Chapter 4
Astorre stared at the gold band on his ring finger as his new wife walked beside him to their upgraded room on the permanently parked cruise ship.
The promise to be faithful, to honor and cherish her, stuck in his head. What if he had his father’s evil inside him?
It was better to remain friendly with Clara than offer her falsehoods he’d never be able to live up to. They reached their door; he scooped her up in one arm and carried her over the threshold to their room.
At last they were alone. He let her down and locked the door. “Clara?”
“Yes?” She batted innocent brown eyes that made him pause. How she'd trembled in his arms and seemed to exude light from their simple kiss rocketed in his mind. He kept his voice low, but asked in all seriousness, “Was that your first kiss?”
