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CHAPTER ONE

DANTE Orsini was in the prime of his life

He was rich, powerful and as ruggedly good-looking as a man could hope to be He worked hard, played hard, and on those rare nights he went to bed alone, he slept soundly until

But not tonight

Tonight he was drea

In his drea a narrow road It led to a house He could hardly see it because of the heavy , but it was there

His footsteps slowed

It was the last place on earth he wanted to be A house in the suburbs A station wagon in the driveway A dog A cat Two-point-five kids

And a wife One woman, the same woman, forever…

Dante sprang up in bed, gasping for air A shudder racked his big, leanly muscled body He slept naked, kept the s open even now, in early autumn Still, his skin was slick with sweat

A dreahtmare

The oysters last night, ain Or just another resurfacing of that long-ago hteen, stupid and in love

In what he’d thought was love

He’d gone steady with Teresa D’Angelo for three months before he’d so much as touched her

When he finally did, one touch led to another and another and another…

Christold locket

She’d given hiht him to his knees

“I’nant, Dante,” she’d whispered tearfully

He’d been stunned He was a kid, yeah, but he’d still known enough to use condoms But he loved her And she’d wept in his arms and said he’d ruined her life, that he had to marry her

He would have

He would have Done The Right Thing

But fate, luck, whatever you wanted to call it, intervened His brothers noticed hoithdrawn he’d becoh beer to loosen him up a little and then Nicolo asked hi on

Dante told theirl