Page 73 of Always Mine

Raf:

FML

Sebastian:

Can’t say I’m the least bit surprised. Congratulations? Commiserations? Either way, Marco might be a surly fucker, but he’s the best guy I know.

Luca:

Good move, sis. No pun intended.

Raf:

Do whatever makes you happy. But don’t make it my problem. I don’t need more shit to deal with.

Me:

Thanks, guys. Appreciate your support.

“Oh my God, Raf has been in such a foul mood,” I huff.

“Luca told him he needs to get laid,” Marco snickers, “and that he’d even pay for someone to put us all out of our misery dealing with his royal grumpiness.”

“I say this lightly because we all know Luca does not have the best track record for making sound decisions, but that could actually be one of his best ideas.”

Before I move onto the next person on the list, I fire off one last message.

Me:

Raf, the boys are right. You need to get laid—fast—because, quite frankly, I don’t want to put up with your shit mood either. Glad we have that sorted. See you at work on Monday, Boss.

When we pull up to my parents’ place, I can’t stop the anxiety swirling in the pit of my stomach. I’ve never been afraid to standup to my father, but today feels monumental. Marco must sense my nerves.

“Hey, baby, look at me. If you don’t want to do this or you’re having doubts…”

“No. I’m not having doubts at all. It’s just the circumstances. All I want is for him to respect that I can make my own decisions, to see me as an adult and not a little girl that he can still overrule. It just feels like the only way to make him proud is to give up my freedom of choice—and I won’t do that.”

Leaning over the center console, he cups my face with one hand and kisses me hard. “I’m proud of you, and I’ll tell you every day to the day I die. We don’t need his validation. We have each other and I’ll always be in your corner no matter what. That’s what counts.”

He kisses me once more before he leans back and retrieves a sealed envelope from the back seat. He quickly gets out and rounds the car to open my door for me. I don’t have time to ask him about it before he entwines our fingers and walks us to the front door.

I use my key to open it and call out. My dad meets us in the foyer. He says nothing to me. Just levels me with a disappointed glare, letting me read his disapproval loud and clear. He demands to speak with Marco in his office, striding off without so much as a glance back.

It stings, but I put on a brave face. Marco places a soft kiss to my forehead to calm my nerves before following him into his office, taking the envelope with him. I don’t envy him. The look in my father’s eye was feral.

Marco’s dad, Samuel, is one of the very few men in my dad’s inner circle that he totally trusts. They’ve been friends for over thirty years, so I just can’t make sense of why he’s so against me being with Marco. Something doesn’t add up, and I need to get to the bottom of it.

Chapter forty-six

You Don’t Scare Me

Marco

WhenIwalkintoPatrick’s office, he doesn’t bother with any niceties, and I’m fine with that because anything I have to say to him is far from nice.

“Sit down,” he commands. De ja vu hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m briefly transported back to that afternoon, the one where I made a bad deal. We might be in his office again, but this time I’m calling the shots.

“Nah. I’d rather stand. We won’t be staying long,” I reply, intentionally keeping my tone clam, and my demeanor unaffected. My coolness winds Patrick’s foul mood even higher. He grits his teeth and begins his lecture.