Chapter 7 - Don’t Dare Her
One year later, Lucia’s was packed again.
But this time nobody was afraid.
The restaurant had become home to the Rossi-Moretti Foundation, which funded treatment for families facing rare illnesses.
Marco stood near the stage looking healthier than Bella had seen him in years.
He tapped a champagne glass.
“I’m supposed to make a speech.”
Bella immediately called out:
“Keep it short.”
Everyone laughed.
Marco looked at Alessandro.
“You married her voluntarily?”
Alessandro nodded.
“I was warned.”
“Repeatedly.”
Marco smiled.
“Seriously, though.”
The room quieted.
“A year and a half ago, my sister was working double shifts trying to keep me alive.”
Bella looked down.
Marco continued.
“She thought she had to do everything alone.”
His eyes moved toward Alessandro.
“Then this terrifying guy walked into her restaurant.”
Vinnie raised a hand.
“He was less terrifying after she grabbed him.”
More laughter.
Alessandro shook his head.
Marco continued.
“I don’t know exactly what happened that night.”
Bella looked at Alessandro.
They both smiled.
“But somehow, my sister telling the most feared man in Chicago to behave himself changed all our lives.”
Marco raised his glass.
“To Bella.”
Everyone raised theirs.
“And to Alessandro.”
A pause.
“For having the survival instincts to listen to her.”
The room erupted.
Alessandro leaned toward Bella.
“I’m being mocked in my own restaurant.”
“Our restaurant.”
“Technically—”
Bella looked at him.
Alessandro immediately corrected himself.
“Our restaurant.”
“Good answer.”
After dinner, they walked through the dining room together.
Bella stopped beside table twelve.
The same table.
The same chandelier.
The same corner where everything had begun.
Alessandro looked at it.
“You ruined a perfectly good dinner here.”
“You were threatening someone with a water glass.”
“He deserved it.”
“Alessandro.”
“I didn’t say I should have done it.”
Bella smiled.
“That’s progress.”
He pulled her gently against him.
The intimidating suits were gone tonight.
No lieutenants surrounded him.
No frightened businessmen waited for his approval.
Over the past year, Alessandro had steadily pulled Moretti businesses away from the criminal world that had built his reputation.
It had cost him money.
Influence.
Old alliances.
He had discovered he preferred sleeping beside Bella to ruling men who feared him.
“Do you regret it?” Bella asked.
“What?”
“Changing everything.”
Alessandro thought for a moment.
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“One thing.”
Bella frowned.
“What?”
“The first night we met.”
Her eyebrow lifted.
“You regret meeting me?”
“No.”
He touched the tiny burn scar on her hand.
“I should have asked for your number.”
Bella laughed.
“You were busy threatening Bianchi.”
“Poor time management.”
“Definitely.”
The front door opened.
A young waitress entered carrying her coat.
“Mrs. Moretti?”
Bella turned.
“Yes?”
“There’s a customer refusing to pay.”
Bella looked toward the bar.
A wealthy-looking man was loudly berating another server.
Alessandro sighed.
“I’ll handle it.”
Bella caught his arm.
“No.”
He looked down.
“That expression worries me.”
“I’m the manager.”
“And?”
“My restaurant.”
Alessandro raised both hands.
“Of course.”
Bella headed toward the customer.
Alessandro followed several steps behind.
She looked over her shoulder.
“Why are you following me?”
“For entertainment.”
“Stay there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Vinnie appeared from the kitchen.
“What’s happening?”
“Bella has a difficult customer.”
Vinnie looked toward the angry businessman.
Then at Alessandro.
“Should we help?”
Alessandro smiled.
“No.”
The customer slammed his hand against the bar.
“You people have no idea who I am!”
Bella stopped in front of him.
The room quieted.
Alessandro leaned casually against a pillar.
Vinnie folded his arms.
The customer pointed at Bella.
“You want to challenge me?”
Bella smiled.
Across the room, Alessandro started laughing before she even answered.
The customer looked confused.
“What’s funny?”
Bella calmly folded her arms.
Alessandro shook his head.
“Sir…”
The man turned toward him.
Alessandro raised his glass.
“You’re about to make a terrible mistake.”
The customer looked back at Bella.
She met his eyes.
Her smile disappeared.
And she gave him the same warning that had once stopped the most feared man in Chicago.
“Don’t dare me.”
Alessandro laughed.
Marco laughed.
Vinnie laughed.
A moment later, half the restaurant joined them.
The customer quietly reached for his wallet.
Bella looked across the room at her husband.
Alessandro lifted his glass toward her.
A year earlier, Chicago had known Alessandro Moretti as a man people feared.
Bella Rossi had never tried to become powerful enough to stand beside him.
She had simply refused to be afraid enough to stand beneath him.
And somewhere between table twelve, a hospital room, and a second chance neither had expected, Alessandro learned the difference between being feared and being respected.
He had spent most of his life building an empire nobody dared challenge.
Then one exhausted waitress looked him directly in the eyes and did exactly that.
It cost him the life he had known.
It gave him a better one.
And whenever someone asked Alessandro Moretti how the most dangerous man in Chicago had finally been brought under control, he always gave the same answer.
He looked at Bella.
Smiled.
And said:
May you like
“She told me not to dare her.”
THE END
