He studies me for another moment, then seems satisfied. Before I can respond, Uncle Tommaso stands, clinking his glass.
"A toast," he announces. "To the happy couple. May the next forty days bring you both joy and understanding."
Everyone raises their glasses. I lift mine, finding Santino's eyes.
We drink and the toast is made.
After dinner, there's mingling. Coffee in the parlor. Endless conversations with people I've known my whole life, all of them looking at me with pity or envy. I play my part. Smile. Laugh. Touch Santino's arm at appropriate moments. Introduce him to everyone.
It's exhausting.
I hate these functions. Finally, people start leaving. Santino and his family prepare to go.
"Walk me out?" He offers his arm.
I take it because that's expected. We walk through the house to the main entrance, his crew trailing behind. Outside, the night air is cool. Santino's car waits, sleek and expensive.
"We made it." He turns to face me. "The end of Day One."
"Day One down," I echo.
"I think it went well." He steps closer. "Don't you?"
"It was fine."
"Just fine?" He reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The gesture is possessive. I want to swat his hand away from me. He doesn’t have any right to touch my hair. "I was hoping for better than fine."
"Fine is still good," I manage.
"I don't settle for good, Liana." His voice drops. "I want perfect."
Of course he does.
Before I can respond, he leans in close, his lips nearly brushing my ear. "Tomorrow. Dinner. Just the two of us."
Then he's gone, sliding into his car.
I stand there, watching his taillights disappear.
Behind me, Gia appears. "How did it go?"
"He's exactly what I expected." I turn toward the house. "Arrogant. Controlling. Completely convinced this is going his way. And starting tomorrow, I'm going to show him exactly how wrong he is."
We walk inside and Gia follows me up the stairs. "What's the plan?"
I think about Santino's confident smile. His assumptions. His certainty that I'll fall in line.
"Tomorrow night, he's taking me to dinner." I push open my bedroom door. "Somewhere expensive, I'm sure. Somewhere he can drop a lot of money and impress me."
"What will you do?”
"I'm going to order a salad." I kick off my heels. "Tell him I'm on a diet."
Gia frowns. "That's it? I do that all the time. I eat salads."
"No." I smile. "That's not it. Then I'm going to eat his entire meal instead."
Gia stares at me. "You're joking."
