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“It is beautiful but next time, I would suggest not wearing it.”

She tilts her head to the side, confused. “Why?”

“This one you just can’t wear, Maria. I don’t need to explain my reasonings to you. When we get back home, leave it in my study to be kept in my safe.”

“You can have it after you tell me why I can’t wear it, Matteo.” She grips her glass tightly and holds my gaze. Why must this woman be so stubborn?

“Your job is to obey, Maria. I don’t have to explain myself.”

She scoffs, eyes flashing with rebellion. “I am your wife, not a servant. You cannot tell me what to do.”

“Yes, I can,” I bite out. I see that she also has a knack for getting under my skin. After the day I have had, the last thing I want is to fight her. “We are not about to start a fight in the middle of a gala. We will speak about this later.”

“No, thank you.” She turns from me and sips her drink, disregarding everything I have said.

“Well, if it isn’t the newlyweds!” Dario De Luca comes into view with his wife, Ginny, hanging on his arm. Her eyes move between me and Maria as she analyzes us. They come to a halt right in front of us.

“Dario,” I sigh heavily and look to my wife, who looks at the couple in front of us with great intrigue. “It’s good to see you up and about. I heard the Russians did quite the number on you.”

That makes the smile on his face falter a little. “What can I say? I’m a survivor. Much like you, I hear.”

“Yes, you always manage to survive like the cockroach you are,” I throw it right back at him. The man easily gets on my nerves. He is a fairly young leader, thirty-five and at the height of his career. He is known to be as ruthless and cutthroat as me, but since being with his wife, he has softened. We have this love-hate relationship that we have established. “Ginny, I see you haven’t come to your senses yet and divorced this fool.”

Ginny cracks a smile and lets out a low laugh. She leans into her husband as she speaks. “It’s good to see you Matteo, it’s been a while. I didn’t expect that the next time I saw you, it would be as a newlywed.”

“Yes, well, I do like to keep you all guessing.”

“I heard you stole her from your boy.”

The grip on my glass tightens. “Watch yourself, Dario.”

The smirk on his face intensifies. “Just the rumors flying around. I’m offended, Matteo. I had the courtesy to extend awedding invite to you, but you could not do the same for me?” He adds an extra effect by clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth.

“The amount of testosterone wafting in the air is enough to make me nauseous. Maria, shall we grab another drink?” Ginny gestures to my wife’s now empty flute.

When had she downed that?

“Yes, please.” Maria doesn’t even look at me as she walks away with Ginny. I watch her make her way with Ginny, arm in arm like they have been friends for ages. I should feel somewhat relieved that she is being friendly to others, but part of me is a little jealous that she isn’t so… warm with me.

But do I want her to be warm with me? I am as closed-off as they come. What is the use of her opening up to me when I won’t do the same? It’s only cruel to try and get close to her when I won’t do the same for her.

“I never thought I would see the day you put a ring back on your finger. A wife. We all believed that Beatrice was it for you.” Dario broke the thick silence between the two of us. “What changed?”

He is prying. Dario has no real concern for me. “You know how marriage is. It’s nothing but a business agreement between two families. That’s what yours was meant to be, if I’m not mistaken. You just happened to fall in love with your woman. My arrangement is nothing more than that.”

“So you took your son’s woman and beat him to the altar.” I can see the amusement floating in his eyes. Dario has always had a knack for getting under my skin.

“The union is better and stronger with me in it. Now mind your business, Dario. We have more pressing matters than my marriage.”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Only curious, old friend. And what pressing matters are these?”

“Giacomo.”

As soon as I say the name, the amusement on his face dissolves and his hard gaze returns.

“So you know what he’s doing?” I give him my full undivided attention. “How sure are you of your intel, Dario?”

“We’ve heard the whispers. We know what we could potentially be up against.” Dario smirks. “If he knows what is good for him, he will stay far away from me and my business. Otherwise, I will put a bullet in the middle of his head.”