Do you ever wonder what your significant other would do if you died unexpectedly?
Would he marry again?
The vague idea of a spouse remarrying may not disturb you. But what if he put his new wife in your bed?
That is exactly where Gina finds herself in Midnight Mafia: Dante.
She marries Dante Ricci, a gorgeous Mafia boss whose first wife died only six months earlier.
Gina was too young and too far away in Irvine, California, to hear much about Mary’s death. Then, at her own wedding, Dante’s gossipy cousin Angie tells her what happened.
According to Angie, Mary hit her head on a rock after a wild party on the beach.
Vanessa Sinclair of Manhattan Social has another theory.
The gossip columnist suggests that Mary was murdered.
“Am I in danger?” Gina asks, trying to make it sound like a joke.
Angie’s answer chills her.
“Only if you disappoint him.”
Why Gina Marries Him Anyway
Gina has been in love with handsome, cold, controlling Dante since she was a teenager.
She remembers watching his rugged face glow above a roaring fire in Sicily. His powerful family and their workers were celebrating the end of the grape harvest.
That longing follows her into adulthood. It remains with her on her wedding night.
But is she truly in danger?
As Dante takes her to his luxurious Manhattan penthouse, Gina invents excuses for his innocence.
Perhaps Mary fell.
Perhaps she took the wrong medication.
Perhaps she drank too much, though Angie insists Mary would never risk damaging her famous complexion.
In the end, Gina chooses to think the best of her new husband.
So does almost everyone else.
When Everyone Loves the Husband
The most unsettling husband is not always the obvious monster.
He is the charming man who remembers your birthday. He carries your suitcase. He opens the wine and knows exactly when to refill your glass.
Everyone loves him.
That becomes part of the problem.
Who wants to suspect the grieving widower? His friends defend him. His family protects him. Even the neighbors say he adored his wife.
Then he marries again.
Rather quickly.
His new bride moves into the same home. She uses the same rooms. She sits at the same table.
Perhaps she even sleeps in the same bed.
That is when I began asking questions about Gina.
The Bed Changes Everything
Gina could probably live in a dead woman’s house.
She might drink from Mary’s glasses. Since Mary reportedly had excellent taste, Gina might even wear one of her coats.
But her bed?
That feels different.
A bed remembers things.
It is where a wife whispers secrets to her husband. It is where arguments continue after the bedroom door closes. It is where promises are made.
It may also be where lies begin.
Now imagine lying beside the widower.
He is asleep.
Or he appears to be.
You look across the dark room and wonder how many nights his first wife watched that same face.
Did she feel safe?
Did she know something?
Did she ever lie awake and wonder if she would survive him?
Suddenly, getting comfortable seems impossible.
Gina has even more reason to worry.
Dante has rules. Certain questions are unwelcome. Certain rooms are forbidden. When Gina wanders somewhere she does not belong, his reaction does nothing to reassure her.
Yet fear is not the only feeling he awakens in her.
That may be the most dangerous part.
The Suspicious Husband Fantasy
In real life, a suspicious husband should inspire caution.
In romantic fiction, he inspires more complicated questions.
What if the frightening man is innocent?
What if he is guilty, but not of the crime everyone suspects?
What if his new wife becomes the only woman capable of uncovering his secrets?
Gina does not know what happened to Dante’s first wife.
She only knows that she has taken Mary’s place.
So tell me honestly.
Would you sleep in a dead woman’s bed if Dante Ricci were waiting in it?
