Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Stella
“We can’t stay here indefinitely, Stella. We have our own lives to get back to.”
My sister’s said this every day for the past two weeks, and I’m ready to slap her.
“I know, Aria. But I have no control over this. I didn’t control you coming here without a firm wedding date, and I don’t control you staying. You need to speak to Papa about that.”
“But why do you think Mano’s staying away? What’d you do to make him feel unwelcome? What’d you do to make him get cold feet?”
“Gia!”
“What, Mama? It’s true.”
“It is not. Don’t speak to your sister that way.”
“But—”
“Not you either, Aria.”
My sisters glare at me, but they stop talking.
They haven’t said anything I haven’t thought.
Did Mano find out about Tommy and me? Is he staying away because of that?
Is he waiting for us to fuck up somewhere, then spring a trap on us?
Is he sulking and licking his wounds that his younger, hotter nephew has my attention?
Or does he simply just not give a rat’s ass?
I think the last one is most likely. But we’ve heard nothing from him.
Before Papa and Mano signed the contract, Mano and I exchanged some emails and did some video calls.
He hasn’t even sent a text. I’ve tried to ask Tommy, but he shuts me down before I can get more than three words out. It pisses me off.
I know he’s covering for his uncle, which would be fine if this didn’t affect any potential future Tommy and I might have.
I know there’s a shit ton Tommy can never tell me, and he’ll lie about all of it.
It’ll be a boldface lie or one of omission.
Whichever it is, it just won’t be the truth.
If he knows of a way out of this, then why won’t he tell me?
If he knows there’s no way out, then why won’t he tell me? That’s not a secret he has to keep.
“What’s the deal with you and Tommaso, anyway?”
I stare at Aria for almost a moment too long. “There’s no deal. What do you mean?”
“You didn’t care when it was just Mano gone. While Tommaso was here, you were interesting. While he’s been gone, you’ve been sulking and a total drag.”
“I’m no different now than I was a week ago.”
“Yeah, you are.” Gia just has to chime in, and it’s making Edoardo stare at me.
“I’m annoyed Mano’s still MIA. With Tommaso gone, there’s no way to know what’s going on.
They’re both dragging their feet, and it’s at our expense.
They’re yanking our chains and proving we’re their bitches when it was supposed to be the other way around.
It’s obvious they’ve always believed they were in control.
That Mano marrying me is doing us a favor, not the other way around.
So, if I’m a drag and sulking, it’s because it feels like this prison sentence I’m waiting to start has been and will be for abso-fucking-lutely nothing. ”
That spewed forth a little more aggressively than I intended.
“My son is on his way here, so we should know more soon enough.”
I whirl around as Beatrice enters her living room. Last I knew, she was in her office on a call. Fuck me. She shouldn’t have heard any of that. Just how much damage have I done? I wish Papa was here, but he’s at the hotel on a conference call.
Open mouth, insert both feet.
I look over at my mom, and she shoots me the “children are to be seen and not heard look.” She’s not wrong. I should have ignored my sisters and not let them bait me.
“I have to finish the video conference I was on, but I wanted to give you an update.”
“Thank you, Beatrice.” Mama offers a gracious smile, even though I’m certain she’d love to stab Beatrice through the eye with a blunt spoon.
Once we hear her office door close, Aria and Gia close ranks. I’m not in the mood for this, so before they can do more than join me on the sofa, I excuse myself.
“I’m going outside. I’ll walk the length of the backyard. I’m feeling stir crazy.”
“We’ll go, too.”
Fucking hell, Aria.
My older sisters have always been a pain in the ass.
I’m the baby of the family, yet I’d say I’m the least spoiled.
My sisters don’t disobey my parents. They just get around what Mama and Papa expect, then they play helpless.
It’s not that neither of my parents see what they’re doing.
They’re just hard-pressed to do much about it now that we’re all adults.
I head to the French doors leading out to a beautiful terrace.
I wish I hadn’t packed my bathing suits.
I wasn’t thinking and tossed them in with the rest of my clothes.
I haven’t had a chance to go through my boxes yet because no one’s taken me to Mano’s house or given me a key.
It’s a blessing in disguise because I pray I never open them there.
“You’re into Tommaso.”
I look askance—or at least try to—at Gia. “I don’t know him well enough to be into him.”
“Bullshit. You know you can’t have him.”
“Which is fine because I never said I wanted him.”
“He’s a killer, you know.”
I stop short, and both of my sisters step past me before turning back to look at me. I furrow my brow, shake my head, and sigh.
“Gia, that is not news. So are all the men in our family, too.”
“No, I mean, he enjoys it. It’s not just part of being in this world. He goes after anyone who looks at him the wrong way. Anyone he doesn’t like the looks of. He went into a meeting a month ago and started shooting before they knew he was there. He did it just because he was in a hurry.”
“How the hell would you know something like that?”
She smiles as though she’s bursting to share a secret. I keep walking. I’m not playing her game.
“Who’re you sleeping with, Gia?”
“I found out before I did anything with the guy.”
“Yeah. The price for fucking you was information I don’t care about.”
“You should.”
I look over my shoulder at Aria when she snaps at me. “You fucking a Vizzini, too?”
She scowls at me. “You know I’m with Daniel. He found out shit about Tommaso after the scuffle at the pub.”
Scuffle? Okay. That’s one way of saying it. My sister has never been the master of understatement until now.
“You need to be careful, Stella. We’re serious. Aria and I are looking out for you. If you’re lusting after Tommaso, then you should know the man you want.”
“He’s not any different from Papa or Edoardo or Daniel.”
“Daniel told me a little about what Edoardo and the men saw at the pub. Apparently, he admitted to shooting a guy through the back of his head as he ran away.”
That wasn’t what happened. The guy wasn’t running away. He was probably going to hit an alert, but I don’t bother correcting her. It’d be pointless.
“Daniel said he stabbed and shot unarmed guys.”
“Daniel didn’t go in there until after he and Edoardo and the others opened fire.
He wouldn’t have known what was going on before that.
I heard men shouting in the bar while it happened.
I’m certain some of them dropped weapons as they fell to the floor.
Daniel shouldn’t tell stories he doesn’t know. ”
“Fine. Maybe Daniel shouldn’t have told Aria stuff he wasn’t sure about. But I heard from one of the Vizzinis that Tommaso is their head enforcer. He could hand it over to his brother who’s the capo dei capi since Tommaso’s the underboss. He doesn’t because he enjoys torturing men.”
“How does telling me any of this make a difference? I’m engaged to Mano not Tommaso.”
“But you have a crush on Tommaso. I bet you’d fuck him if you could get away with it.” Aria’s so smug—like always—I’d love to smack the smirk off her face.
“You’re just making shit up.”
If only she were. Why are they trying to convince me Tommy’s some kind of villain? Even if I admitted I’m into him, there’s nothing that can come of it since Tommy’s not here and neither is Mano. Even if both of them were here, Tommy hasn’t said anything about a way out of the engagement.
“Are you both pissed because you think Tommaso pays more attention to me than either of you?”
“You’re the one who’s already engaged. We’re both single.”
“Gia, you might be, but Aria just told us about how she’s with Daniel. If you want him, go for it.”
I only say that because I know there’s not a chance in hell Tommy would be into either of them. I can tell he only tolerates them for my sake and to keep the peace with Papa and Edoardo.
“If either of us wanted him, we could have him. There’d be nothing you can do.”
I turn back toward the house. “That shade of green looks good on you, Gia. It matches your jealousy.”
I ignore them as I go back inside. I’m tempted to lock myself in a bathroom to escape for ten minutes. Let them think I’ve flushed myself down the drain.
“Stella, may I speak to you?”
Fuck my life. What does Beatrice want now?
She ushers me into her office and offers me a seat on a sofa before taking her chair behind her desk. I swear this sofa is just low enough to put her half a head higher than even a tall person sitting here. She can truly look down on people.
“I heard you and your sisters.”
Heat radiates from my cheeks. Fucking hell.
“You offered them my son because you know he’d never want either of them. But he wants you, and you want him.”
“Bea—”
“Don’t bother. I know my son, so I can pick up on subtleties. But there’s not a damn thing subtle about either of your sisters, and they can tell you’re into him. They just don’t want to admit he’s into you.”
“How Tommaso and I might feel about each other is irrelevant. He’ll be my nephew soon.”
Creepy as fuck to say that aloud now that I’ve had his dick down my throat and his tongue up my cunt. I feel like a total perve.
“Exactly. Any relationship between the two of you is a disaster waiting to explode. You will cause nothing but trouble if you pine and lust for my son. As is, people are talking about the two of you. You’d do well to show everyone you’re committed to Mano.”
Oh, she’s good. She’s real good.