DONATELLA
Donatella was trying to subtly ease closer to Luca Savelli when she was halted by a hand grabbing her wrist. She froze and turned around to see who grabbed her, and was looking up into a pair of beady blue eyes that belonged to another well-dressed fat man.
She forced a smile. “Hello.”
“So, I hear that you’re off limits.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and it’s a damn shame. I would’ve changed your life.”
Donna attempted to pull her wrist from his grasp, but he was holding on tight. She stared at the sausage-like fingers wrapped around her wrist and contemplated breaking one. Instead, she placed her hand over his and smiled up at him.
“I could have sworn you were already smitten with a special young lady.”
If she was going to be assaulted by pudgy digits and the smell of sweat, she might as well get some information out of his greasy ass.
“Oh, that one,” he grimaced, exposing multiple chins.
Donna tilted her head as if extremely interested. “Oh, my. What happened, Mr…”
His fat fingers crept up to her forearm. “Call me, Big John, darlin’.”
Go figure. The fat “John” was actually called Big John. He was ogling her as if he was starving and she was a Hungry Man dinner.
Donna was utterly disgusted. The rotten, corrupt, fake house of God was nothing more than a place for men who couldn’t get laid unless they paid for it. There was no way in hell she believed a woman would ride Big John without coercion or incentive. And it wasn’t because he was a big man, but because he was a pig and smelled like one. Donna did her best not to wrinkle her nose and his offensive odor.
“Well, Big John, I don’t like being anyone’s second choice anyway,” she said with the bat of her lashes.
He smiled and made a rumbling noise. She guessed it was laughter. It came from his gut like Santa Claus.
“Darlin’, you could never be anybody’s second choice. You caught my eye soon as you walked in, but we were quickly told that you belong to that…prophet.”
His smile turned into a frown when he said the word.
“We’re to be married,” Donna goaded, knowing that her words would prompt him to spew out more information.
“So was that other lil’ gal,” he scoffed. “But they said I could have her.”
Donna looked around, pretending to be looking for Vera. When, of course, she didn’t see her, she looked back at Big John.
“Well, shouldn’t you be wooing her?”
“Wooing? Huh! Not hardly. I didn’t come here to woo. I made a pledge.”
“Oh, I see,” Donna said with a nod.
“But that lil’ thang don’t know how to act. She refused me,” he fussed.
“Nooo.”
“Sure did. But don’t you worry your pretty lil’ head. My man, Harry, is gonna handle that.”
Donna was preparing to respond when Luca Savelli walked by. She continued to look up at Big John while struggling to watch the mobster from her peripheral. He was tall and intimidating. She wondered if he ever smiled. And, if so, for who or what? He was having a conversation with a well-dressed giant of a man with crazy blue eyes. She guessed they weren’t talking about cotton candy and puppies because neither looked very happy.
“So, what do you think about that?”
Donna blinked, realizing she’d totally blocked out the bullshit coming out of Big John’s mouth.
