“You asked Giovanni for permission to date me?”
“I did,” I lied. It wasn’t technically true. Giovanni had just kind of given it to me, but I’d gone along with it. Finn shifted on his feet behind me. Elle glanced up at him, and I felt my chest tighten as I imagined the look on his face. He was going to be so pissed.
“Well, I guess that is for the best. Friends, it is,” she said with a fake smile, convinced her brother would have refused me. I glanced at Gio, and he held my gaze as he took a sip of his drink.
“He agreed. He has given his permission for us to date.”
Elle’s Buccini fire erupted from her as she slammed her wineglass down on the table and twisted her head towards herbrother, even as she kept talking to me. “I do not need my brother’s permission to date, Enzo. He does not control my life.”
“Actually, you do need my permission. You live under my roof and are my responsibility. Enzo very respectfully told me he was interested in dating you, and I agreed it would be a good match.”
Elle and Gio continued arguing back and forth about whose choice it was who she dated, and I kept my gaze fixed on the glass in my hand, feeling only the rage pulsing off Finn behind me. Elle stood up abruptly, storming towards the toilets, and Finn followed her.
Gio ran his hand through his hair. “Don’t worry, Aiani. She’ll come around. It’s nothing to do with you. It’s about me. She just loves fighting me on everything. I probably should have pretended to be enraged by the idea, forbidden her from ever marrying you, and then she’d be all over you like a rash,” he chuckled.
My lips twitched, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile. I needed to speak to Finn. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent another message.
It’s not what you think. Meet me at the flat after this, and I’ll explain.
Elenora returned to the table in a calmer mood, but Finn never replied to my text. He stood like a statue for the rest of the meal and refused to look in my direction. When Gio announced that the plan had worked and La Cassetta was no more, Elle had the most bizarre reaction, losing her shit at Gio, worried more about the people who worked there than anything else. She fled the restaurant for a cigarette, with Finn at her side.
“Aiani,” Gio growled, annoyed by his sister’s rebellion. “Go after her. Talk some sense into her and bring her back inside. I’ve just started a war, and she’s standing on the street with only one bodyguard to protect her.”
I nodded and stood, making my way outside with two of my own soldiers. I came face-to-face with the angriest Finn I’d ever seen. The ice in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine as I held his gaze. Elle was leaning against the building, texting on her phone. As I stepped towards her, Finn blocked my path, a vein in his forehead pulsing with barely contained fury.
“I’d like to speak to Elenora. Alone,” I said, and his eyes narrowed to slits. His gaze flicked over my shoulder to my men, and a muscle twitched in his tense jaw. He stepped back, knowing he couldn’t cause a scene, and I exhaled, knowing I’d pay for that later. I’d pay for this whole night later, but I never minded Finn’s punishments. In fact, I rather enjoyed them.
I approached Elle and asked if she was okay. Her reaction to her brother’s retaliation against the Leones surprised even me. She handed me a cigarette, and we lit up together, looking up at the clear night sky.
“I just don’t know why it has to be this way,” she breathed, her voice laced with pain.
“What way?”
“The rivalry. The brutality. Why can’t we all get along? The world is big enough for more than one big, bad mafia boss, I’m sure.”
I chuckled, glancing briefly at Finn to find him staring at his feet, but no doubt listening in. “Hmm, that’s not how we were raised. From the moment an heir is born, it is instilled in us that everyone is out to get us and that we can trust no one.”
“I’m sorry about how I acted when you told me about asking Gio,” she sighed.
“You mean how you lost your shit entirely at the thought of dating me?”
“No! I didn’t lose my shit entirely.”
I smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes. She explained what Gio had already told me; that it wasn’t because of me butbecause of him and his need to control her life, including telling her who she could and couldn’t date.
“I get it,” I breathed, peering at Finn’s lowered head, then back at my cigarette. “You want to choose who you want to be with on your own terms. But unfortunately, we don’t always get that privilege in this life.”
“You do. You’re a man.”
If only she knew how that made it worse.
I turned towards her, but made sure my voice was clear enough for Finn to hear me so he’d understand why the fuck I was doing this. I’d been nothing but honest with him about this, so I hoped he’d understand and see that this could benefit us all.
“I won’t force you to be with me, Elle. I like you. I think you’re beautiful and a nice person. I have to take a wife and produce an heir eventually, and I would prefer a wife who knows this life.” Then she might better understand the danger of my situation when I tell her the truth, and she would keep my secret. “But I’m not a complete asshole. I would never force a woman to marry me if she didn’t want to. All I am asking for is a chance for you to get to know me. Make your own decisions about me.”
Surprisingly, my words seemed to soften her, and she agreed to think about it. That was all I could have hoped for at that point. I could tell she still needed a moment to gather her thoughts, so I warned her not to stay outside too long and left her with Finn. As we passed each other, I brushed my fingers against his, as we always did, but he snapped his hand away.
Fuck. He was livid.
