Page 3 of The One Night Match

I bite down on the inside of my cheek to stop the retort that tries to escape. I’m the first to admit I’ve always been untrusting of men.

When you grow up the way I did, it’s hard not to be. Everyone is the enemy. Everything is a potential threat. Or worse, they could just be using me to get closer to my family.

My chest burns at that last one. The memories still too raw even all these years later.

But I’m about to be married to one, so I guess one night of harmless flirtation can’t hurt.

“Thank you.” I force my lips into a smile and reach for the shot.

It’s been a minute since I’ve had tequila, but right now it feels like the only thing that will quiet the anxiety bubbling in my chest about what waits for me at the end of the aisle tomorrow.

Dark, entertained eyes watch as I down the shot, and warmth spreads through my whole body.

One last night of freedom before I become Mrs. Cruz De Luca tomorrow.

TWO

CRUZ

Ican’t help but be impressed by the five-foot nothing firecracker standing beside me at the bar.

Her auburn hair looks so soft. My fingers itch to brush it from her cheeks, and her vibrant blue eyes make it hard to look away.

A shock of annoyance shoots through me.

Just another thing I’m giving up tomorrow.

But this is what I signed up for.

I need a wife. I need an heir. And I need my mother to stop badgering me about getting those two things.

I’ll admit, I’m slightly more amenable to the wife than I am to the kids, but that’s what’s expected of you when you’re the boss.

Someone has to take the reins down the track, and there’s no one you can trust like you can your own spawn.

Allegedly.

After all, I did overthrow my father. But he was an asshole who beat on my mom my whole life, so he had it coming.

Unfortunately, the other thing that comes from killing the man who raised you is the lack of trust in the family. Something I hate to admit I need.

I can’t effectively grow our business if every capo thinks they’ll be the next person I kill, and that means I’m more susceptible to being overthrown myself.

So I finally relented to my mother’s pressure to settle down and signed myself up for the Mafia Matchmaker.

I have to admit, it was a surprisingly easy process to navigate, and being able to strengthen our relationship with one of the two Mafia families in San Francisco was the icing on the cake.

Plus, having a wife won’t be the worst thing in the world.

I haven’t been able to bring myself to read her file, because a part of me would rather learn things from her directly. We’re already missing all the traditional parts of becoming a couple. The least I can do is get to know her the old-fashioned way.

Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

My sister, Lexi, thinks I’m burying my head in the sand until the last second, and I hate to admit it, but she might be right.

I take a long drink of my whiskey and revel in how my chest burns on its way down.

I’m not sure what brought me out tonight. I gave up my party days when Dad died and I took over the family. There was no time for anything but work.