Bound by a Ring and a Secret--Get swept away with this sparkling summer romance! by Jennifer Faye

Author:Jennifer Faye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-03-03T20:58:27+00:00

* * *

Sailing.

Dario couldn’t believe he was sitting in a rowboat of all things. He quite honestly had never gone rowing before. Sure, he’d been on luxury yachts numerous times, as well as cruise ships, but never a modest rowboat. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.

His gaze moved to Gianna, who smiled as she looked out over the tranquil water. After he’d insisted on doing the rowing, Gianna used her camera to take some photos of him, of the water and of the mountains in the background. She seemed to be enjoying herself. And he had to admit the physical activity was doing him some good, as well. He didn’t feel nearly as stiff and utterly stressed.

“So do you approve of your surprise?” she asked.

“I do. I’ve never done this before.” He glanced around at the shoreline. “It gives me a whole new perspective on the area from here.”

Gianna let go of her camera, letting it dangle from the strap around her neck. “Your parents didn’t do things like this when you were young?”

He shook his head. “My family was very different from yours. Even from a young age, there were a lot of expectations as far as doing well in school to being at the top of sports. There wasn’t much time to have fun.”

“You mean your mother and father didn’t let you be normal kids?”

He had opened Pandora’s box and now he didn’t know how to close it. And to his surprise, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to close it. As he’d come to learn, Gianna was easy to talk to, and though she didn’t always agree with him, she made him see things from a different perspective.

Not that he wanted to think about his dysfunctional family, but he felt as though he owed her the truth. After all, she’d agreed to portray herself as his fake fiancée when there wasn’t much in it for her. Who did something like that?

A gentle breeze rushed over him, soothing his frazzled nerves. But prying open the rusty door to the past wasn’t easy. He didn’t talk about it. Ever. Even as a young child, he’d learned how to swiftly change the subject. These days, he had it down to a fine art.

He shook his head. “You don’t want to hear about my messed-up family.”

“Messed up? Does this have something to do with why you never mention your mother or father?”

He nodded.

When she spoke, her voice was soft. “Why is that?”

There was shame in his past—in the Marchellos’ past—that no one in his family spoke of. Not even amongst themselves. The things he knew of his parents he’d pieced together bit by bit over the course of his lifetime.

He stared out over the water. “From what I gather, my parents were forced together.”

“You mean as in an arranged marriage?”

He shook his head. “Not exactly. Their families knew each other. They moved in the same circles. There were expectations from the time they were young children. From what I gathered, they dated in school.

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