“Probably,” I admitted.
“I told you to put an end to it,” Giovanni spat, throwing a few colorful words in my direction every now and then.
With a sigh, I glared over at Mikhail while listening to Giovanni ramble on about how bad I was making him look. Mikhail looked bored of listening to him drone on too.
“You’ll need to marry her,” Giovanni demanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.
As capo, his word was law. Disobeying him wasn’t an option.
I knew Rosalie better than anyone. Being pressured into anything was her kryptonite. I was going to have to find a compromise with her, otherwise Giovanni would have to deal with me.
I sorted through my options with Rosalie. I only had two: I could hate her, never forgive her, and never give her a reason to forgive me, or I could love her, forgive her, and give her reason to stay.
The choice, for better or worse, was entirely in my hands.
As long as she agreed to stay with me, I was going to try for the both of us—and hopefully, along the way, she’d try with me.
Loving a woman like Rosalie demanded a certain strength, a certain ego. Without it, she wouldn’t spare you a glance. She thrived on a challenge, on making you chase after her affection—a game she’d mastered from the beginning. In a twisted way, I admired that fierce independence. I found it sexy, especially now. She carried so much confidence that happiness wasn’t something she sought from others; it was a fire that burned in her soul, and I was a leech for that happiness.
I’d hardly survived without it.
“I’m working on it,” I informed him. “She’s not exactly thrilled by the idea.”
Giovanni, however, remained unconvinced. His gaze was threatening. I could understand why he was upset. The Clarkes weren’t exactly the easiest to work with.
“If she becomes your wife, she becomes part of this family. I won’t tolerate a Clarke causing chaos in my territory.”
“She won’t be a Clarke for much longer,” I pressed, hoping the sliver of time would buy me a way into her heart; a way to convince her marrying me wasn’t a prison sentence.
Giovanni grunted. “I need something drawn up for proof. A marriage contract. I don’t care what it is—just give me something solid to work with. You have until Wednesday. Then we discuss alternatives.”
Alternatives.
Rosalie was a loose cannon who could tear everything apart for me. I needed her cooperation, not her defiance. If shedidn’t agree to marry me, Giovanni would make me face the repercussions.
“If this marriage goes through, I suppose we’ll need to have a contract set up with you, since your name is on everything,” Giovanni ordered. “Standard terms—you know the drill. Do we get access to the marina?”
I slid the signed documents across the table. “Liam handed everything over to me in order to save his daughter,” I said, showing him the papers Liam had signed. “He won’t attack as long as his family—specifically, his daughter—remains safe.”
Mikhail eyed me suspiciously. “But you wouldn’t hurt her,” he said, referring to Rosalie.
“Not a hair on her head.” Rosalie’s safety had never been in question. I was playing with Liam’s fear. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
And I wouldn’t, even if she was a walking test of my patience. It seemed like an impossible task for her to keep her lips off other men—a lesson I’d drilled into her thick skull three times now. It wasn’t like I was asking for the moon, just a little bit of loyalty. It was my turn now, and I wasn’t going to let her get away. I wanted to be a better man for her, to do good by her, but she wasn’t making it easy for me.
“You’re a smart son of a bitch,” Giovanni admitted.
I wasn’t. I was just lucky.
“I’ll be heading to the marina in about a week. It’ll be early in the morning, so be prepared for that,” I told them.
“I’ll be there,” Giovanni said.
Mira started to fuss, her wails growing louder.
“I gotta go take care of her. Get this shit sorted out, Max. I’d hate to have to kill you.”
CHAPTER 25
