His Fantasy Bride (Things to do Before You Die… #3)
Nina Croft
Dear Reader,
His Fantasy Bride is book three in my Things To Do Before You Die series. This series has been very close to my heart, as a couple of years I had my very own facing death experience when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m quite aware of the ways it can make you reassess your life and think of the things you want to do before you die. For me, one of the positives that came out of the experience was that I don’t have any major regrets—I’ve got my fantasy guy. But that got me thinking about what sort of things people might regret, how surviving a life and death experience might change someone, and how they would go on with their lives afterward. I decided I wanted to tell some of those stories. That led to the series and three men, Logan, Josh and Vito who—following a near death experience—all decide to go back and face up to that one big regret in each of their lives, and attempt to do something about it.
His Fantasy Bride is Vito’s story. When Vito thought he might die, all he could think of was Gabrielle, the woman he’d been going to marry, his fantasy bride, who’d vanished the night before the wedding. I hope you enjoy reading how Vito faces up his big regret and goes after Gabby. Only to discover things are not as they seem…
And if you have any regrets, well, don’t wait for that life and death situation. Go after your dreams right now.
Nina
For Rob, who makes all my fantasies come true.
Chapter One
Today would have been the six-month anniversary of her wedding.
If I hadn’t run.
The thought caught Gabby in an unguarded moment. For a second her surroundings faded and she was back under the warm Sicilian sun. With Vito.
Her feet faltered—the dancer on her right whirled around, rammed into her, and Gabby crashed to the stage floor with a thump, the air knocked from her lungs. She lay for a minute, gazing at the sea of multicolored legs around her and the empty chairs in the front row.
“Crap,” she muttered, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees and then to her feet, brushing down her purple leotard and hitching up her bubblegum pink legwarmers. The music stopped and everyone’s attention focused on her. She gave a shrug. “Sorry.”
It had been her fault; she’d turned the wrong way. Luckily it was only a rehearsal, but all the same—she was better than this.
Get a grip, wuss.
“Perhaps we could have a little more attention, Gabby.” The choreographer’s voice held more than a hint of sarcasm. “And we might all get home before midnight.” Yeah, that would be good—it was only eleven in the morning, and they had a show tonight.
She was the newest member of the cast of a long-running West End musical, but that shouldn’t have made a difference. She was a professional. It didn’t help that her miserable state was self-inflicted. Her head pounded from too many chocolate-strawberry martinis the night before. She’d gone out with her bestie Theresa and drunk way too much, drowning her sorrows.
Wimp.
Not that she had anything to be sorrowful about. Not really. Her mum was doing well, responding to the treatment, and her brother was out of trouble—fingers crossed the little monster would stay that way.
And finally, she had a good job. Yay!
Not as good as the one she’d lost when she broke her arm, but good enough to pay the rent if she ever got off her pathetic backside and looked for a place of her own instead of Theresa’s couch. And if she didn’t mess up, the job would go on for a long time. The show had been running for years; there was no reason to believe it would end anytime soon.
Which all meant that there was absolutely no reason to feel so goddamn miserable all the time.
Just don’t think about a certain Sicilian.
A face flashed up in her mind—a stunningly flawless face, with sharp cheekbones, eyes like bitter chocolate, and the longest, blackest lashes she had ever seen.
Oh God, I just thought about Vito. Total bummer.
“Gabby!”
She jumped and found everyone still staring at her.
“Are you ready?”
She gave a quick nod. “Yes, boss.”
The music started, and she forced everything from her mind and, thankfully, soon lost herself in the rhythm. She loved that moment when the dance and music took over, her surroundings faded, and she was transported to another world. She danced until her legs ached and a sheen of sweat covered her body. She was just congratulating herself on not putting a foot wrong when she raised her head and caught sight of a tall figure standing in the aisle.
Her mind went blank, her feet tangled, and for a second time that morning, she crashed to the floor. This time she lay with her eyes tight shut, unwilling to open them until someone nudged her in the side.
She peeked through her lashes, stared at the spot, but the man was gone. A figment of her imagination? Not a chance in hell. She wasn’t that lucky.
She scrambled to her feet. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she mumbled, giving another little shrug. “I got distracted. It won’t happen again. Super big promise.”
“We’ll start from the beginning.”
The rest of the dancers groaned, but as far as Gabby was concerned, he could keep them there all day and past midnight. Here on the stage, she was someone else, and real life couldn’t touch her.