Page 17 of Enzo

“Hey.” I took her chin between my fingers and she stared up at me with those beautiful blue eyes that our children inherited. “I was at fault too. I kept it from you. I let you and Penelope down.”

“No, you didn’t.” She shook her head fiercely, her eyes shimmering with tears. God, she was still beautiful—so much so it stole the air from my lungs, even after all these years. “You kept us alive.”

“We could make her disappear,” I pondered aloud. “Make her hide and?—”

“No.” She pushed away from me, her delicate brow creasing with a frown. “Penelope’s stronger than both of us. She’ll face this head-on.”

“I know.”

I sighed, clutching her wrists gently to pull her back to my chest.

My daughter made us proud, although at this very moment, I almost wished she wouldn’t. Wished she would bolt, hide from the Marchettis and find the love she deserved. But even if everything was perfect, and Amara wasn’t sick, it wasn’t something she would ever consider.

Because Penelope was the best of us.

“Let’s go home,” Margaret murmured, pressing her lips against mine.

7

PENELOPE

Ifound my parents in Papà’s office wearing tight expressions, and somehow, I knew. The day had come.

“Hey, princess,” Papà greeted with a rough voice. He was seated in his leather armchair behind the massive mahogany desk, the wall-to-wall bookshelves serving as a backdrop for this tense moment. Papà and Nonno had read to me throughout my whole childhood and into adolescence, and each book served as a precious memory.

“Sit down, sweetheart,” Mama said, keeping her expression brave, but she couldn’t hide the worry in her gaze. “We went to Rome yesterday and received an interesting proposition.”

She stood behind Papà, the two representing a united front. It’d been like this for as long as I could remember, although rumors circulated every now and then that it hadn’t always been so. Shortly after I was born, she’d left my father and taken me into hiding. It had something to do with a falling out between them after she found out about the arranged marriage—or something along those lines.

Forcing my feet forward, I smiled through the knots twisting my stomach and sank onto the chair facing them.

I folded my hands in my lap, trying to hide my anxiety, and waited for the inevitable.

“You wanted to see me about a proposition?” I asked when they both remained silent for too long.

“Yes.” It was the only word Papà seemed to be able to push past his lips.

The expression on his face told me he’d rather offer me anything but this dreaded news, so I decided to make it easier for him.

“I’m assuming Enrico Marchetti is demanding a date for our inevitable nuptials.”

Papà let out a heavy sigh.

“More like, Enzo’s insisting. He wants a Christmas wedding.” Shock ricocheted through me. That was mereweeksaway, hardly enough time to prepare for what was supposed to be the biggest day of my life. “He’s tired of waiting and wants to start a family.”

I grimaced, the thought of having sex with Enzo repulsive. Now that I’d experienced euphoria, I knew there were men out there who could bring me the type of pleasure I’d never dreamed possible.

When I gave my virginity to the stranger in the club back in Connecticut, I knew I would never see him again. It was my way of sayingfuck youto the man I despised. If only I’d known what a double-edged sword it would turn out to be… Maybe then I’d be able to step into this obligation ignorant of all that I was giving up.

There were also questions that plagued me. For weeks now, it’d been puzzling me how it was possible that my masked stranger hadn’t “disappeared” prior to our passionate night like the suitors of my past. Was he even still alive?

But it wasn’t as if I could voice those words.

“That’s a good thing,” Mama mumbled. “It shows he’s serious about this marriage.”

Papà scoffed. “Enzo and Amadeo fuck anything that moves. My daughter deserves better.”

Mama let out a frustrated breath. “Luca, the same could have been said about you when you were their age.”