Chapter 11 Liana
LIANA
“You want to know what I really miss from before I got pregnant?” Izzy asks, walking into my apartment and tossing her coat and bag on my counter. “Wine. I haven’t had a sip of wine in months.”
I glance down at the two glasses of rosé I’m pouring for Amalia and me. “Is that a hint that you don’t want us to drink?”
“Oh, no, drink enough for me too.” She looks at my glass longingly, like she’s been yearning for it forever. “I’m just saying, a glass of wine would be really nice right about now.”
“You know, they say one glass of wine is highly unlikely to affect the baby,” Lux says.
“Oh, yeah, and are you willing to risk that with yours?” Izzy asks.
Lux shakes her head. “Oh, no. I’m too paranoid for that. Water has been my best friend during this pregnancy. Nice, safe, and bland. It’s doing me and baby girl well.” She taps her stomach.
“Exactly.” Izzy looks back at the glass I hand to Amalia with that look of longing in her eyes again.
Amalia freezes midair. “Are you sure you’re okay with us drinking? I don’t mind—”
“No, it’s fiiine. I’ll just be here. Watching. Waiting. Imagining it’s my lips touching the rim of that glass instead of yours.” Izzy says it so dramatically, I roll my eyes.
A laugh bubbles from Amalia’s lips. “Are you done with your theatrics?”
“Will I ever be?” Izzy says with a wink.
We head into my living room and take a seat on my sectional couch.
“I still can’t believe we’re going to be aunts soon,” I say. “How have the boys been holding up?”
“I have to beg Teo to let me out of his sight,” Lux says.
“Same with Nicco,” Izzy says. “I thought that boy was overly protective before, but now it’s like my every move is being watched. You know he wanted to come over here tonight with me?”
“Teo too,” Lux laughs out, shaking her head.
“That sounds about right,” I say. “You want to know who I’m interested to see how he acts around his pregnant wife?” I raise a brow at Lux and Izzy, then glance at Amalia, who’s sipping her wine.
Her eyes widen and she nearly chokes. “E-Enzo? Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine …” She pauses for a moment, surely contemplating those words we all know are false.
“Actually, that man is completely unhinged,” she continues. “There’s a possibility he’d lock me in our room.”
We all laugh.
“I don’t think I could handle a man like that,” I say, then take a sip of my wine.
“I don’t know. The protectiveness is kind of hot,” Izzy says.
“I always thought a guy like that would be overbearing too,” Amalia says, “but there’s something really fucking—”
“Sexy about it,” Lux finishes. “When your man goes feral with this need to keep you safe … Or he’s just so blatantly obsessed with you. I don’t know. It’s all pretty hot.”
“Agreed,” Izzy says with a nod. “It’s like the ultimate form of desire. What’s not to love about that?”
I give a loose shrug. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like my thing,” I say with a small chuckle.
“You’ll see. One day you’ll find a man who’ll do anything to keep you safe, and you’ll see where we’re coming from,” Izzy says.
“Eh, we’ll see about that,” I say, brushing her comment off.
“And the sex? Shit, I honestly don’t know how you’re celibate, Liana. That vibrator of yours will only hold up for so long,” Izzy says.
We all laugh.
I haven’t dated since college. I had a slew of dates that didn’t work out well, and when the last one I went on ended up with the guy shitting himself, I decided to give up.
I took it as a sign from God telling me to focus on my career instead, because who the hell has that much bad luck when it comes to dating?
“Speaking of, what’s going on with the Alessia and Massimo situation?” Lux asks.
I let out a sigh. “Absolutely nothing.”
“That sigh didn’t sound like nothing,” Amalia says.
Izzy stares at me, probably waiting for me to tell them I met with him again.
“I tried talking to Massimo last week, but once again, I got nowhere.” The irritation is so prominent in my voice, the girls exchange concerned glances.
“What exactly happened?” Izzy asks. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up since you went to his office.”
“Oh, you know, just the typical dickwad Massimo trying to extort me into marrying him.”
“Well—and I mean this in the nicest way—what did you expect to happen talking to him?” Izzy asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I just mean, after we talked with Alessia, I kind of assumed you were going to talk to Massimo about … I don’t know … his proposition?”
“Yeah,” I say with an exasperated sigh, “I was planning on possibly making some kind of arrangement with him, but the more he spoke, the more irate I got with him.”
“What did he say?” Lux asks.
“He acts like he knows me.”
“I’m sorry?” Izzy raises a confused brow at me.
“He acts like he knows me,” I repeat. “Sure, he knows some random things about me like my favorite food and my favorite color—which is kind of strange—but then he went off trying to tell me why I’m not willing to marry him.
As if being forced to do something isn’t a good enough reason to not want to do something.
Or, gee, the fact that I just simply do not like him? ”
“What did he say is your reasoning for not wanting to marry him is?” Amalia asks.
I scoff. “He says I’m scared.” Finishing my glass of wine off with one large gulp, I set it on the little table beside the couch and glance at my friends. They’re all staring at me as if they’re expecting me to say something else.
“Which is obviously ridiculous,” I rush out, which seems to pull them out of whatever moment they were just in.
“Yeah, definitely,” Lux says at the same time Izzy says, “Oh, yes, of course.”
I glance over at Amalia, who continues to sit there quietly with a crinkle in her brow.
“What is it?” I sigh out.
She shakes her head. “Oh, no, nothing.”
“I know that look on your face. There’s something you want to say.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “It’s just … Do you think Massimo might have a point in saying that?”
Izzy’s eyes widen, and Lux darts hers back and forth between Amalia and me.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You know, it’s not really my place to say. Just ignore me. I don’t really know what I’m talking about.”
“No, please, Amalia. We’ve all gotten very close. I see you all as sisters. Whatever you have to say, I’d really like to hear it.”
Amalia glances at Lux and Izzy before settling her gaze back on me.
“It’s just, I know you haven’t wanted to date anyone in this …
line of work because of everything that’s happened to your family.
Your parents, your aunt and uncle. I assumed you were resistant to dating anyone in this world because you’re worried about the pain and suffering it’s brought. ”
“I mean, yeah, that’s part of it,” I mutter, moving my attention to Lux and Izzy, whose eyes are pinned on me. “Is that what you guys think too? That I’m just scared to open myself up to Massimo out of fear of what could happen?”
Izzy shrugs. “It’s not a bad thing to be scared, Liana. You have every right to be wary of the men in our world.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think that’s a big part of it, but also, I know the kind of man Massimo is. He’s selfish. He’s a player. He’s …” It dawns on me quickly that I don’t know a ton about him other than he’s apparently persistent.
“I don’t know. He’s a man who likes to flaunt women around my place of work, and a man who’s now trying to use extortion to control me.
No matter what, I could never be with someone like that.
I have a business that is my number one priority in life.
I’m not going to let this world pull me into a marriage that forces me to put it on the back burner. ”
Amalia, Lux, and Izzy are staring at me with what looks to be empathy, but it seems like there’s something else that could be there too.
“We get it, Liana,” Lux says. “You don’t have to explain your reasoning to us. We completely understand.”
Izzy shakes her head. “It really is a shame Massimo can’t just be a decent human being and talk to his capo.
I really feel for Alessia. She doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her.
Finding love is … Well, it’s magical. Finding the man she wants to spend her life with and then having to stand by while her father destroys his life.
I can’t imagine what she’s going through.
To sit idly by and not be able to do a damn thing. ”
“I know. Trust me. I’ve tried with Tommaso. I’ve tried with Massimo, but … I don’t know. I’m all out of ideas.”
Izzy places her hand on my arm and squeezes it. “Hey, I know you and Alessia have a close relationship, but in the end, this is not your responsibility, and she knows that. She would never expect you to marry Massimo to help her.”
I give Izzy a solemn look. “I know, it’s just, you know how I see Alessia.
She’s been coming around the boutique since her freshman year at CU, and I’ve kind of taken her under my wing.
I was so excited when she asked me about the intern position.
She reminds me so much of myself, and I just want to be there for her. ”
“I know, but you cannot beat yourself up for what she’s going through. You tried, okay? Remember that. You tried,” Izzy says.
I give her a small nod and a tight smile. She might be right. Fixing Alessia’s problem with her boyfriend is not my responsibility, but if that’s the case, then why do I still feel terrible knowing I’ve failed her?
Internally shaking my head, I try to pull myself out of this need to help Alessia.
I’ve tried, but getting married to Massimo is out of the question.
I’ve worked too damn hard building a name for myself in the fashion industry.
I’m not going to let him squander all my hard work away because of his purely selfish behavior.
He will never control me. I’m sorry, Alessia, but I can’t.