Amanda follows.
Then it's my turn.
I take Elio's offered hand.
Step out onto the sidewalk.
The bass from inside the club thrums through the ground. Through my bones. Through the wrongness sitting in my chest like a stone.
Dmitri is waiting for me.
My entire family will be there.
Pietro. Nico. Lorenzo. Bruno didn't want to come. He is mad at me but even if he wasn't, he doesn't go public.
The Baganovs will be there too.
All of Dmitri's siblings. His people. His world.
Everything is going to be just fine.
Right?
I smooth my dress one more time.
Lift my chin.
And walk toward the door.
Dmitri
I stand between Pietro, Aleksander, and Nico near the entrance to Nexus's main floor, watching the private door like a man waiting for salvation. The club pulses with bodies and music, but none of it registers. My focus narrows to that single point of entry.
Igor hovers nearby, tablet in hand, updating me on guest arrivals. I don't hear a word he says.
Then she walks in.
Bozhe moy.
Vittoria moves through the doorway in a dress the color of sunset when it turns pink. Gold jewelry catches the light at her throat, her wrists, her ears.
She's devastating.
My hands curl into fists at my sides. Every instinct screams at me to cross the distance between us, pull her against me, claim her mouth in front of everyone here. Show them all exactly who she belongs to.
Instead, I force myself to remain still.
"Your fiancée is beautiful," Aleksander murmurs beside me, approval in his voice.
Pietro shifts on my other side. "She looks nervous."
I track Vittoria's movements as she pauses just inside, her mother and Amanda flanking her. Her eyes scan the crowd—searching for me, I realize with satisfaction. When her gazefinally lands on our group, there comes a change across her face. Like relief.
She starts toward us.
Each step feels like torture. I hate this performance, the audience, the need to maintain distance when all I want is her skin against mine. We could announce the engagement in five minutes and leave. Tell everyone to get the fuck out. Lock the doors. Spend the rest of the night with her spread across my bed upstairs.
Vittoria draws closer, weaving through clusters of guests who part for her automatically. I notice men's eyes following her progress and have to consciously unclench my jaw.
