39. Matteo
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MATTEO
N ico Morrelli knew about my impending arrival even before I left New York City, what with the numerous security cameras tracking my every movement since I entered his state. And here I thought my father took our family’s safety to the extreme.
I would have refused the dinner invitation if I wasn’t so desperate to lay eyes on Arianna, who hadn’t replied to any of my messages.
Dinner was a loud affair, as they usually were, but there was an undercurrent of tension that had more to do with other things than my presence.
“Ari, have you been baking lately?” I asked conversationally, taking a bite of my steak.
A deliberate pause before she gave a curt answer. “Yes.”
“Anything special?”
“No.”
I grinned, deciding to move on to the next topic. “How are your classes going?”
“Fine.” One-word answers it is.
“What do you plan on doing after you graduate?”
“Nothing.” My molars ground as I actively avoided her father’s and brothers’ glares.
“I heard this phrase ‘feck your arse’ mentioned somewhere,” Hannah announced, her eyes locked on her phone. It would seem Hannah was nervous too, because she only word-vomited when she was on edge. It was her tic, just like baking was Arianna’s.
“What does it mean?” Hannah added, causing her brothers to snicker and her parents to choke on their drink.
“Hannah, not today,” her mother said softly.
“Even I know what ‘arse’ means,” Gianna added, rolling her eyes. “Use your imagination with feck .”
“Where did you hear that?” Nico demanded. “Whoever it is, he’s a dead man.”
“What makes you think it was a man?” Hannah challenged.
“Why are you saying ‘ass’ with an r ?” Arianna wondered, her brows furrowed. “Are we Irish now?”
“And why all these questions, Hannah?” Mr. Morrelli stated calmly while pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s like the whole world has gone crazy.”
“Yeah, like it’s on steroids,” Hannah agreed, adding another comment that made no sense. She really had to be having a bad day today. “Did you know that family hormones sync up and undergo changes at the same time?” Hannah continued innocently. I honestly didn’t think there was any hope deciphering that one.
“Are you gonna be a doctor now?” Gianna questioned. “Or psychiatrist? Gynecologist? Because I’m not even sure how to categorize that question.”
“Gianna, be nice,” Mrs. Morrelli scolded. “Hannah, sweetie, how about we talk about the latest book you’re reading?”
“Or we could talk about the upcoming wedding,” she suggested, but there was an uncomfortable gleam in her eye. “Or religion?”
Jesus fucking Christ. I was about to have my own nervous breakdown and kidnap Arianna, right here and now.
“Let’s leave the wedding topic for another day,” Mr. Morrelli suggested. “And I don’t think the devil, angels, or anything in between wants to deal with us today, so we’ll table the discussion about religion as well.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Gianna muttered.
Hannah stabbed her fork into the piece of chicken on her plate, which led to Arianna stuffing spinach into her mouth like her life depended on it. Everyone knew she fucking hated spinach.
Her father gave his head a subtle shake, and I swore he muttered, “These girls will give me a heart attack.”
I should feel sorry for the man, but I didn’t. This visit was my last courtesy, hoping to make him see reason. He didn’t, and so I was moving on to the second stage of executing my plan.
“Francesca and I have a date,” Cassius announced casually and I narrowed my eyes on him, forcing my body to relax. “I’m thinking about taking her somewhere… romantic?”
Gianna snickered. “Yeah, right. She’d never go out with you.”
“Maybe when hell freezes over,” Arianna muttered, her eyes meeting mine before looking away.
“I made hell freeze before,” I interjected. “I’ll make it freeze again if it’s the last thing I do.”
A heartbeat of silence followed, her parents’ gazes darting between the two of us before Hannah continued with her rambling.
“Don’t the Callahans have an Irish club? Take her there.”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I gritted, shooting daggers at Hannah while downright scheming for her murder.
“How do you know about their club?” Nico asked his daughter.
“What kind of club is it?” his wife asked innocently, taking a sip of her wine. Poor woman would need a whole bottle tonight to survive this shit.
“It’s some hardcore sex club,” Cassius drawled, and his mother spluttered all over the table.
Gianna and Arianna shared a conspiratorial look. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Morrelli girls found a way to sneak into it. I made a mental note to kill any Callahan who touched my girl.
“Oh relax. I wouldn’t call it that,” Hannah chimed in, finally done torturing the poor piece of chicken. “We should go out tonight.”
Her father shut it down immediately. “Tonight’s no good.”
Her eyes darted to me. “But Matteo is here and?—”
“No.”
Hannah looked to me for help, but reading my unhelpful expression, she turned to her brothers.
“Not tonight, sis.” was all she got.
“That’s bullshit,” she grumbled. “At twenty-five, you shouldn’t be allowed to control our movements.”
I suspected Morrelli’s reason for wanting to keep the girls home had everything to do with the Belles and Mobsters rumors. It was the same reason my dad had insisted Francesca and Mom stay within the compound. If he could stop Francesca from going back to D’Arc, he would.
“I heard something interesting,” Mrs. Morrelli cut in. “Anyone care to share what they know about the Belles and Mobsters auctions?”
Nico’s jaw clenched. “Not now, cara mia.”
“What the fuck is Belles and Mobsters?” Hannah muttered. “Some twisted, kinky shit?”
“Feck, fuck. Imagine that twist of a syllable,” Gianna noted. “Nobody is thinking kinky but you, Hannah.”
“Good luck with that one, Matteo,” Cassius mused. “But make her cry and you’re a dead man.”
“Hannah, I have to talk to you before I leave,” I said coolly, ignoring her father glaring at me.
Arianna’s gaze lifted and found mine, her face a deep shade of red, but then she shook her head and for the rest of the night pretended I wasn’t here.
“You should have told me, Nico,” Mrs. Morrelli scolded him.
He took her hand in his. “Don’t worry, cara mia. We have it handled.”
I’d never heard a bigger lie since nobody seemed to be capable of getting any leads on that matter, but when Morrelli’s eyes darted to mine, demanding my confirmation, I played along.
“Yes, everything is handled.”
I hoped I’d earned a point or two. For later.
“What did you want to talk about, Matt?”
I gritted my teeth together so I wouldn’t snap at Hannah. I fucking hated that nickname, but Hannah being Hannah couldn’t be told otherwise.
She sat on the armrest of the couch, crossing her legs. The living room was empty, yet I wasn’t stupid enough to think we were truly alone. All Hannah had to do was raise her voice and her brothers and father would appear.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She stared at me expectantly, a smile pulling at her lips as if she couldn’t help herself. It was really remarkable how the twins looked so alike yet were so different. “We need to discuss this engagement.”
“Mom said you want a long engagement to come to terms with… everything.” She waved her hand nonchalantly, her fingernails painted dark green like it was St. Patrick’s Day and not Labor Day around the corner. “That suits me fine.”
“No, it’s this engagement that doesn’t suit me ,” I stated firmly. “At all.”
“Then why was the marriage arrangement put in place?” Her delicate brows furrowed. “Kind of late to play hard to get again, no?”
I drew a deep breath into my lungs, praying for the first time in a long time. Do. Not. Lose. Your. Fucking. Temper.
“Hannah, I was never playing hard to get,” I said slowly, holding her studious gaze. “I never wanted to marry you .”
There was no chance she could have misinterpreted those words.
“That’s okay. But it’s all arranged now, so… yeah. Let’s not rock the boat.”
“Rock the boat?” I repeated.
She flashed me a smile. “Yeah. You and I… It’s just perfect.”
Okay, one twin was delusional and the other sat firmly in denial.
“No, we’re not perfect.”
She smiled, rolling her eyes. “I didn’t say we are perfect. I said it is perfect.”
“Meaning?”
She jumped to her feet and closed the distance between us. She pretended to remove a speck of nonexistent lint off my shoulder.
“It means I’m not letting you off the hook, Matteo.”
Why wasn’t I surprised one fucking bit?