Stolen Union: An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance (The De Luca Mafia #4)

1. Gabriella

It’s my wedding day to the most boring man in the universe. Antonio Ricci. He’s tall and handsome and polite. Everything a girl would dream of marrying.

But, my god, is he boring.

Every single sentence out of him is just … blah. I can’t converse with him. I can’t have fun with him—especially with my three older protective brothers always keeping an eye on me.

I can’t believe I have to marry him. Marriage was the last thing I ever wanted for myself. But Rocco, the oldest of us De Luca siblings and leader of the Italian Mafia, insisted I marry to help secure my family’s line of greatness. I think that’s bullshit, but I can’t say that to him because he’ll just scold me for cussing.

Rocco told me only a couple of months ago that I would marry Antonio, and there was no room for discussion.

“You can’t be serious,” I said as we sat in his office, with him all serious and me looking cute in my summer dress. (I always make a point of looking cute. It’s just how I live my life). “You can’t be serious, Rocco. You’re really going to marry me to a man I’ve never met?”

“Yes,” he said bluntly. “Massimo and Emilio married women they’d never met before. It was the same with Lara and me and will be the same with you. Antonio Ricci is a good man. He comes from wealth—wealth I can use to grow our business, which will only help protect you, by the way. I can see the face you’re making, Gabriella.”

I quickly composed my face into a stoic one. “I’m not making any face.”

“You were rolling your eyes and looked like you wanted to stick your tongue out at me.”

That … was true. I often stuck my tongue out at my brother. Sure, it’s immature for a twenty-two-year-old woman. But my brother is annoying sometimes, and I think it’s funny, so I did it then to annoy him further.

Rocco sighed as he steepled his fingers together under his chin. “I know you don’t want this. But you’ll be doing your duty to our family if you do. Meet Antonio. I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“It doesn’t matter if I like him,” I muttered, leaning back in my seat. “I’ll have to marry him whether I like him or not. Am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong. You will marry him. I’m just giving you the courtesy to meet him before you marry him.”

I snorted. “How kind of you.”

“We can argue about this for days, Gabriella, but it ends only one way. With you?—”

“Giving my life over to a stranger and having no more life of my own,” I said, cutting him off.

Rocco looked like he wanted to bash his head into his desk. “What I was going to say is this ends with you marrying Antonio. He’s a good match for you.”

Of course he is because my brother would never choose a man who was a “bad” match for me. “That’s because he lives under your thumb.”

“Gabriella,” he said in a warning tone.

“Fine.” I got up from the chair. “Since I have no choice, I will meet Antonio, and I will marry him, and I will do it with a smile on my face, but I will hate you for every moment of every day for the rest of my life. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like you’ll get over it.”

I scoffed and left his office, too angry to talk to him.

Now, standing before a mirror in my wedding dress, I realize Rocco and I haven’t fully talked since that day. Sure, we’ve been around each other, but we haven’t really talked. I think Rocco wants to, but I’m still angry with him.

A knock on the hotel door makes me look. “Come in.”

The door opens, and in walks my three sisters. Well, my three sisters-in-law. Lara, Ophelia, and Caterina. A brunette, a redhead, and a blonde. There’s probably a joke in their somewhere, but I’m too upset to make it.

“How are you?” Lara asks, walking over and placing her hands on my shoulders.

“I’m great. Isn’t it obvious?” I roll my eyes.

Lara offers me a kind smile. “I know you’re not happy about this wedding, but if it’s any consolation, you look amazing.”

“It is a consolation,” I admit. “I do look good.”

And I do.

My dress has a sweetheart neckline, showing just a hint of cleavage while still being modest, while sleeves are off the shoulder, resting on my upper arms. The skirt flares around me, covered in simple lace and layers that make me look more like a princess than a girl from New York. Well, I am a Mafia princess, so I guess it counts.

My brown hair tumbles around my shoulders in soft waves, and my makeup brings out the soft brown in my eyes. I look great. Antonio can only hope he’s worthy of me. Because I know he isn’t.

“You’re going to knock Antonio dead when he sees you,” Caterina says.

“You just might to it for me.” I eye her over in her skintight red dress. She looks like a blonde bombshell.

“Emilio hated that I wore this,” she says. “But I knew you wouldn’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not. You look fabulous. Sure, this is my wedding day, but I’m not happy about it. If you three can have fun for me, that would be great.”

Ophelia looks pretty in a blue dress that makes her red hair pop. “We’re here for you, Gabi. Know that.”

“I do. I’m just … Why do I have to be so opposed to this? I should be happy to marry Antonio. On paper, he’s perfect.”

“You’ll have time to fall in love with him,” Lara says. She runs her hands down her soft pink dress, smoothing any wrinkles. “I didn’t like Rocco at first, but we grew together. And now, I can’t imagine being with anyone other than him.”

“I was the same with Massimo,” Ophelia says.

Caterina raises her hand. “Me, too, with Emilio. I thought we were going to kill each other when we first got married.” She pauses. “I still think we’re going to kill each other somedays.”

I laugh. “At least you guys have passion for each other. With Antonio, all I feel is … gray. It’s just gray and flat and nothingness. It’s boring with him.”

“Well, you’ve never really lived with him,” Lara says. “You’ve only met on a couple of occasions.”

“Something tells me marrying him won’t change anything,” I mutter as I make a face in the mirror.

“You have to give it a chance,” she says. “That’s the only thing you can do. Rocco won’t let you out of this marriage.”

I sigh. “I know. But I can hope.”

“We’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines,” Caterina says. “I’ll be the loudest.”

“Naturally.” Everyone laughs at that.

After they each hug me, they leave me and head into the ceremony room.

Rocco arrives at my door soon after. “It’s time, Gabriella.”

“Time to completely change my life for the worst,” I say.

“Don’t.” He gives me a warning look. “Be on your best behavior. You’re marrying Antonio Ricci today. Make me proud.”

And that’s how my brother gets you. He says ‘make me proud,” and you have no choice but do it; otherwise, you’ll feel shitty. So, I plaster a smile on my face and follow him out the door to the wedding ceremony I have nothing to do with.

My first time meeting Antonio, he came to Rocco’s house, where I lived with him and Lara after our father died.

My first impression of Antonio was that he was handsome, which was good. But it quickly became apparent that he was also boring, which was bad. The first thing out of his mouth was: “How much does a polar bear weigh?”

Before I could answer, he said, “Enough to break the ice!”

I only stared at him while Rocco looked embarrassed and quickly motioned Antonio to follow us into the living room.

“Did he seriously make a break the ice joke?” I muttered to Lara, who shrugged.

“I just love your home,” Antonio was saying to Rocco. “I want to have a home like this someday.”

So, he’s a suck-up. No wonder Rocco picked him.

“I expect you to give Gabriella the life she’s accustomed to,” Rocco said. “You already own your own home.”

“Oh, I do. But your house is much nicer.”

Honestly, how much of a suck-up can he be?

Antonio turned to me, and I had no choice but to smile as he said, “I look forward to a life with you, Gabriella.”

“Oh, great. So, what will we be doing?”

He frowned. “Well, I’ll be working, and you’ll be a stay-at-home mom. Of course, after we have children.”

I shuddered. God, children? I can barely take care of myself, let alone another person. And did I even want children any time soon?

“I expect us to have children by the end of next year,” he said, still talking.

“Next year?” I could feel my eyes practically bug out of my head.

Rocco cleared his throat. “Those talks can be done later. For now, I just wanted you two to meet.”

“And I’m glad we did,” Antonio said, kissing my hand.

I expected to feel … something, anything, but all I felt was the urge to rip my hand away from him.

I knew at that moment the last thing I wanted to do was marry Antonio. He weirded me out.

What was I going to do?

Deep down, I knew part of why I didn’t want to marry Antonio. There was another man I couldn’t stop thinking about. One who was the definition of bad. One I could never be with because he tried to kill my brother and take over. He also kidnapped me and Lara before we escaped.

He was not a good man, yet I hadn’t stopped thinking about him for the past year.

Dante Romano.

I knew it was wrong of me, so I never told Rocco about my thoughts. If someone could crucify thoughts, my brother would find a way.

So, I kept it to myself, and I’ve been living with Dante’s face in my mind for a year. I don’t know how to push it away. I hated him for what he did.

But staring into Antonio’s face, I thought that at least Dante would give me a life worth living.

Rocco and I stand outside the doors leading me into the wedding ceremony. In just a few moments, I’ll be Mrs. Antonio Ricci. Gag. Seriously, makes me gag.

“I can see you frowning,” Rocco says, holding onto my arm.

“That’s because I am.”

“You shouldn’t frown. Antonio will expect a smile when you walk down the aisle.”

I only smile wider in response.

Rocco sighs, shaking his head. “I know you didn’t want this, Gabriella. But it’s happening. Make the most of it. For our family, at least.”

“For our family.”

The doors open, and I’m confronted by the sight of a hundred people attending the ceremony, most of whom I don’t even know. That’s the thing about Mafia weddings—they’re a huge affair.

At the end of the aisle stands Antonio with a stupid grin. Ugh. Here we go.

I force my feet to walk forward. It’s a good thing Rocco is holding onto my arm—it’s keeping me from falling. I’m no stranger to dresses or heels. That’s not the problem. The problem is I might just fall and get hurt to avoid marrying Antonio. It sounds like a smart plan to me.

But then, in no time, I’ve reached the end of the aisle, and I’m standing in front of Antonio with his hand on mine. Rocco leaves me to sit down beside Lara. Next to him is Massimo and Emilio—my two other brothers. All my brothers are tall with dark hair and imposing builds. Thank god they’re my brothers. I’d hate to be on their bad side.

I study Antonio’s face as the officiant starts the ceremony. He looks like he could blend in with the family, but he doesn’t carry the same gravitas as my brothers.

I look back at them. Massimo gives me a thumbs-up before bringing his fingers to his head and pretending to shoot himself. It makes me chuckle. Massimo knows just how to make me laugh.

Antonio notices. “What’s so funny?” he asks, interrupting the officiant.

Everything goes quiet.

“Um … nothing,” I say. “I’m just happy to be marrying you today.”

“Oh.” Antonio puffs out his chest. Gag again. “Well, good.”

I sneak a look back at Massimo, and he gives me a helpless shrug. Rocco nudges him to stop while Emilio watches on in stoic concentration.

“Do you, Antonio Ricci,” the officiant says, breaking my concentration, “take Gabriella De Luca to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” Antonio says without any hesitation.

The officiant turns to me. “And do you, Gabriella De Luca, take Antonio Ricci to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Oh god. Here we go.

I open my mouth to speak when the doors burst open, drawing everyone’s attention away from me.

A man stands in the aisle. A man who’s face has haunted my dreams for a long time.

Dante Romano.

“I object,” he says right before he whips out a gun and starts firing at the ceiling.

I dive to the ground, and Antonio jumps on top of me. Chaos ensues, and people run for the exit. I can see my brothers trying to get to Dante, but too many people are in their way. A couple of other men run into the room, firing their weapons.

In the chaos, Dante runs up to Antonio and me. He kicks Antonio in the face, sending my fiancé sprawling onto his back. Before I can react, Dante grabs my arms and hoists me over his shoulder.

“You’re coming with me,” he says.

I can’t even process what’s happening. All I can see are my brothers fighting to get to me as Dante runs away with me over his shoulder. It only dawns on me once we’re out of the room and Dante is sprinting down a hallway toward the back of the hotel where I’m being kidnapped.

By Dante.

Again.