"What does that mean?"
I pause mid-reach for my wine glass. "What does what mean?"
"Solnyshko." She rolls the word around in her mouth. Gets the pronunciation almost right. Close enough that something in my chest tightens. "You called me that. What does it mean?"
I could deflect. Change the subject. Make her work for it.
But she asked. And I don't lie.
"Little sun."
Her fork stops halfway to her mouth. "Little sun?"
"Yes."
She sets the fork down. Stares at me.
"You call me little sun while threatening to fuck me on a restaurant table?"
"Yes."
"And you see no contradiction there?"
I take a sip of wine. Consider the question seriously. "No."
She laughs.
And I love it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Vittoria
Ipush scrambled eggs around my plate, avoiding everyone's eyes. The dining room feels smaller with all of them watching me.
"So." I set down my fork. "I've decided to give Dmitri Baganov three months."
Mamma's voice rises. "As I said, that's far too long, Vittoria. You should know within weeks if?—"
"Three months." I meet her gaze steadily. "To see if I can stand him enough to marry him."
Or if he'll drive me completely insane first.
I take a sip of orange juice, letting the acid burn away the taste of last night's dinner. Of Dmitri's promise to kill anyone else who tries to marry me. Of the way my pulse had raced when he'd whispered what he wanted to do to me. "Unless you'd prefer I decline altogether?"
Silence.
"Because I could." My voice stays casual, but they hear the steel underneath. "I could walk out that door right now anddisappear. New identity, new country. You all know I have the skills."
"You wouldn't." Mamma's face pales.
"Wouldn't I?" I lean back in my chair. "Push me harder and find out."
They know I'm not bluffing. After Riccardo died, I spent six months learning how to vanish completely. How to erase myself from every database, every trace. It was something to do besides drown in grief.
Pietro clears his throat. "Three months is reasonable."
"Fine." Mamma straightens her shoulders, switching topics with the efficiency of someone who's managed mafia dinners for decades. "Valentino arrives tomorrow."
