“I do.” He nodded and rose, and then held a hand out to her to assist Jill to her feet. “And while I don’t like keeping secrets from my family, I don’t think it’s necessary we share your background with everyone at dinner tonight. I’ll find a way to break the news, and I will do it soon, but this evening isn’t the time.”
“I’m meeting the family tonight?”
He nodded, his mouth quirking. “My sisters are having fits that they haven’t met you yet, and my father is very eager to meet my wife. It’ll be a large group—uncles, aunts, cousins—can you handle that?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” He unlocked the door, started to open it, then stopped. “So what is your real name, since we know it’s not really Jill Smith?”
“Alessia,” she said softly. “But I haven’t been Alessia for fourteen years. I’m Jillian now, and that’s who I want to be.”
“Then that’s who you will be. So go shower and dress and try to relax, because I should warn you, my sisters are a lot like my mother—strong, talkative, rather intense—but hopefully a little more friendly.”
Jillian’s head spun as she climbed the stairs to their master suite on the third floor. She’d done it, she thought, reaching the bedroom and closing the door.
She’d told him. She’d told him the truth and nothing horrible had happened.
The planets hadn’t collided.
No stars had fallen from the sky.
No scary men had jumped out of bushes and snatched her away.
Maybe all the bad things were behind her. Maybe, she thought, stripping off her dress and stepping beneath the showerhead with the faucets turned on full force, just maybe, everything would be okay.
Relief swept through her as the water beat down, first icy, then scalding until she finally adjusted the water to the perfect temperature.
Mind spinning, she soaped up, shampooed her hair and rinsed off all while thinking that her fears seemed so silly now. Why hadn’t she trusted Vitt sooner?
Why had she thought he’d be like her father?
How tragic that she hadn’t trusted him before. It would have saved them all so much heartache as well as lost time together.
Once dry, Jill styled her hair, then applied makeup, before slipping into the simple black cocktail dress hanging in the closet.
She felt like a different woman as she tugged up the dress’s zipper. It was such a relief to have shared the truth with someone. Such a relief to know she wasn’t alone. Keeping the secret had been a crushing burden and suddenly she felt lighter. Freer. Happier.
Twisting her hair into a silky chignon she stared at her reflection in the master bathroom’s enormous mirror, her brown eyes smiling shyly, her mouth curving uncertainly.
He knew the truth about her, knew she was Frank Giordano’s daughter, and he hadn’t pulled away in disgust.
But having him just accept the truth wasn’t enough. She wanted his love. She wanted his heart.
Yet how could he love her if he didn’t know her? She needed him to know her, the real her, the woman who was falling in love with him.
Looking hard at her pale reflection, Jillian took a deep breath and removed one contact lens, and then the other, taking the brown colored lenses out to reveal her natural eye color—a vivid, and rather startling, turquoise green.
Moving to the sink, she washed the brown contact lenses down the drain and then washed her hands, all the while looking at her heart-shaped face with the high cheekbones, aristocratic nose and strong chin.
This is you, she told her reflection, this is you without artifice and make-believe. This is the you Vitt needs to see.
She didn’t know how Vitt would react when he saw her eyes had changed color again but at least tonight when he saw her face, he would see her real face. He’d finally see her.
Vittorio rapped on the bathroom door. “My family is gathered downstairs and waiting.”
“I’m ready,” she said, opening the door and stepping out, wondering how long it’d take him to notice what she’d done.
He tipped his head, studied her. He’d noticed the change immediately. “You look…different.”