“You make it sound like it was some calculated move on her part.”
He shrugs. “Who says it wasn’t?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Listen, she’s smart for doing what she had to do to make a better life for herself.”
“Ah. Of course. That’s what you did.” Vince was twenty when he left, and that was five years ago. He built his own kingdom an ocean away. I wonder who he’ll hand it off to when it’s time for him to take over the family business in New York.
Papà isn’t getting any younger, and Vince is his successor. Eventually, even his finance skills won’t be enough of an excuse to keep him away.
The day Vince returns and takes over the family is going to be a good day. If my brother had been in charge, I believe the war with the Riccis may have played out very differently. Papà is a tough guy. He lacks subtlety and restraint.
Vince is the opposite. He’s a schemer and an out-of-the-box thinker. Violence is always the last resort with him.
He shrugs again. “Haven’t regretted it for a single second. I could never live with Papà breathing down my neck.”
“Some of us don’t have the luxury of just disappearing for a few years.”
Now his attention is on me. “He’s lucky to have you, Gem. Very lucky. He raised three selfish kids, and one selfless daughter.”
“Vale isn’t selfish. She did what she was told in the beginning.”
“And now you’re doing the same,” he says, his gaze dropping to my ring.
“I don’t have to explain it to you. You know how bad things could get.”
Vince came back for the funerals. He stood by Papà’s side with that grim expression on his face. Tito, our cousin who died, was his close friend. They grew up together.
“You’ve always taken it upon yourself to fix things.”
“Have I?”
“Have you forgotten how you’d call me every Saturday morning for years after I left to ask when I’d be back?”
“I was just checking in,” I grumble.
“You were doing what Papà was too proud to do. Did he ask you to do that? I’ve always wondered.”
“No.”
Vince’s lips curve into a knowing smirk. “You did it just for a chance to earn his praise. He would have heaped it on you if you’d managed to convince me to come home.”
My cheeks heat. It’s embarrassing because it’s true. Back then, I’d have done anything to earn Papà’s approval.
But I’ve grown up. At least, I like to think I have.
I’m not marrying Rafaele for Papà to tell me what a good daughter I am. This is so much bigger than that.
I’m doing this for my family.
I tuck a strand behind my ear. “Whatever.”
He snickers. “Anyway, tell me about your future husband. Vale seems to already hate him.”
“Don’t tell me you’re also going to try to convince me I don’t have to marry him.”
“I’m not going to convince you of anything. I don’t agree with Vale. You should marry Rafaele.”
“How well do you know him?”
“We had a few meetings after he began working with Papà. Despite his reputation, I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would mistreat his wife. I asked around. He’s had women around him, and there haven’t been any complaints.”
“You looked into him for my sake?”
“Do you think I’d leave my sister on her own? Yeah, I looked into him.”
Something warm burst inside my chest. It’s nice of him to look out for me.
Vince leans back on his palms. “I told Vale to let it go. I’m not sure I got through to her. She’s all about love marriages now.”
“How do you feel about them?”
“I wouldn’t bank on one. Love fades. It’s too unpredictable. Papà fucked up with Vale’s ex-husband, but you can’t dismiss the entire system of arranged marriages based on one bad incident.”
“What about you? Have you started looking for a wife?”
He makes a dismissive wave. “There’s no rush.”
“I don’t know about that. Given the long list of requirements I assume you’re going to have, you might want to start early.”
“Smartass. My list isn’t that long. Just a few obvious things.”
“Like what?”
“Since she’d be around a lot, I’d want someone nice to look at,” he says. “Someone without baggage who wouldn’t try to turn me into their therapist.”
“Charming.”
“She’d have to put the relationship first. Complete loyalty. Complete trust. Without it, it wouldn’t work. I have enough people who want to stab me in the back. My wife can’t be one of them.”
It didn’t sound too unreasonable, actually. “So you’d be faithful to her?”
He gives me a blank look. “What?”
“You’d want her to be loyal to you and trust you. Would you be loyal to her? Would you sleep around the way Papà does?”
“Sleeping around has nothing to do with real loyalty. Of course my wife would know I’d have women on the side. She’d accept it and move on.”
I roll my eyes. “That's the kind of stuff that makes women want to stab their husbands.”
“Nothing a pair of diamond earrings and a trip to the Maldives can’t fix.” Vince tosses back the last of his whiskey and stands. “Dinner’s about to start.” He eyes my empty wine glass. “How many of those have you had?”
“Not enough.”
When I rise, the horizon before me wobbles. Okay, maybe I should have stopped one glass ago.
“C’mon.” Vince offers me his arm. “So you’re expecting Rafaele to be faithful?”
I frown. I haven’t thought about it. The idea is distasteful in principle, but the thought of my future husband with another woman…
I wait for some emotion to surface.
There’s nothing.
“I haven’t thought that far,” I say to Vince. “I just hope we’ll get along.”
“If you can get along with our parents for as long as you have, you can get along with anyone.”
I roll my eyes. That isn’t true. Prime example—Ras.
There is no situation, no possible scenario in which I’d get along with him.
CHAPTER 5
RAS
“How are we doing?” I ask the two guards stationed at the gate of Dem’s property. We’re about an hour from Mari’s wedding ceremony, and I’m doing one last round to make sure everyone’s keeping their eyes peeled.
We’re still being careful these days. Dem’s claim as our new leader has been accepted by anyone who’s worth a damn, but the only time a don has no enemies is when he’s dead. It’s my job to make sure nothing ruins these two weddings, and I’m taking that seriously. We expanded the perimeter a few days ago, added more cameras, and put more men on the security detail.
“All good,” the older guard says while he peels an apple with his pocketknife. “Enjoy the party, boss.”