Alexander kisses both my cheeks, then pulls back to look me in the eyes.
"Be careful, Little L," he murmurs."
Antonio simply holds me tight for a long moment before letting me go.
"Let's go," Diego says, his hand coming to rest possessively on my lower back as he steers me toward the exit.
I glance back once to see my cousins watching me leave, their faces set in identical expressions of worry. At that moment, I realize they aren't here just to open a restaurant. They really are here for me. And whatever they have going with this Degerson man…it has Diego on edge.
I carefully palm the note from earlier and slip it into my purse casually, before pulling back out a small tube of chapstick. The anticipation of being able to read it has me more anxious as we head to our next destination. The only thing keeping me going is knowing that my family hasn't abandoned me after all.
For the first five minutes, Diego drives in silence. I stare out the window at the pristine Scottsdale streets while clutching my purse with the note inside. My mind races through lunch, replaying every word, before his voice cuts through.
"Your cousin Alexander,” he says. “How does he know Degerson?"
I turn to look at him, genuinely confused.
"What?"
His jaw tightens.
"Don't play dumb, Liana. The Degerson name is well known. You don’t just fall into business with him. Do your cousins fight?"
“Fight?”
My mind is spinning. Why would he think I would know anything about what the men in my family do? They would never tell me anything. He growls out loud and the sound sends a shiver down my spine.
“Fighting rings, Liana. Do they fight in the underground?”
‘Fighting rings?’
My heart speeds up. I have no idea what he's talking about, but the intensity of his questioning makes me nervous.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear it. Women don’t get to know anything like that where I am from. We are kept isolated.”
Diego's eyes flick to me, then back to the road.
"Isolated," he repeats, like he's testing the word for lies. "Yet they flew across the world to open a restaurant right when you're about to be married. And somehow, they know Degerson."
I shrug, trying to appear casual even as my pulse hammers in my throat. I’m freaking out inside because I have no idea what he is talking about and suddenly I wish I would have paid just a little more attention whenever the men in my family were talking.
"Family is important to Italians. You should understand that, being in a family business yourself."
He laughs but I can tell it's mocking.
"In our family, women aren’t always so weak."
That statement hits me hard, making me narrow my eyesat him. I may have been secluded, but that doesn’t make me weak.
"Look," I say, turning in my seat to face him directly, "I don't know what you think I know, but I was literally kept on an estate my entire life. I wasn't allowed to leave. I wasn't allowed to have friends. The only person who ever told me anything was my cousin Andre, and even he kept me in the dark about most things."
It's the most honest thing I can say right now, and for a moment, I think I see a flicker of sympathy in his eyes.
"So you expect me to believe your cousins are just here to sell pasta?" His skepticism drips from every word.
"I don't expect you to believe anything," I reply, surprising myself with my boldness. "I’m telling you the truth. Whatever game you think they're playing, I'm not part of it."
"Your wedding is coming up quickly," he says abruptly, changing the subject. "Santiago wants everything perfect. No complications."
