Chapter 27
Harlow
Vera walked like she owned the city, which I guess technically she and Roman did.
I didn’t understand how the bratva worked, but Caterina was queen in Chicago and ruled with an iron fist. From what I’d heard and saw, Vera and Roman were rulers of their own kingdom.
I envied Vera. I wanted to stand tall by Caterina’s side without fear and anxiety holding me back.
Maybe one day I could be the fearless queen Caterina deserves and rule by her side, but a part of me felt like that wouldn’t happen until Vincenzo was dead.
“This is my favorite boutique to go to when I want to find clubbing clothes.”
“Clubbing?” My only knowledge of ‘clubbing’ was Vincenzo’s strip club.
She grabbed my hand, hearing the panic in my voice. “Dancing. Sorry, I should have been more specific. Roman has a nightclub.”
“Is it fun?”
“Lots. There’s a bar and he has an amazing DJ. We could go, if you’d like.”
“Maybe, I don’t know how I’ll react with a lot of people, but I am tired of being scared.”
“Well if you do want to go, you won’t have to worry because we have overprotective partners. I’m sure if anyone even thought about touching you, Caterina would kill them on the spot.”
I smiled, thinking about the incident when I met with Mallory for the first time.
Even before Caterina admitted her feelings for me, she was always protective of me.
It was hot because while she was overprotective, she wasn’t suffocating.
I think I would be okay going dancing, especially if I had her with me.
“Come on now, let’s find something hot to wear.”
There were so many different options of clothes in this boutique, but I wasn’t sure how any of them would look on me.
Caterina loved me in anything, but my mind was its own monster when it came to my self-image.
It was something I was working on, but it was hard trying to love my body when other people destroyed it.
It helped having a woman who worshiped me like I was a goddess descending from the very heavens.
One day, I would be able to love myself how Caterina loved me.
My eyes found a stunning red dress with lace, embellished with embroidery and dazzling sequins.
I frowned, brushing my hands over the fabric.
A dress like this was gorgeous, but it would show more skin than I was comfortable with.
I dropped my hand and diverted my attention to other dresses, but I caught Vera’s eyes.
“Get the dress,” she chimed, pulling it off the rack.
I pressed my lips together and gave her a pitiful look. “It’s not going to look good on me.” I wasn’t nearly as insecure anymore, but I was scared of what people would think when they saw my scars. With how low the front of the dress was, some of my scars would be prominent.
“Put the dress on and let me be the judge of that; respectfully, of course. I don’t need my husband and Caterina fighting for my honor.”
I took the dress from her hand and walked to the dressing room.
It was a gorgeous dress, and even if I didn’t like it, I could at least admire its beauty.
When the dress was on, I looked at myself in the mirror, amazed at how the dress hugged my body.
My curves were coming back and my figure looked breathtaking.
I looked at my legs and knew I would wear tights because of how short it was, making the scars on my thighs peek out.
My chest and shoulders were displayed more, showing prominent cigar scars.
My hands brushed down the fabric as I stepped out of the dressing room.
Vera’s eyes grew wide as her eyes devoured me.
“Damn, Cat is one lucky woman. Can I send her a picture?” I nodded and posed awkwardly with a bright smile.
I still didn’t know the proper way to take pictures, but I wanted her to see me in this dress.
“Obsessed. Now if you are worried about your arms, they have this. It’s a tulle bolero, and it matches the color perfectly. ”
I grabbed the cover up and slipped it on before turning to face the mirror. The sleeves perfected this dress even more. I felt beautiful and confident. This would be the perfect dress to go clubbing in with Vera and Caterina.
When we were finished shopping, Vera dropped me off at the townhouse where Caterina greeted me at the car door and gave me her hand. “I see she didn’t corrupt you.”
Vera scoffed. “Please, we are best friends now. Oh, and I am sharing a dance with your wife at Mirage.” Before she could say anything, Vera rolled the window up and the car drove off.
“You want to go dancing?”
I nodded with a soft smile. “Yeah. I think it will be fun, and I can be with you in that dress.”
“You bought it?” Her lips spread mischievously. “So I really can tease Vera by taking that dress off of you. But if it’s something you want to do, then we can go.”
“I think I do. It will be fun, and if I can’t handle it, I know you’ll bring me home. I can’t be afraid to live even if there are a lot of people.”
She pulled me into her and kissed me softly. “Then we’ll go whenever you want to. Now I have a surprise for you.”
Caterina took me to our room, putting a blindfold over my eyes as she pushed me into the room.
I heard the balcony door open before she gently pulled the blindfold off.
On the balcony was a gorgeous set up with dinner, candles, and a bouquet of blood-red roses.
I turned to face her, wrapping my arms around her neck.
This was the most beautiful thing anyone had done for me, and I wasn’t expecting anything like this.
“I love it. Thank you so much.”
“You deserve the world, bellissima, and I love seeing that smile on your face. We’ll enjoy tonight in, go dancing tomorrow, and spend the next week enjoying the city. And then for your birthday, we will have a romantic dinner, and the next day, we’ll go to the Met.”
“It sounds like the perfect plan.”