“You would have to put it that way, wouldn’t you?”There’s nothing snide in the question that I can tell, and there’s no anger either.He raises a shoulder like he couldn’t care less.“Suit yourself.”
What does he think he could accomplish?I won’t bother asking.I don’t need him to remind me of his status as thefavorite son.No one has to announce it out loud for me to know it’s true.If it weren’t, Emilia wouldn’t be sitting with us now.I might be the firstborn, but he is loved.Before tonight, I convinced myself love wasn’t something I needed from Papa, that his respect would be enough.
Now it looks like I have neither of those things, since a man who respected me might have at least warned me I’m going to be married before announcing it in front of every damn person in the room.Only proving how little he values me beyond my ability to give orders.
Cesco slides an almost guilty look my way, grimacing slightly when I stand and push my chair away from the table.“Let me know where you’re registered,” he murmurs.It’s not funny, but if that comment came from anyone else, I would knock them on their ass.Somehow, coming from him, I can almost laugh.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I murmur, making it a point to smile Mama’s way in hopes of easing her concerns.“I hate to leave the party early, but…”
“It’s okay,” Emilia offers.I guess she figures it’s her place, this being her engagement dinner and everything, to excuse me from my family’s dining room.
My patience is dangerously close to shattering.
Mama lets out a choked whimper as I round the table and stride from the room.My last glimpse of her face reveals what looks like heartbreak.
And she doesn’t keep me waiting long before confirming her feelings.“Dante, my darling.”Her soft voice carries behind me once I’m out in the hall, my heart thumping with every footstep as I march toward the front door with my fists swinging at my sides.“Please, wait a minute.”
Dammit.Is being alone with my thoughts too much to ask?I come to a stop only a handful of strides away from the door, turning slowly and trying like hell to fix my face so she’s not offended.“Mama, with all due respect, I don’t know that I have it in me to talk about this tonight.”
Her sigh is soft, gentle, before her gaze moves up the stairs.She whispers, “I only wanted you to know I don’t agree with your Papa’s methods, which he knows, which is why none of us were clued in before the fact.”
“So you didn’t know?”I ask, skeptical.He always fills her in on everything short of the ugliest, cruelest aspects of our work.
The lines in her face deepen before she admits, “I knew he was in talks with Giorgio Vitali in hopes of ending this war, and the notion of an arranged marriage was tossed back and forth.”Lovely.I’m truly the last to know.The idea of these two men discussing my future behind my back makes charging upstairs and giving Papa hell look more tempting than it ever has before.“But he had to know I would insist you have a little input into this arrangement before he made an announcement.”
She’s in pain.I hear it in her voice.Papa’s methods have left me questioning him more than once, but I’d never question hers.She wears her heart on her sleeve.Knowing she’s hurting allows me to lift my chin and gift her with a smile.“Well, the song remains the same either way.You’re going to be a mother-in-law.”
“Oh,mio caro.”It’s only now that I notice the unshed tears sparkling in her eyes.“All I have ever wanted for you and your brother is happiness.For you both to find good women to love you and maybe to steer you in the right direction if you get a little lost, the way I sometimes have to with your papa.”
“Luca has his happiness, at least.”I can’t help the way my teeth grind as my smile becomes a grimace.“One out of two…”
“It’s not enough.”She reaches out and takes hold of my hand, maintaining a firm grip.The touch of her thumb stroking my knuckles stirs up a hundred memories.“I realize this is not ideal, but I beg you to keep an open mind.Treat this as a punishment or a burden, and that’s all you’ll ever have.It will be impossible to look at your situation any other way.Allow yourself to get to know Sophia.You might be pleasantly surprised.”
Sophia Vitali.I’ve never heard much about her aside from her name, but then Giorgio has kept her safely guarded the way the daughters of families like ours usually do.Besides, it’s her father we’ve always been more concerned with, not to mention her maniac of an older brother.The last we heard of Alessandro, he went underground after Emilia’s abduction and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.Maybe he did the rest of us a favor and killed himself.At least, it would be one less thing to worry about.
“We never know how these things will turn out,” Mama reminds me before tugging my arm until I lower my head like a dutiful son so she can kiss my cheek.Having her this near gives me a whiff of her perfume—Chanel No.5, which was her mother, my nonna’s, favorite.If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
She’s trying to help the only way she knows how.No matter how disillusioned and disappointed I am tonight, I need to keep that in mind.“I’ll do my best,” I promise.I can’t offer anything more than that.Though she looks a little disappointed, she knows better than to press the subject any further, squeezing my hand before beginning a slow climb of the stairs.I can remember a time when she could almost fly up those stairs.Observing her pace now is a grim, cold reminder of the passage of time and how suddenly everything can change.
Not that I need to be reminded.That lesson sank in through my thick skull a long time ago.
The buzz of voices getting louder as the rest of the family starts leaving the dining room reminds me of what a hurry I was in to get the hell out of here.I can’t stand the thought of seeing Luca again tonight, facing Emilia, having their love rubbed in my face yet again.Before they come into view, I turn on my heel and make a quick exit through the guarded front door, nodding in acknowledgment of the two men flanking it.Out of respect for Emilia’s parents, their pistols are discreetly covered by suit jackets.Normally, in a time of war, they’d carry rifles in plain sight.We can’t have the interlopers swooning in shock before blabbing to their friends and neighbors about those brutish Santoros.
I doubt I could grind my teeth any harder if I tried by the time I descend the wide front stairs leading down to the emerald lawn.My private home is situated on the eastern edge of the estate, close to the stone wall that borders the property.My refuge, my sanctuary, yet I’m not in the mood for it tonight.Not with adrenaline pumping through me a little harder with every step I take toward my Maserati parked in the front courtyard.
The sight of all that gleaming metal and shining glass sparks a craving for speed.The fleeting illusion of freedom in a world designed to grant me anything but.
Tomorrow, I’ll face my future.My fiancée.A life that’s never been mine.
Tonight, though?I’ll find out how fast a man has to drive to outrun misery.
2
SOPHIA
“If we are ever going to get out of this with our family intact, you will do as you’re told.”
I’m pretty sure if I don’t quit it with this fake smile soon, my muscles will permanently freeze.My jaw is aching already, and we haven’t made it through introductions, mainly because my fiancé and his family are running late.
