Page 31 of My Solemn Vow (The Mafia Arrangement #1)

Antonella draws one long breath before a massive string of words.

“Well, depending on who is telling the story, I told her that her son was stupid and she was ugly, and then she pulled her kid out of my classroom and almost pulled out her funding for the school. So, I was slapped on the wrist and they transferred Kerrianne into my classroom.”

I’m dumbfounded. I’m stuck in neutral. I don’t even know how to shift gears.

Ms. Mancini.

Antonella huffs, expelling the last bit of air from her lungs before sipping her beer.

She’s telling the truth. I can hear the honesty, but I dislike the answer. I take a long pull of my beer, trying to stave off the irrational, angry, overprotective parent in favor of the logical, levelheaded nature expected of me.

“I know that has to be hard to believe.” Antonella rises to her own defense as if she hears my innermost thoughts.

“But I wouldn’t have put us in this potential position.

The school is in neutral territory, so I assumed it would be safe to accept the job.

I teach under a pseudonym because well.

.. everyone knows the D’Medici’s and what they do. It’s hard to get work that way.”

She’s telling the truth. My wolf has been as equally interested in her as I have.

Why didn’t this come up in the background check Royal ran? Is her cover identity that good? I hate that I have more questions than answers.

What I do know though... “I believe you.”

I’m thankful for her saving Kerrianne, even if it’s put me in a shit position. I still want vengeance for Holly, but Antonella has put an end to my vendetta. “It’s been a lot to process. I was out of the country, and to come home to this...”

“Mess.” Tears well in the corner of her eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”

Saving her life. She’s thanking me for saving her life? It was either save her life or risk Kerrianne’s. She must know that, but it seems like the wrong thing to say right now. I only nod in response.

I finish my beer at the same time the waitress comes back with our main courses, and she offers to get me a new one. I look to Antonella, and she asks for a second.

With a nod of agreement, I tell the waitress, “Looks like we’re having another round.”

Antonella smiles and wags a finger at me. “Don’t get any ideas that I’m some sort of big drinker. I’ve had probably the worst week of my life, and I want to enjoy the good things when they happen.”

I lean forward. “Am I the good thing?”

Her tongue peeks out of her mouth, wetting her lip before she bites it. My cock stiffens in response, but before Antonella can give me an answer, the waitress returns with our second round.

Antonella takes the out of the waitress coming by and bites into her burger. She hums in approval. “Oh, this is really good.”

“I’m telling you, they have the best burgers in the area.” I pick up my burger and take a bite.

As expected, it’s cooked to the bare minimum, meaning it touched the grill long enough to sear the outside and not let any humans think the restaurant is serving raw food. It’s a perk of being a regular and recognized by the server. Do I need the burger raw? No. Do I like it raw? Yes.

“And wings.” Antonella runs the joke another time, the basket of wings on the table untouched.

“I’m a burger first, then wings and fries intermixed kinda guy.” I shrug. “Setting a good example for Kerrianne. She’s a typical kid and wants the best part first and then fills up before she can eat the protein and veggies.”

“Yeah, it’s so hard because at that age, they’re so particular about food, and it can be hard to help them establish good habits while not —” Antonella cuts herself off. “I’m rambling. You don’t need me to tell you how to parent your daughter.”

“You’re right.”

As soon as I say it, I know how it sounds. But it doesn’t make it less true. I don’t need someone else, especially a human, telling me how to parent my daughter. And yet, she knew exactly how to handle this morning with Kerrianne at Sean’s funeral.

Antonella looks away from me, focusing on her dinner, and I do the same.

There’s so much more I could learn about her.

Namely how she could pull a weapon on her own family member.

.. for Kerrianne. She’s not loyal enough to her family that she’d let them take an ‘easy’ target from our side of the chessboard.

Because she’s not a loyal person in general or because she’s not loyal to them for some reason?

We’re both narrowing down on our food, and the waitress stops by to ask how we’re doing.

“Excellent, thank you,” Antonella answers as if we haven’t eaten in silence.

Antonella dips her fry in the blue cheese dressing that came with the wings and stalls before putting it in her mouth. She looks up at me, and our eyes lock.

She draws a deep breath and sighs, shaking her head.

“For one night, let’s pretend we’re not Valor Cavanagh and Antonella D’Medici?

We’re Valor and Toni. Two people on their first date and hanging out?

We’ve got a lifetime to unpack the feud between our families, but I don’t think either of us wants to be in a long-term relationship with someone we don’t even know. ”

“Committed,” I add.

She furrows her brow but knowingly adds it in. “Long-term, committed relationship with someone we don’t even know.”

“One thing to know.” I smile at her, attempting to do exactly as she asked by letting go of what stands between us in order to be two people — strangers — trying to find love. “I don’t share. I’m the oldest sibling, and I’m not a fan of sharing.”

“As an only child, I completely understand.” Antonella smiles back.

I gesture to the wings, offering her first pick. We ordered a flight sampler of five flavors, four of each. She starts with a medium spicy one.

“What’s your red flag?” Antonella asks. She quickly adds, “And no, it can’t be that you’re a single dad.”

She puts the whole wing into her mouth and pulls the bones out clean.

Fuck me, that’s . . .

I clear my throat, willing my dick to calm down. “Uh, can it be that I found that so hot I want to take you home right now, throw you down on my bed, and fuck you until I know what it’s like for you to scream, whisper, and moan my name?”

Antonella drops the bones on the plate, and her whole body stiffens. She chews, swallows, and then, in a tone low enough that I think it was meant to be an inside thought, mutters, “Is he trying to kill me talking like that?”

I whisper back, “My real red flag is that I’m a control freak when it comes to my relationships. I will dominate you if given the chance. I don’t want a meek woman. I need someone willing to put my ass in check and who isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m being a dick.”

The sly smile she passes me precedes her sultry words.

“Well, aren’t you lucky. Because my red flag is that I have both a problem with authority and like it when my partner puts me in my place.

I don’t need to be saved, Valor.” Her pupils are wide, and that ‘look’ is in her eyes.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m disinterested in seeing how far we could take this. ”

My resolve is gone. The original intention was to leave this as a ‘get to know you’ and maybe ‘figure out if we have any interests in common’ dinner. But I can’t. Not when she’s saying things like that.

I reach into my pocket, pull out two one-hundred-dollar bills, and throw them on the table. Standing, I hold my hand out to Antonella.

She glares at me and then the wings. “Rude. These are delicious.”

“This restaurant isn’t going anywhere, and the wings never change.” I narrow my gaze at her and curl my fingers in encouragement before relaxing my hand again, beckoning her to comply. “Come, Antonella.”

Antonella takes one last sip of her beer and then places her hand in mine.

On the way out of the restaurant, I give the manager a two-finger wave and don’t bother with anything else. I’ve got Antonella tucked into the passenger seat and the SUV on the road in less than a minute.

I try and fail to keep my hands to myself on the drive. I let my hand leave the steering wheel and find its way to her leg. But the fabric of her skirt is in the way.

Antonella rests her hand on mine. “Just drive. It’s not like we don’t have all night.”

All. Night. I relax at that. I want to enjoy every inch of her, but we do have all night. What’s a little more lost sleep when I can be taking her?

She watches out her window, and I continue the usual route home. The thirty-minute drive passes slowly. And when we’re ten minutes from the house, I hear the change in her breathing.

Her head is leaned against the headrest, tilted to support itself on the seat belt, and her eyes are closed. Antonella is out like a light.

Sleepy mate, my wolf observes. Much like the pup, she drifted right out. His tail thumps, and a warming feeling of affection prickles along my skin. We’ll sleep beside her at home.

His assumptions don’t normally bother me, but it’s not like she’s a wolf. It’s not like we know she’s ours. What if I don’t want her in my bed?

Don’t be stupid. Your bed is good enough to fuck her in but not good enough to let her sleep in? My wolf’s words make me pause.

You’re really claiming her as our mate? After we had Holly? I feel my pulse beating in my head. He’s been possessive of her all day, but she’s a woman we were gifted. I’ve always taken care of and protected my things. Antonella is another object to possess.

Holly was good, but she wasn’t like Antonella. If you’d look, then you’d see that. My wolf is hyperfixated on her, and it has me sitting at a stop sign at an empty crossroad.

The turn signal clicks with the passing seconds, and I let them tick by, examining the raven-haired beauty beside me.

There’s no doubt about it — she’s beautiful.

Round, high cheekbones and the angular, yet feminine, shape of her face, with that adorable button nose, are all attractive and beautiful together. But beauty does not make for a mate.

She’s the enemy. I try to argue, thinking of the people we’ve lost, the friends and family no longer at the dinner table, the dwindling numbers of our pack, and Holly.

I tear my eyes away from her and make the left-hand turn toward our home. She’s a D’Medici. She’ll sleep in my bed because it’s the easiest way for me to be sure she’s not wandering into something that’s not for her to know.

My wolf doesn’t argue with me. I sense his annoyance, but I conceded to his demand that she sleep in our bed.

But... It’s not a difficult concession to make. Even if I don’t want to want her... Antonella is appealing, and I’ve already admitted it. I’ve fallen into lust with her. There is no reason this can’t be a physical relationship.