"She refused?" He wipes his eyes. "Oh my God. Dante, the great diplomat, gets turned down by a schoolteacher."
"She didn't turn me down. She just?—"
"Rejected your bedroom," Enzo supplies, and even he looks amused now. "That's basically the same thing."
What’s so funny?
"I like her already," Rafe says, still grinning. "When do we get to meet this woman who has the balls to say no to you?"
"Soon." I stand, straightening my jacket. "At Pa’s party."
"Can't wait." Rafe raises his glass. "To Dante's fake girlfriend who's already making him crazy."
"She's not making me crazy."
"Sure she's not," Enzo mutters.
Matteo just watches me, that knowing look in his eyes. "Be careful, Dante. I mean it. This kind of thing has a way of getting messy."
"It won't."
"It already is." He stands too, claps a hand on my shoulder. "But you're smart. You'll figure it out. Just remember—family first. Always."
"Always."
I leave before they can pile on more commentary, stepping back into the club's main room where music pulses and people drink and laugh like their biggest problem is what to order next.
Outside, the night air is cool, clearing my head. Marco's waiting with the car, and I slide into the back, checking my phone out of habit.
I re-read the text from Maria:Miss Mancini chose the guest room in the east wing. She said she's not sleeping in yours.
I stare at the message, irritation flaring in my chest.
She moved herself. Rejected the room I specifically chose. Drew a line I didn't even know we were negotiating.
Most women would've been thrilled. A master suite. Luxury. Access.
But Bianca Mancini isn't most women.
She's stubborn and defiant and determined to make this as difficult as possible.
And Rafe was right about one thing.
I'm already screwed.
CHAPTER NINE
Bianca
I wake up to sunlight streaming through windows I don't recognize, in a bed that's too soft, in a room that smells like expensive candles instead of the vanilla body spray I use because it's cheap.
For three blissful seconds, I forget where I am.
Then reality crashes back.
Right. Mobster's house. Fake girlfriend. Mother dying. Life ruined.
I check my phone. 6:47 AM. I have just over an hour to get ready and make it to school, assuming I can figure out how to leave without getting stopped by armed guards in Dante’s palace.
