Page 15

“Ines,” I said with a hint of embarrassment for calling her by her last name again. It was strange to think she’d be part of my family in two years. It still hadn’t sunk in that I was going to marry Samuel.
Today’s celebrations were the reason I rarely enjoyed attending social events anymore. The backstabbing, fake-smiling, lies-spewing way of many people in our world brought out the rage I tried to keep in check. Which was of course hypocritical of me, considering I gave them the same fake smile while I killed a considerate number of them in my head, especially after how disgusting some of them had reacted to the announcement of my engagement.
I went out into our backyard after I’d left Emma with my mother in front of the guest bathroom. The moment I was outside, I took a deep breath. I’d kept up my pleasant mask inside, especially with all the other Underbosses in attendance. Well, not all of them. Cincinatti hadn’t been invited. Danilo had insisted they stay away after what they did to Emma. I didn’t really care about their attendance.
A hand touched my shoulder, and I tensed briefly before Dad came into view. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag before he stared up at the darkening sky and blew out the smoke.
“Don’t let Mom see you.”
“She’ll smell it on me. She always does,” he said with a small smile. “Once life’s less stressful, I’ll give it up.”
“When’s that ever going to be the case?”
“One day,” Dad said, then chuckled as if he’d made a good joke. “Did you want to be alone?”
I shrugged. I had wanted to be alone, but Dad knew when to be silent. His presence hardly ever bothered me. “I don’t mind.”
Dad regarded me from the side. “A wife has to make you feel at home. Everything else is fleeting, but that feeling of coming home whenever you see someone? That’s what matters.”
“I told you I’m okay with the marriage. Emma is a pretty girl, and I’m sure she and I will get along.” I gritted my teeth. “But I have a bad track record with people who depend on me, and she’s more dependent than others.”
“Nobody could have protected your sister, and your friends…they were Made Men. They could take care of themselves.”
I nodded. “I should go back. I don’t want to leave Emma alone.”
It was a surprising thought, but I definitely felt protective of her. I turned and went back inside. Emma was talking to Anna and Sofia, so I decided to go to Renato instead, who was talking to the future Underboss of Columbus, Cosmo. I nodded at them both.
Renato clapped my shoulder.
“This came as a surprise,” Cosmo said. I could see the curiosity in his eyes. If he thought I’d give him any details about why the arrangement came to be, he hadn’t paid much attention to my reputation.
“I prefer to keep my cards close to my chest.”
Renato smirked.
“A noble thing…” He kept droning on and on, but I mostly ignored him. The verdict over our engagement was pretty clear.People didn’t understand and even openly disapproved. I didn’t care. But even now, I could see how uncomfortable Emma felt.
“She doesn’t look like she hit the jackpot with you,” Renato murmured.
Everyone thought Emma should be ecstatic about this bond, a bond that saved her in many people’s eyes, but Renato was right. True delight definitely wasn’t visible on her face. But I couldn’t tell whether this was because of people’s tasteless whispers or because she didn’t want to marry me.
I was eight years older than her. Maybe that was an issue. I strode over to her. “Do you have a moment?”
“Of course,” Emma said, her cheeks turning red as she followed me. I led her out onto the patio of our backyard. People would still be able to see us but not hear us.
Emma peered up at me with an uncertain smile. I sat on one of the chairs so we’d be at eye level. I didn’t want to stare down at her the entire time.
Her smile became a bit broader, but she sobered considerably when I didn’t smile in return. I glanced out over our vast backyard, wondering what I was doing. “Danilo told you yesterday?”
She peered down at her elegant fingers. She still needed a ring. This announcement had come sooner than expected, and my mind had been far from thoughts about weddings or engagements these past few years.
“He did last night.”
“It must have come as a surprise.”
She smiled strangely down at her hand as if trying to imagine herself with a ring but couldn’t. “It did. A day isn’t much time to prepare for an engagement you didn’t expect. You had more time, I suppose.”
She peered up then, and her brown eyes searched mine as if she were testing her statement’s truth. I assumed Danilo hadn’trevealed when we’d struck the deal since it would raise too many questions. Obviously, she was wary of how the engagement had come to be. She had every reason to be, but she would never find out the distasteful truth from me. For one, it would crush not just her but also Sofia. And I didn’t really see how the truth would help anyone in this case. “Indeed, it didn’t come as out of the blue for me as it did for you.”