Free Dante's Wedding Deception by Day Leclaire

advantage.
    He closed his eyes, wishing he had the ability to trust. Wishing that he could believe in things like The Inferno and second chances and the goodness of human nature. But in his capacity as Dantes’ troubleshooter he’d experienced far too much of the opposite to ever take such a leap of faith.
    Even as the thought lingered in his mind, he settled her more firmly within his hold, his embrace equal parts possessive and protective. And as he joined her in sleep, one word sounded louder than all the others.
    Mine.
     
    Three endless days passed before Kiley received the official okay from Dr. Ruiz to resume normal activities. He also gave her the name of a doctor who specialized in retrograde amnesia, though she hoped she wouldn’t need his services. Instead, she preferred to trust that with her husband’s help, her memory would return on its own. It was just a matter of when.
    She wished she could explain how disoriented she felt. Nicolò knew everything about her, while she knew nothing. Nothing about herself. Nothing about her likes and dislikes. Nothing about her personality or hopes or dreams. It put her in a position of reacting to all that went on around her instead of driving or controlling events. It also forced her to trust implicitly, which filled her with uncertainty and fear.
    Every aspect of her life ended in a giant question mark. And every time she had to ask a question about herself and the appropriateness of her actions, or about mist-shrouded events from her past or unremembered plans for her future, it left her both dependent and vulnerable.
    Well, at least she could state two things with absolute certainty. First, she didn’t like feeling either dependent or vulnerable. So with each day that passed, she intended to make strides to put some distance between herself and those particular characteristics. To find a way to win back that control over her life.
    And second, despite her inability to recall the details of her previous life, it was clear that her feelings toward her husband hadn’t changed. It offered untold relief that she felt such a powerful hunger toward the man at her side. That she couldn’t wait to be with him, held safe within his arms. To kiss him again. To relive that joy of loving and being loved. And to uncover all the secrets he kept hidden from the rest of the world, secrets he’d probably shared with her, and her alone, if only she could remember.
    She wanted him. Needed him. And she had little doubt that they’d act on those desires before very much longer. Soon she’d experience anew those soul-stirring emotions when he made love to her for the first time. Maybe in those intensely intimate moments her memory would return.
    She could only hope.
    “I’m sure everything will come back to me if we recreate our dates,” she told Nicolò. “It’s bound to spark something, right?”
    “It’s quite possible.”
    Her enthusiasm dimmed. “Do you think the fact that I haven’t had any flashes of recall so far means it won’t return?”
    He instantly wrapped his arms around her. “Not at all. And now that you’ve been given the all-clear, we’ll see what memories we can shake loose.”
    They decided to skip their first meeting in the park and move on to their first “real” date. To Kiley’s dismay, it didn’t go quite the way she’d hoped. The day started off well enough. Her excitement at their implementing her plan carried her through the first couple hours as they toured the delights of San Francisco.
    Nicolò took her to all the top tourist spots—Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square with its view of Alcatraz Island, for a ride on the cable cars that rumbled through Chinatown and past Lombard Street, topped with a drive through Golden Gate Park. It was an exhausting array of sights and sounds, odors and impressions. Unfortunately, not one place incited more than a faint glimmer of recognition in the murky recesses of her mind, an awareness that