But when I looked up and saw my father’s broken expression, my mother’s tears, my sister’s desperate hope… I knew I didn’t have a choice. Not really. This was what family meant. Sacrifice. Putting their needs above your own, even when it costs you everything.
“If I do this,” I said slowly, my voice sounding distant to my own ears, “I want it in writing that my family can stay on the ranch. Forever. No matter what happens between us.”
Dante nodded. “Done. I’ll have my lawyer add that clause.”
“And separate bedrooms. Separate lives. This is a business arrangement. Nothing more.”
Irritation flickered across his face. “No. Same house. Same bed. Period. Those are the terms.” He pushed the prenup closer. “And just in case you get any funny ideas, should anythinguntowardhappen to me or you during our marriage, the contract is null and void. Consequences will be swift.”
My stomach twisted into knots. He was blocking any and all escape routes. I couldn’t kill him or myself to get out of this. That would hurt my family even more.
“Fine,” I said, taking the pen. “I’ll sign the fucking thing.”
“Then we have a deal.” He pushed the paper toward me.
I looked at that prenup like it was a snake. Once I signed it, there was no going back. My life as I knew it would be over. Nick Wesley, rancher, would become Nick Valenti, mob wife. Dante would be my husband, tillnaturaldeath do us part.
But I thought about Heather. About Mom and Dad. About this ranch that had been in our family for three generations.
I reached out and signed my name.
He watched, his dark eyes gleaming as the pen glided across the paper. Before I even had time to process what I’d done, he was pulling it away.
“Welcome to the family, Nick,” he said softly. Then he reached out, running a thumb over my cheek. “You’re going to make a lovely bride.”
I yanked my head back and looked away, unable to meet my family’s eyes as my cheeks burned with shame.
Once my father had signed the contract as well, Dante gathered up everything into his folder. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you all.” He headed for the door, stopping just short and turning back to me. “The wedding is in a month. We’ll just do a courthouse marriage to keep things quiet.” He flashed me that snake-like grin one last time. “Oh, and if I were you, Nick? I’d get to practicing.” He reached down, grabbing a handful of his sizeable bulge. “Italian blood and all that.”
What the hell had I just done?
Chapter 4
Dante
“What have youdone?!” my father erupted from the other side of his desk. He slammed his fists down on the mahogany, pens and lamp rattling against the wood. “What is the meaning of this?!”
I sat in the chair, doing everything I could to keep my cool. Valentis were known for their temper, but my father’s was practically legendary. He was the only person I was truly scared of.
“I did exactly what you asked,” I said, attempting to play the fool. “I acquired the Wesley ranch, legitimately, through marriage.”
“I told you to marry thegirl, Dante,” he barked. “Not play queer with some cowboy!”
I leaned forward, trying to project all the power I could. “You told me to do whatever it took even if I had to getcreative.” I let his echoed words sink in. “The girl was going to be trouble,” I lied. “I did what needed to be done.”
My father’s face turned a dangerous shade of red. He reached for the tumbler of whiskey on his desk and drained it in one swallow, then slammed it down hard enough that I was surprised it didn’t shatter.
“Creative,” he repeated, his voice low and deadly. “I tell you to secure a foothold in Montana, and you come back with a fucking husband. Do you have any idea how this makes us look? How this makesmelook?”
“It makes us look legitimate,” I countered, keeping my voice steady even as my pulse quickened. “A rancher’s son married into the family. Someone who knows the land, the business, the community. Someone who has roots there that we can build on. That’s worth more than some scared girl who’d cry herself to sleep every night.”
“A rancher’s son,” my father spat. “A man, Dante. You married a man.”
“So what?” I stood up, unable to keep sitting under his glare. “This is business. You’ve always told me that business comes first. That personal feelings don’t matter when there’s money and territory at stake.”
“Don’t you dare throw my own words back at me.” He pointed a thick finger at my chest. “You think I don’t know what this is really about? You think I haven’t noticed how you look at men? How you’ve avoided every marriage arrangement I’ve tried to set up for you?”
My jaw clenched. We’d never spoken about this directly, always dancing around it with careful words and willful ignorance. Hearing him say it out loud made something cold settle in my stomach.
