Alessia’s shoulder.
She looked at him expressionlessly.
His heart beating fast, he extended his palm to her. ‘May I have this dance?’
She continued to stare at him. With no movement on her face, she looked slowly down to his hand then back to his eyes. But still not seeing. Not seeing him.
By now convinced that she wasn’t even going to dignify him with an answer, electricity jolted through him when she pressed her fingers into his palm and rose gracefully to her feet.
He closed his fingers around hers before she could change her mind.
Leading her to the slowly filling dance floor, cameras flashing all around them, he slid his hands around her slender waist.
There was a too-long hesitation before she looped her hands loosely around his neck and turned her cheek so that she wasn’t looking at him. Other than her hands, not an inch of her body touched his.
But she was there with him. Dancing with him.
Swaying softly to the music, he spoke in a low voice so only she could hear him. ‘I love you, Princess Alessia Berruti. I love all of you, the passionate woman and the dignified princess. I love your sense of duty. I love your loyalty. I love your laugh and your sense of the absurd. I love that you can make me laugh. I love that I can make you laugh. I love your voice. I love your eyes. I love your lips and your smile. I love how it feels when I touch you and how it feels when you touch me. I love that you’re carrying my child...’
Still swaying, her face slowly lifted. Her eyes locked onto his. The dazed sheen had gone but there was still no expression.
Another splinter broke off his heart and he sucked in a breath before continuing. ‘But there are things I hate too. I hate that I left you sleeping that morning. I hate that I never called you back. I hate the conditions I put on our marriage. I hate that I didn’t consider your feelings when I imposed them. I hate that our wedding was tiny and sparse. I hate that I was arrogant enough to think that you could ever be anything but the woman you are, and Ihatethat I let you believe you would suit me better as anything other than the woman you are.’
A tear rolled down her cheek.
‘I hate that my selfish insecurities tried to hoard you all to myself. I hate that I’m a blind, pig-headed fool who pushed away the best thing that ever happened to him.’