14. Gossip & Jealousy
The heating of the restaurant on Mulberry Street warms my skin when I enter, and blocks away the cold of the settling autumn temperature. Jane chose the place, in the poshest part of town. The clean cobblestone street where I went shopping on my first day feels a little too clean and perfect for my taste, but the lush green decor of the restaurant, with herringbone wooden floor and soft white fluffy plaids all over the banquettes and black velvet fauteuils make it look like a mix between a chalet in the Alps and a trendy modern cafe. I love it.
I went for a semi-frivolous look with a pink cashmere sweater that accentuates my curves and navy wide-legged pants falling on my white sneakers. Everything about me screams “I fit the aesthetics of West Hill high society”. My brother Dom has been coined “the wolf in sheep’s clothing” but really, it should be said about me. When I enter and look around at all the people dressed in various shades of navy and beige, I know I chose right.
“Darling, I’m so happy you could join us.” Jane air kisses my cheeks and guides me through the restaurant like she owns the place.
At the table made of reclaimed wood in the corner, two other women sit and look eager for introductions. I put on my brightest smile, ready to turn on the charm and listen to these women like I want them to become my best friends. And maybe a part of me does. The life of a politician’s wife can be lonely.
“This is Michelle Wright. She’s Councillor Miranda Lenning’s long-time partner,” Jane says, gesturing to a petite blonde woman with round tortoise glasses.
There isn’t a hint of condescension in her voice. Councillor Lenning is a strong woman in the Council, and I know that she wasn’t keen on Lewis becoming mayor. The fact that Michelle isn’t married to Councillor Lenning doesn’t matter to Jane, nor that her partner is her husband’s opponent. She might be married to a crook and a cheater, but she’s a good person. Almost fifteen years younger than him, I wonder what she sees in him.
“And this is Piper Evans, Councillor Cameron Evans’s wife. They recently got married and she can’t stop talking about her honeymoon. Don’t fault her for it.”
I smile warmly at the black woman with short cropped hair who’s holding her hand to shake mine. She dismisses Jane with humour. “Don’t listen to this shrew. She’s jealous because her last trip that remotely looked like a honeymoon was a decade ago.”
The atmosphere between the three women is one of pure friendship and I find myself laughing along, and enjoying both the meal and the company. Michelle isn’t involved in politics, but as a board member at one of the elementary schools of the city, she stays informed. Jane and Piper, on the other hand, cannot stop talking about it. From the conversations, I’d think they’re the ones running the show and their husbands are the puppet presenting ideas to the general public.
“I have to ask, Giulia. Tell us more about you and Andrea. You said you knew each other for a long time and finally reciprocated his deep feelings, but it was so sudden. Andrea had quite the reputation before you came along. He was one of the well sought after bachelors of West Hill. And then one day, poof, he was married, and to someone no one knew. We can’t help but be curious.” Piper’s hazel brown eyes flicker with excitement.
The comment on Andrea’s previous conquests makes my blood boil. “Are you calling my husband a womaniser, Piper?”
I know I’m being a hypocrite here, but rational thoughts seem to leave my brain where Andrea is concerned. Venom spills out of my lips unbidden and I wince.
I’ve done my research on Andrea’s reputation. He intentionally stayed far away from anyone that gravitates in the same circle as he does and never slept with the same person twice. We are similar in that regard. I hate that people judge him for it. Besides, he belongs to me now.
I mean, for now.
“Of course not, Giulia. I’m sorry if it came out this way. I just mean that he was never seen with the same woman twice, so we all thought he’d never settled.” Piper wrings her hands together before placing them on her knees so I don’t see her anxious energy spilling out of her in waves. Shit. This jealousy isn’t like me.
“I apologise, Piper, I’m just very protective of him. I’d say he was just waiting for me,” I laugh to defuse the atmosphere. She just said out loud what everyone thinks in secret and I should be grateful for the opportunity to clear the air and build strong connections with powerful women in the community. I’m not about to have a cat fight over my husband’s past, for Christ’s sake.
I knew I was the talk of the town but being with the three women reminds me exactly how much. I know I’m getting nowhere without giving them a piece of myself. They already know the story of how we met and how we got married fast because we’re supposedly madly in love. Though the more time passes, the harder it is to keep my distance from the person who’s destined to leave me in the end.
“To be honest with you, Andrea is the cousin of my cousin’s husband.”
Their eyes widen at the coincidence. If only they knew he blackmailed me to marry his sorry ass.
“When I found out, somehow it brought me back to our time together and I couldn’t help but feel a connection there, something beyond the physical.”
“And I’m sure the physical is fantastic,” Jane purrs.
“Jane, don’t be crass,” Michelle says. “Are you okay with moving so fast? Miranda and I have been together for three years and are just now talking about marriage.”
“I’m not sure of anything when it comes to Andrea. That’s what makes it more exhilarating,” I say, and find myself to be truthful. “And between you and I”—I lean in conspiratorially, letting them know I’m about to impart a piece of knowledge they’re the only ones privy to—“our marriage will help him with his political career. I want to support him the best I can.”
They all smile before Jane places a hand on mine and assures me the secret is safe with them. We share a kinship. She doesn’t need to voice it for me to know her situation resembles mine.
I jump onto the opportunity to segway into my next topic and what I came here for, though I’m having more fun than I originally thought I would. “If he wants to beat Addams, who’s the example of perfect British pedigree, Andrea has to step up.”
Piper snorts. “Right.”
I frown and feign confusion, and it’s Michelle who gives me the golden nugget.
“Addams might look like the perfect Englishman, but I wouldn’t spend a minute with him alone.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Women in his entourage have a tendency to disappear,” she responds.
“You mean his colleagues leave town after working with him?”
“No, I mean the people no one cares about, like his maid or the nanny. And they don’t just leave town. They vanish.”
Jane tries to lighten the mood. “Come on, Michelle, these are rumours and hateful at that. He might be a political opponent, but slander isn’t what we do. Would you like to drink something else?”
“Jane is right, there’s probably an explanation,” I chime and don’t miss the look Piper and Michelle exchange. They know something Jane doesn’t.
We continue to chat lightly about inconsequential shit until Jane generously goes up to pay and Piper takes my hand. The tone of her voice is urgent and frazzled. She looks to her right and left as if expecting someone to be listening, then leans to me to whisper. “Giulia, I don’t know you well, but you have the attitude of someone who doesn’t give up once she’s found a bone. Please listen to me, don’t go looking into Addams’s history. It won’t end well.”
Michelle stays silent but seems to agree with Piper. I smile inwardly because now I know where to look.
I need to find the names of the maid and nanny that disappeared under Addams’s employ and follow the trail. If these two women disappeared without a trace, I can find proof that he hired someone to get rid of them. From that to killing Xan won’t be a stretch.
Despite the selfish objectives of this gathering, I enjoy Jane, Michelle and Piper’s company and we decide to take a stroll through town.
We’re on Main Street when I catch a glimpse of Andrea, seated at a minimalistic cafe. The man he’s talking to has his back to me, so I don’t see who it is, but he’s dressed to the nines. He shakes my husband’s hand and leaves.
I frown because that’s Alexsei Dobrev, leader of the London Bratva. Considering the last encounter we had with the Russian Crime organisation, when we lost Igor, my shoulders bunch up with tension.
“Thank you so much for brunch, let’s do that again some time.”
I leave my new friends and enter the Specialty Coffee Bar, where everything from the floor to the table to the La Marzocco coffee machine is white, giving me anxiety. I’m ready to ask Andrea for an explanation, when a tall blonde woman approaches him.
She wears high heels and a tight black dress. And her manicured fingers are touching what’s mine. Casually, she sits next to Andrea and place a hand on his heart and I see fucking red. My stomach burns and I almost pop my jaw by clenching it so tight.
“Who the fuck…”
The woman swipes her hair to the side, giving me a full view of her lean face with high cheekbones and pouty lips.
Irina Fucking Dobrev.
She’s Alexsei Dobrev’s sister, and unfortunately, I’ve had the displeasure of going to uni with the bitch. She’s as entitled as they come and obviously, didn’t hear through the grapevine that she’s going after a married man.
I walk through the place with belligerent energy. Irina is still touching him and I all but stomp to where they’re seated. I don’t catch what she says, but take great pleasure in Andrea’s uninterested look. He’s pushing her hand away and picking up his phone when I clear my throat.
Good boy.
I’m too enraged to notice the way his eyes light up when he finally notices my approach. Instead, I focus on the smirk on the corner of his lips. That will fucking go soon. Dead men don’t smirk.
“Marito,” I address him in Italian instead of Kalliste, driving my point home with just one word, “did you order for me already?” I punctuate my sweeter than poison tone with a peck on the lips.
“And who the fuck are you?” Irina asks with disdain, looking me up and down like I’m below her.
I smile sweetly. “Your worst nightmare if you don’t get your hands off my husband.” I couldn’t be more of a cliche, threatening a woman who’s getting too close to what belongs to me, but I can’t help it. “It’s good to see you haven’t changed, Irina.”
Her eyes widen in recognition and she turns back to look at Andrea, whose eyes are set on me with ravenous hunger. I feel my cheeks heat at his perusal. “So it’s true? You’re married?”
“Yes, he is. Now, leave before I make you.”
“No need to be a bitch, it’s so unbecoming for a lady,” she snickers and I swear it takes all my willpower not to deck her right there.
“I’ve been told many times I’m no lady,” I say, looking into Andrea’s eyes with a tip of my lips. Irina’s falling to the background as we fixate on each other; she’s just an accessory to this conversation by now.
Andrea leans forward, his muscular forearms on his thick thighs. “Are you jealous, guerrieritta?”
I look back at Irina, a clear dismissal in my eyes, and when Andrea doesn’t look at her, she huffs and leaves, her cloying perfume filling the air and I want nothing more than to mark my husband with mine, making sure he smells like me and only ever like me. The primal sensation is unusual. I’ve never wanted to keep anyone around me. Maybe being kept was the issue. If I’m the one doing the keeping, it’d be fine?
“What if I am?” I ask boldly. I’m not one to be forthcoming with my feelings, but right now, pushing him away is getting me nowhere. I need a shift in paradigm.
“That’s against the rules, sweetheart.” Andrea’s lips tilt up in a taunting smile. He wants me to admit way more than what I just did. My anger flares up because once again, I don’t seem to be in control of the situation when it comes to him.
“There’s nothing in the rules about not having feelings,” I snap.
“Oooh, you have feelings for me?” he mocks.
“Don’t let it go to your head, I also have feelings for my dog. I miss her dearly.” I don’t have a dog, and I’m sure he fucking knows it because the man is as nosy as I am. “You want to tell me what the Dobrevs were doing here?”
He leans back and I sit next to him, our thighs touching and sending jolts of electricity along my leg up to my fucking traitorous pussy.
“Alexsei and I have a cordial agreement and meet regularly. I provide my cyber services and he gets me any sort of weapons me and my clients might need. Irina just so happens to tag along more often than not.” He adds that last part with a click of his tongue, dismissing her existence. But that’s not enough and I can’t let anything go apparently, so I sass him again. It’s my favourite thing to do.
“Don’t let her or any woman ever touch you again, Andrea, or they lose their hand.”
“Are you threatening me, guerrieritta?” He should be mad about it, not having this glint in his whiskey brown eyes. It’s unsettling. And thrilling.
I roll my eyes. “Fuck around and find out.”
I don’t miss the happy smile he gives, so far from the smirk he usually wears with me and I’m even more annoyed that I like it.
“So violent, guerrieritta.” His smile drops when he continues, “Alexsei Dobrev also got close with Ventura recently.”
“The Sicilian Mafia?”
He simply nods and keeps his voice low.
“The London and Moscow branches aren’t really in agreement.”
Meaning Dobrev isn’t behind whatever the fuck Misha Petrov is doing with women.
“That’s something we need to monitor, Andrea. Does he know where Igor is?”
Hope blooms in my chest. I already see myself calling Julian to tell him we found the love of his life and that he isn’t lost forever.
I still can’t wrap my head around how entangled we all are with Julian being Lana’s best friend, Pierce’s half brother and Igor’s husband. When Igor disappeared, exchanging his place for Lana’s in order to save her, Julian revealed that they got married in secret. With rings or not, these two were always destined for each other.
Unfortunately, my hope is short-lived when Andrea shakes his head.
“Something’s brewing within the Bratva. We need to keep an eye on them, but our focus remains on Addams. Dobrev confirmed the UK is still a source, which means my uncle Luc wasn’t Misha’s only dealer when it comes to people.”
I tell him about what I found out with Jane, Michelle and Piper and before I know it, my anger dissipates to accommodate something I’m not sure I’ve known with anyone other than Lana.
Companionship.