He hugs me again, tight and fierce.
"I love you," he says. "And I'm so glad you're home."
"I love you too."
I go upstairs to my old room and it's exactly as I left it, preserved like a museum, and I sit on the edge of my bed and stare at the wall.
Two months.
In two months my life changes forever.
In two months I become a wife to save my family.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, I think about a porch four years ago and a man who broke my heart and told me I was pathetic for loving him.
I wonder where he is now.
I wonder if he ever thinks about me.
I wonder if it would have mattered if he'd said yes instead of no, if we could have had something real, if my future could have been different.
But it doesn't matter.
That door closed four years ago.
And in two months, another one opens.
Whether I'm ready or not.
CHAPTER ONE
If Vittorio De Luca touches me one more time tonight, I'm going to stab him with my salad fork.
The thought races constantly through my mind as he stands beside me at the head table, his hand resting on the small of my back like he owns me. Like I'm already his. Tomorrow, I guess I will be, but for now he should keep his handsto himself.
The Plaza's ballroom is packed with politicians, mafia bosses, their wives dripping in blood diamonds. Everyone who matters on the East Coast is here to watch Isabella Romano get sold off for an alliance.
Sorry.Married.That's the polite word for it.
Vittorio raises his champagne glass, and the room goes quiet. He's handsome in that boring, rich-boy way: perfect hair, designer suit that probably costs more than most people's cars, a smile that's all teeth and no warmth.
Blah.
"To Isabella," he announces, his voice carrying across the ballroom. "The most beautiful woman in New York. Tomorrow, she becomes mine."
I want to throw up.
Mine.Like I'm a fucking Rolex. Like I'm something he picked out of a catalogue.
The room erupts—applause, cheers, glasses clinking. I keep my smile in place because I've been practicing it for three weeks. Sweet Isabella. Dutiful Isabella. The Romano princess who does what her family needs because the O'Rourkes are circling again and we need the De Luca alliance or people die.
I catch Matteo's eyes across the room. My brother, the Don, gives me the smallest nod.You're doing good. Keep going.
Yeah. Sure. Great.
And then Vittorio turns to me.
I see it coming but I can't move fast enough. His hand slides to my waist, too tight, fingers digging in and then his mouth is on mine.
