Chapter 1
“It's refreshing to see someone who understands exactly where she belongs.”
The bride-to-be smiled as she said it. Two women beside her laughed.
Elena Carter kept the silver tray steady.
She had just congratulated Vanessa Bennett on her engagement to the man Elena had fallen in love with.
Now she had to stand there and serve the champagne.
Across the ballroom, Dante Moretti spoke with businessmen beneath the crystal chandeliers. The feared Mafia Boss looked perfectly at home among people who measured their worth in money.
Elena wore a black maid’s uniform. Her mother’s hospital bills were the reason she couldn’t afford to lose it.
For three months, she had tried to forget the quieter version of him—the exhausted man who stayed in the kitchen over coffee, who remembered her mother’s condition, who had driven her to the hospital and waited.
“If another emergency happens, call me,” he had told her. “You shouldn't have to manage it alone.”
Tonight, another woman wore his ring.
“There's something on my dress,” Vanessa announced.
A drop of champagne marked the hem.
“I'm sorry. I'll take care of it.”
Elena bent to examine the fabric.
Vanessa caught her wrist.
“Once I'm running this household, whether you continue working here will be entirely my decision.”
Elena needed that paycheck. Her mother needed treatment.
So she gently freed her wrist and thanked the woman threatening her livelihood.
Vanessa smiled.
Elena straightened, trying to offer one last polite congratulations.
Instead, a tear slipped down her cheek.
She turned before anyone could notice.
Across the room, Dante stopped listening to the businessman speaking to him.
Then he started walking toward her.
Vanessa brightened. “Dante, darling. Perfect timing. I was just discussing how we'll manage the household after the wedding.”
He looked directly at Elena.
“What happened?”
“Nothing, Mr. Moretti.”
May you like
His gaze stayed on her face.
“Then tell me why you're crying.”
