“Even though you can’t see it sometimes, I love you, Elena, and I want the best for you. You’ll come to me if he’s ever bad to you.”
I nodded, though I knew it would never come to that.
For the first time in my life, I felt free to be me. To curse if I wanted, to keep my smiles for who deserved them, to be bad at something, to fall in love.
Nico didn’t treat me like glass. He shattered the reflection of an empty life staring back at me.
He taught me how to soar.
“A woman should be pink and cuddly for a man.”
—Jayne Mansfield
“SOPHIA ANISE!” MAMMA SCOLDED, AS a half-dressed male dancer humped a woman on stage who turned toward the audience, put a hand toward her mouth, and gasped. “I thought this was a family show?”
Sophia laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Elena is getting married! Who wants to see a family show?”
Mamma had put Sophia in charge of choosing the club and performance, and she had expected something PG?
“I love it!” Gianna exclaimed. “It’s been so long since I’ve been to a burlesque show.”
When we arrived, it was to find Gianna standing outside the club, chatting with the bouncer like she’d known him all her life. Turned out she’d met him three minutes prior. Poor guy probably thought he was getting laid tonight, when really Gianna was bubbly to everyone—well, besides the FBI agent anyway.
Our table was full, but it felt empty without Adriana and Nonna. My sister had severe morning sickness. Nonna said she was “sick as a dog” and that she had it coming to her for getting knocked up out of wedlock. She also said she had to stay home and make sure Adriana was okay, but really, I thought it was just an excuse so she could maintain her eight p.m. bedtime.
The lights sparkled, my cheeks were warm, and my chest felt light, as if it were full of happiness about to escape. I stood and announced, “I need to use the restroom.”
“Well, go then,” Mamma said. “You don’t have to tell the whole room.”
I laughed.
Mamma rolled her eyes. “Mamma mia.”
Dominic’s gaze narrowed on me from where he stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked sharp in his suit and as broody as usual.
“I’ll go with you!” Gianna got to her feet. She wore ballet-pink velvet pumps I couldn’t help but envy.
“No, no, no!” Sophia said. “You can’t break the seal already! The night just started!”
“What do you know about ‘breaking the seal,’ Miss Nineteen-Year-Old?” Mamma muttered as Gianna and I walked toward the bathroom.
“That’s a myth, you know. Breaking the seal.” Gianna linked her arm with mine. “Apparently it’s all in our heads.”
“I wouldn’t know either way,” I admitted. “I’m not a big drinker.”
“Really? I guess you and Ace are perfect for each other then, aren’t you?”
My brows pulled together. “But Nico’s always drinking.”
“Yes,” she laughed, nudging my shoulder with hers. “But never excessively. The last time I saw him drunk was six years ago, and I’m positive it was only more incentive for sobriety.”
“Why?”
“Er, well . . .” She sighed. “Maybe that’s something Ace should tell you.”
“You slept with my husband, didn’t you?” In my inebriated state, the invasive question slipped from my lips.
An awkward laugh escaped her. “Well, it’s out in the open, isn’t it? It was one time, and we were both so drunk neither of us even remembers it.”
Maybe it was because I was a few drinks in, or maybe it was because I had already assumed it to be true, but I wasn’t that upset. I knew Nico was far from a virgin, and I wasn’t sure I wanted one of those anyway. He wouldn’t be the same man he was now.
We did our business in the bathroom and then stood side-by-side at the sink washing our hands.
“So, you’re married, huh?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Don’t remind me.”
“I’m sorry to hear it isn’t a marriage of love.”
She leaned toward the mirror, applying a fresh coat of cherry-red lipstick. “Don’t be. It was my choice.”
“Really?”
“Yup,” popped from her lips as she pressed them together to spread the lipstick evenly. “I married Antonio when I was twenty. He died three years later. After I got into a little trouble with the law, Nico gave me a choice to go home to Chicago or marry again.”