Luca sighs and grabs my arms, turning me around to face him. “You clearly do. She ripped the sleeve of your dress in front of all of our guests. She waltzed onto the dance floor during our first dance. She clearly has no respect for you.”
“Susanna is just a hard person to understand. She has a softness underneath her hard exterior.”
“Does she? Because so far, I haven’t been able to see it. It’s partly the reason I chose you. I could tell your sister would be difficult and I don’t want that in a wife.”
“What do you want in a wife?” Since this is the first time me and Luca get a real chance to talk, I’m realizing there’s so much I don’t know about my husband.
“I want one that’s docile. One that can stand at my side. One that won’t let her sister walk all over her.”
“But you want me docile. How can I be that and be strong at the same time?”
“They’re not opposites.” He wipes my tears away like it’s the most natural thing in the world. I guess Luca has been around other women in the past. But for me, I haven’t had the chance to be around men and especially not around men like him. “Docile just means sweet. Kind. But you can be sweet and kind and still be strong. That’s what I want in a wife. You need a sturdy hand to help guide you. I can tell. You’re afraid to stand up to your sister but you’ll learn in time.”
“And if I don’t?”
His eyes darken and a shiver runs down my spine. “Then you have me to help guide you. To help control you. Now, I am telling you to go back in that room and stand up to your sister. And if you’re incapable… well, we’ll talk about that if we have to.”
“What kind of man are you?” It comes out as a whisper.
Luca presses his hands on the wall on either side of my head, locking me in place. His beauty is almost too much to look at. “I am a man who knows what he wants. It’s why I chose you. I knew out of the two of you that you would need me the most. And I wanted that. I am not the warmest of men. But I will be a good husband to you. You will see that in time. Even if I push you sometimes.”
“Push me? How?”
He gives me a knowing look before pulling away. “Get back in there. Now.”
His command sends a flare of heat through me. There’s something so powerful and… sexy about Luca that I like. I’m so used to listening to my sister that I guess it’s not a stretch that I would like to listen to Luca too. But unlike Susanna, Luca has a presence about him that is intoxicating and not annoying like Susanna is.
“What if I can’t get her under control?”
“You have to try, Nina. I need to see you try.” He takes my arm and leads me back into the ballroom. No one is dancing except for Susanna. Everyone seems too afraid to do so.
Taking a deep breath, I storm up to Susanna. “You need to stop acting this way. Now. You ripped my dress.”
Alek finally comes over. “Susanna, listen to Nina. You are making a fool out of yourself.”
Susanna ignores all of us and continues to dance even though there’s no music playing.
“Susanna,” Alek says in a hard tone.
I glance at Luca and he nods, silently telling me to handle my sister. But the only way to handle Susanna is to fight fire with fire so I grab the sleeve of her dress and rip it.
Her gasps is as sharp as lightening. “What the hell?”
“You need to stop acting this way. Now.”
Susanna sneers as she looks me up and down before flipping her hair over her shoulder. “No. I’m good right where I am. You’re the one who got the fairytale ending. Not me. Why should I bow down to you?”
“Susanna –,”
She holds up a hand, cutting me off. “No, Nina. Just go be with your husband and leave me alone.”
My shoulders slump as I walk back over to Luca. The disappointment on his face is clear: he wants me to be strong enough to stand up to my sister but I’m just not. I’m a failure.
Alek grabs Susanna’s arm and literally drags her off the dance floor. She objects but doesn’t put up a fight.
“You need to be as strong as your surrogate father is,” Luca says into my ear. “Fearless. Until you do, I’ll guide your hand.”
I’m not sure what he means by that until Luca literally guides me by the hand to our table. We’re served our plates of food. I’m so shaken up by Susanna that I don’t immediately dig in. Instead, I keep my eyes on my sister, who’s fuming at the table next to mine. Alek and Mom are talking to her but I can’t make it out from here. The music picks back up and more people venture onto the dance floor, figuring it’s safe now.
