Chapter 2
Bianca
Fifteen Years Old
“Say hello to Gino, Bianca,” my father says, nudging me closer to the lanky boy standing before me.
“Hello.”
Gino glares at his father, his hazel eyes showing his animosity. “I don’t want to marry her .”
His father smacks him upside his head, and my father frowns.
Gino’s father apologizes fiercely, knocking his elbow into his son’s arm. “This is the daughter of Don Amato, and it is an honor for you to marry her. Do not disrespect Bianca at her birthday party.”
“Sorry.” Gino’s eyes roam over me, and I hate the way they hold contempt. Actually, more like disgust. I know I’m not paper thin like all the girls in Miami who belong on the cover of a magazine, but the way Gino stares at my body makes me feel ten times heavier. He’s not exactly my fairy-tale prince, but you don’t see me being rude.
I fidget my hands down the silly black dress my father made me wear, wondering if I could use my Spanx to strangle my future fiancé. “I don’t want to marry you either, but we don’t always get what we want.”
He gives me a resting bitch face that rivals Esmeralda’s. I can tell Gino is a jerk. A pompous jerk, and I turn my nose up at him. You’d think this tradition of arranged marriages ended centuries ago, but no such luck.
Sure, I could say no, but my father has been molding me to take over his company one day, and he says Gino will be a good fit for the family. It all seems so far away. Like it will never really happen. I think it’s why I don’t mind entertaining the idea.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to… um, do some things.”
Before my father can disapprove, I pivot on my heels and spot Costi walking across the patio. My heart rate speeds up at how handsome he looks in a white dress shirt and black pants with his unruly dark hair tamed. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him so formal, and I really expected him to show up in jeans and a t-shirt.
Our eyes meet, and I can’t help the grin that splits my face.
I cross the lawn where the party is being held and meet up with Costi.
“You look different.”
“Do I look like a man?” he asks, puffing out his chest covered in a crisp white dress shirt.
I try to catch my breath, but my face catches fire at his words, because he does look older. “Kind of.”
He winks. “Good.” He nods in my father’s direction. “Who’s that guy you were talking to?”
Ugh. I don’t even want to tell Costi about my impending betrothal. It all feels so make-believe. “Some guy my dad knows.”
“No, I mean the boy our age.” He points right at Gino.
I pull his arm down so Gino doesn’t see us gawking and pointing at him. “Nobody.”
It’s no use, however, because Gino moves toward us.
“Doesn’t look like a nobody.”
“His name’s Gino.”
“Who’s this?” Gino asks, jutting his thumb toward Costi.
Costi backs up a bit. “If that finger gets any closer, I’ll break it off.”
“Constantine.” I park a hand on my hip. This is so unlike him. “Why are you talking to him like that?”
“Oh, you’re gonna take his side?” Costi says to me, his dark eyes wide.
“Sides?”
“Who are you? Her bodyguard?” Gino sneers at Costi.
What’s going on?
“If you plan on hurting her in any way, then yes, I’m here to guard her body.”
I blush crimson red at the mention of my body.
Gino sneers. “No problem there. I don’t plan on doing anything with that heavy body.”
I rear back at his words, embarrassed, and Costi doesn’t even skip a beat. He punches him square in the jaw.
Chaos erupts as the boys tackle each other to the ground, and I step back, shouting.
Some of my actual bodyguards move in, separating them. Costi huffs as he tries to get out of their hold, his eyes on fire. I’ve never seen him this angry.
In my peripheral vision, I see my father hurrying toward the commotion.
“What’s going on here?” he asks.
“Nothing,” Costi says, freeing his arm from Levi, the man who has a hold of him.
The sun sets in the distance and I try my best to keep the tears at bay as Costi and Gino describe their versions of what happened. Once they’re made to apologize, the party resumes and people return to laughing and chatting, like it’s nothing. Everyone except Costi.
He grabs my hand, gripping possessively. “Want to get out of here?”
“Yes,” I say without even thinking.
No one notices us sneak away from the backyard, my hand still in his, and we walk in silence until our shoes hit the beach. I quickly remove my black flats and let my toes sink into the cool sand. The night comes on fast, creating a sea of stars above us, glistening off the cresting waves along the shore. It’s a peaceful night. One with many possibilities and I feel a slight tingle of nerves low in my belly.
I’ve been alone with Costi many times, but for some reason tonight feels different. We make our way closer to the surf and before taking a seat on the sandy beach, Costi rips off his shirt, placing it on the sand for me to sit on.
I suck in a breath. I haven’t seen him without a shirt on in ages, and he’s grown. I stare at his chest, trying not to blush as my eyes roam over his body.
As if Costi doesn’t notice, he stares straight up into the sky.
“What do they say to you now?” I ask him, not forgetting our tradition of listening to the stars.
It’s been years since we sat together, blanketed by the twinkling stars. Lately, we haven’t been able to spend much time together because Costi’s mother has kept him away from me.
She says I’m a bad influence on her precious boy. Please. He’s the most honest teenager I know. Wait until she finds out the girls at school would like to influence him in a much worse way.
“I can hear them now.” Costi raises a brow. “They won’t shut up.”
I rock into him, nudging him with my elbow. “That’s not true.”
He smiles, rivaling the celestial beings in the sky. “Seriously, they won’t stop talking. The stars must all be girls.”
“Ha-ha.” I swat at him playfully. “That’s not nice. But yeah, they are probably all girls.” I return my attention to the twinkling lights dancing for the moon, because when I’m this close to him, my stomach somersaults. “I don’t think boys could sparkle as bright.”
“Hey, that’s not true.” He glances at me for a moment before staring back at the night sky. “Maybe you’re right. Men aren’t meant to sparkle.”
“You’re not a man.”
“Am too.” Costi scowls at my words.
“You’re barely a teenager. Fifteen isn’t a man.”
“I am a man. And I do manly things.”
I snicker. “Like what?”
“I shave, for one thing.”
“Really?” I run a hand over his smooth jaw, my breath catching in my throat. “That’s definitely manly. You also punch people.”
He frowns for a second. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
I run my fingers through the cool sand. “He wasn’t looking at me in any certain way.”
Costi’s dark eyes meet mine. “Was too. Who is he?”
I breathe in deep, gaining courage, and let it out slowly. Yet, I can’t tell him. “A big jerk,” I say instead.
Costi laughs so loud I think the stars in the sky can hear him. “Yeah, he really is.”
I study Costi for a second, memorizing this moment. This is the perfect birthday. Take away the party and all the events of the party, but right here and now is perfect. When I think about marriage, I’ve always envisioned marrying Costi, but I know that will never happen. Someone who looks like him would never want someone like me.
“What other manly things do you do?” And then I take the teasing too far, but I want to know this answer more than whether the stars talk to him. “Have you kissed anyone?”
Sparks zing through my fingers when he clasps my hand in his.
“No.” His dark gaze slides to mine. “Have you?”
I shake my head, dropping my gaze to the new muscles he has on display. He’s changed so much over the last few years, grown taller than me by at least a foot, lost the innocence of childhood in his face. All the girls at school want to be my friend to get close to him.
“Why haven’t you?” I dare to ask. “It’s not like you don’t have girls falling at your feet.”
He leans back, bracing on his palms. “I don’t want to do that with just anyone. Ya know?”
“Well, you have to do it with someone, eventually.”
He stands, taking my hand to get me to my feet as well. “Want to know what the stars are saying to me?”
“Yes,” I reply.
Costi steps closer, wrapping his arm around my waist, ghosting his thumb along my hip. “They’re telling me I should kiss you.”
“Kiss me?” My ears must be on the fritz, because I can barely comprehend what I’m hearing.
Have I thought about kissing Constantine Gold? Heck, yeah. But I always thought we’d be much older. I’d be experienced. To be honest, I’ve never kissed a boy. I’m not sure if I even know how. “Yes, they said I should kiss you like the man I am. We should be each other’s firsts.”
There’s no chance to question anything, because he leans in and plants his mouth over mine, stealing my breath. Stealing my innocence. My pulse pounds in my ears, blocking out the chirp of crickets and music drifting from the party. He roams his lips over mine, opening my mouth and sliding his tongue inside.
At first, I stiffen, but he grips me tighter, and I explore his tongue with mine. He moans, and I heat all over, like I’m standing too close to a fire. My hands fist his warm skin, and Costi deepens the kiss, running his hand into my hair. I’m kissing my best friend. And god, what a kiss. I kiss him until I’m dizzy, wrapping my arms around his neck, playing with the loose curls at the back of his neck. An ache forms low in my tummy, winding itself into a knot, but feeling like it’s going to unravel any minute now.
He breaks the kiss, panting, and his brown eyes gaze at me. “I’ve been wanting to do that for about two years now.”
“Really?” I’m ready to lean back into him for more when I hear my father’s voice from further down the shore.
“Bianca, is that you out there?” he hollers. “I need to talk to you.” My father’s voice is urgent, and an uneasy feeling replaces the burn in the pit of my stomach.
“Do you think he saw us kissing?” Costi whispers, snatching his shirt from the ground and throwing it on, buttoning each button as quickly as possible.
“I don’t think so.”
My father has a distinct angry tone when I do something I’m not supposed to, and the one he has right now is not that.
It almost sounds like he’s worried.
When we make it to him, several of his men flank him. A crease deepens between his eyebrows when his gaze darts to Costi.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“There’s been an accident. Costi, we need to get you to the hospital… your mother.”
Costi is in motion before I can even comprehend what my father means. “Is she ok?” he asks my dad.
“Not sure. We’ll take my SUV. Come on, Bianca.”
The two of them are nearly at the front of the house before I spring into action, racing after them. Costi looks pale as he climbs in the front seat as I pile into the backseat of my father’s black SUV. When we get to the hospital, I’m the last person inside.
I hate hospitals. The white walls and medicinal smell. The sadness and fear in people’s eyes. Healing lives here, but so does death.
It’s where I lost my mother. Where she clung to life for two days after being shot. Memories of my father bringing me here to say goodbye choke me as I stare at the big building.
I force my feet to move through the glass sliding doors and follow behind my father and Costi, listening as they ask a woman behind a desk for information.
The moment I’ve been dreading happens when a man in a white lab coat comes toward us, his expression unreadable.
“I’m so sorry. The car caught fire and…” The doctor’s words fade away and so do I.
“I don’t belong here,” Costi says at dinner, his eyes lacking their usual luster.
“Yes, you do,” I say, dropping my fork.
Costi is staying with us while they try to locate his father, and I don’t know what this means for our future, but I’d be lost without him.
It’s been a few days since Esmeralda’s funeral, and I’ve tried to give Costi space. I’ve also tried to be there for him, but every time I enter the room, he retreats to another one.
My father says to give him time and space, so basically I’ve been a lurking stalker.
I push away my shrimp scampi, no longer in the mood for food.
“Is it wrong for me to say that I’m not sad?”
“No. I think you’re in shock.”
His dark eyes meet mine. “I mean, I’m sad, but I don’t know… she wasn’t exactly a nurturing type of person.” He blows out a breath. “I feel guilty.”
I touch his hand. “Costi, it’s ok. Your mother loved you.” My heart bleeds for my friend, and more than anything, I wish I could make it better for him.
My father enters the dining room, looking grim, and I remove my hand from Costi’s.
“I need to speak with you.” My father sits next to Costi, and my breath stays in my lungs because I feel what he’s about to say will change my world. “We’ve located your father and he would like for you to come and live with him. Legally, this needs to happen because you’re not eighteen years old, but ultimately, the choice is yours.”
My mouth hangs open as I stare at my father, unable to put into words how badly I don’t want Costi to leave.
“Where’s my father?” Costi’s voice is strained as he stares at the mahogany table.
“Greece.”
My eyes go wide. “Greece? You can’t move to Greece. That’s a world away.”
My father ignores me, commanding the room. “If you stay here, there’ll be no more fighting. Understand? The Valucci’s are important people, and his son, Gino, will marry Bianca someday.”
I wish my father would leave. Every word out of his mouth is worse than the one before it.
Costi’s eyes shoot to my father, and he lets out a quick burst of laughter. “Married?”
My father nods. “Many years down the road, but yes. One day.”
I drop my gaze to the half-eaten food in front of me when Costi looks over at me. “You’re going to do it?”
“She has no choice,” my father answers for me. “I’d like for you to stay, Costi. You can continue living with us and attend school. Nothing has to change for you.”
Costi rises from his seat. “Everything’s changed.”
That’s not what he’s supposed to say. My heart cracks as he leaves the room in a hurry.
Later that night, I toss and turn, unable to think about anything other than the disappointed way Costi looked tonight when he found out about me and Gino. I punch my pillow, trying to make it more comfortable for me to fall asleep. It doesn’t work.
I lie in the dark, listening to the sound of my beating heart.
My door creaks open and I stiffen.
“B,” Costi whispers. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” I whisper back.
He moves into the room, shutting the door behind him. My father is right down the hallway and would probably murder Costi if he found him in my room in the middle of the night, but the danger of the situation fades when Costi slides onto the bed with me.
We lie on our backs, me under the covers and him on top, staring at the ceiling lit only by a small sliver of moonlight filtering into the room from the window.
“You can’t marry that jerk.” His voice is low, barely a whisper.
“You know my father. I can’t say no.” I wish I could, but my father is all-powerful and his business means more to him than anything. I wish it weren’t the case, but it’s true. And I understand this. Because I plan on leading the business someday, and I’ll need a powerful family on my side.
Ugh. I don’t want to become this way.
I want to sit on the beach forever with Costi and kiss under the stars with him.
Costi reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers. “He can’t make you happy.”
I giggle softly, knowing very well that Costi is probably correct. A guy like Gino could never make me happy. “I know.”
He squeezes my hand. “This world is fucked up.”
“Yeah.”
Costi’s thumb rubs tiny circles against my palm. My heart hammers in my chest as I try to keep my breathing under control. I don’t want him to know how much this is affecting me.
I close my eyes, fighting the sleep that tries so desperately to pull me under. I snuggle closer to Costi, listening to the sounds of his soft breaths, wanting to live in this moment forever.
When I wake in the morning, Costi’s gone, and I wonder to myself if I dreamt the whole thing.
A week later, it’s determined Costi will go live with his father in Greece. He never even says he’s sorry for leaving. Just decided to go. I try to pretend I’m not saddened by the news, but I’d be lying to say I’m not completely devastated.
Heartbroken.
I try not to cry the day Costi leaves, but my heart weeps, watching him grab the last of his things.
I force my feet to not run after him when he tells me he’ll miss me as he walks away. Will he really miss me? Why didn’t he stay?
It feels like someone punched me in the stomach as I watch the car drive away, taking him to the airport so he can fly to his new home. Without me.
My father tells me everything will be ok. But will it?
My entire life changes at the drop of a hat, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.