She hadn’t kept quiet after I’d told her.“It’s too soon! You hardly know him. He’s affiliated with one of the most powerful criminal families in history. And do you know what that means? They’re probably the reason he’s richer than sin!”
He was richer than sin.
When we were going over the financial side of things during our arrangement meeting, all that Capo owned was made clear to me. Not only did he own one of the most successful restaurants, but one of the most successful clubs and a string of fancy hotels. I knew his wealth better than I knew him as a man. And if he had criminal dealings? He hadn’t disclosed them at the meeting. I hadn’t asked either.
Not wanting to listen to her as she continued on the same path, I had taken out the coloring book he had given me, the ring, and showed them both to her. She’d read the inscription at the bottom of the page out loud.
When you know, you know.
“Do you truly want this, Mari?” she had asked, staring me in the eye. “If you say yes, I’ll back off.”
I grinned at that. “Yeah, Kee,” I said. “I really do. But we both know that you’re not going to back off.”
She barked out a laugh, hugging me tight, kissing my forehead. “You know it. I’m your big sister. I’ll always take care of you.”
“By two weeks, Kee!”
“Italy. My Sis is getting married in Italy!”
I got the feeling our wedding was going to be considered big news at this party. That put me on edge. I wasn’t sure how Harrison was going to react. After learning about his feelings for me…I hoped my marrying Capo wouldn’t make things awkward between us.
Capo had agreed that I could tell Keely early, but I wasn’t sure howhewas going to react to Harrison. I kept thinking about how he’d said,no one touches my wife but me.It was intense. Possessive. From the tone of his voice alone, he still ran with wolves. It was as clear as the tattoo on his hand.
“You dropped out of college.”
Those five words pulled me out of the nervous fog I was in.
“How—” I went to ask how he knew that, but I stopped myself. When he said he knew everything, he did. “Yeah. It didn’t work out.”
We were still holding hands, and as lost as I was in my thoughts, I realized that he used his thumb to make a soft pattern on my skin. He was making a ‘C.’ He held my hand a lot out in public, the only intimacy between us since our night in The Club, but he only made the ‘C’ pattern while we were in the car. It helped, especially when I realized how close we were to arriving.
“Work got in the way and then you were fired.”
“That about sums it up.”
“You should rethink going back. You’ll have the free time, when you’re not busy with me. Rocco suggested law.”
“Law?” I laughed, but he gave me a serious look, so I changed gears. “Why law?”
“He was impressed with the way you handled yourself during our meeting. You stood up for yourself. You were willing to bend on the terms you didn’t feel were all that important, but the ones you did—” he shrugged “—you took your gloves off and fought barehanded. You’re an excellent negotiator, Mariposa.”
They were impressed that I stood up to them. It didn’t seem like a lot of people did that. Menorwomen. I had nothing to lose when I went into that office, and once I found out that Capo was interested in me, I had something to bargain with. I think he knew that. I think he wanted that from me. Which made me respect him even more. He knew I was going in with nothing but a bag full of old memories, a journal, and stale bread. He gave me a bargaining chip.Me.
“I’ll consider it.” Law had never even crossed my mind. It seemed too unattainable, something only rich people with connections succeeded at. Maybe I’d ask Harrison about his feelings on the matter… The thought of Harrison made my palms sweat, so I changed the subject. “Were you going to pick Sierra?”
“What made you think of her?”
I shrugged, trying not to fiddle. “Rocco. The arrangement. It popped in my head.”
We drove on for about five minutes before he answered. “She was one of my top choices.”
“Because she was beautiful?”
“No, because she was one of the hungriest.”
Ah.It was like that. She was both literally and figuratively starving. He was looking for the hungriest of the bunch, a woman that would fall into the dizzying spell of his magnetic force. He had everything a girl could ever want. Looks. Charm. Money. And he carried a strong sense ofI’ll always take care of you if I call you mine. Throw in a girl like Sierra,like me, and loyalty to someone like him would be high. We rarely got chances like him.
“Did…a connection have anything to do with it?”
