Chapter 19 – Sienna
SIENNA
Checking to make sure nobody’s watching, I run my hand over my hip, loving the feel of the cool, slinky fabric against my palm. I've never worn anything this expensive in my life.
Carmella refused to let me see the price tag, correctly suspecting that if I knew how much it cost, I’d freak out about even wearing it.
The diamonds in my ears catch the light every time I move.
I hold the champagne glass out in front of me, pretending to look at the bubbles, like I know anything about champagne, while actually admiring the sophisticated French manicure that makes my fingers look long and elegant.
Even the shoes, delicate strappy things that make my legs look amazing, are more comfortable than any heels I've ever owned.
I thought stilettos automatically meant crippling pain, but apparently not. Apparently, that’s just for poor people.
“Another?”
Dipping my head in gratitude, Nico swaps out my drink for a fresh one.
Luca’s across the room, deep in conversation with a group of serious men who look just as dangerous as him.
Nodding along as Nico explains who’s who, I admire my ex slash potential husband over the rim of my glass.
There’s something so sexy about the way he commands attention without raising his voice.
People lean in when he speaks, hanging on to his every word.
He smiles at a joke one of them makes, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
I'm learning to read him again, remembering the tells I used to just know without realizing.
This is Luca in his element. Magnetic and charming, yet unmistakably lethal and completely in control. Watching him navigate this room full of powerful men like chess pieces is impressive.
“It’s something else, isn’t it?” Nico comments. “I can only listen to so much bullshit before I lose patience, but Luca, he picks up what they’re not saying. Reads between the lines. Always gets a nugget of information they never intended to give away from every person in the room.”
He’s a chameleon as he moves through the crowd. For some, he has a broad smile and a firm handshake, but for others, all they get is a dip of the head and a somber look.
“Once you’re married, you’ll be part of every conversation, but until then, well… people don’t like talking business in front of people they don’t know,” Nico explains, wanting me to understand why Luca had to leave me in the corner with his brother while he networks.
“If,” I correct Nico. “Nothing is agreed on yet.”
But he just smiles. “Sure.”
Luca glances over, a momentary check-in, giving me some intense eye contact and a giddy thrill before a familiar woman in a red silk gown glides past, her attention lingering on Luca longer than necessary.
He doesn't notice, or pretends not to, but I feel a flare of possessiveness deep within me.
When she inserts herself into their group and zeroes in on Luca, positioning herself right in his eyeline, my blood pressure creeps higher. Around me, a couple of people shift, their attention split between her and me, their sudden interest concerning.
As she leans forward and touches his forearm lightly, enough to suggest a closeness that few other people here seem to share with Luca, I hear the murmurs begin.
Nico inches his chair closer to mine. “She’s the niece of one of the other heads. That’s why she’s allowed to hear.”
I couldn’t care less what she’s allowed to listen in on. That’s not the part pissing me off.
Luca replies to whatever she says with a shake of his head, raising the glass in his hand to his lips so her hand falls away, but unbothered, she laughs, flicking her long hair, confident she has his attention.
Oblivious to the interest they’re drawing, Luca gives her a curious look before returning to his conversation.
But not to be dissuaded, she pretends to have something bothering her foot, bending and holding onto him for balance, as she fixes her ankle strap.
When she stands straight again, she leaves her arm holding his.
“I thought Luca brought a new woman,” someone murmurs behind me.
Nico looks to me, then his brother, then back to me before excusing himself and making his way to Luca’s side. He smiles and offers her his hand to shake, which forces her to release her grip on Luca’s jacket.
Hating the looks and whispers, I fight the urge to wipe my clammy palms on my beautiful dress. I drain my champagne and look around for a waiter, but Tony materializes at my elbow instead, facing out into the crowd, ever vigilant.
"Are you okay, Ms. Fox?" He never stops scanning the room but bends slightly so I can hear him.
"I need some fresh air, I think."
He nods and gestures for me to follow.
Luca tracks my movement with interest, even while maintaining his conversation.
Tony escorts me through the crowd and along the hallway to a set of double doors, opening out onto a large balcony with a magnificent view over the twinkling lights of the pretty garden below.
"I'll be right here." Tony melts back into the shadows with a brusque nod, giving me a moment alone.
The balcony is just as opulent as the rest of the venue, with lights draped above sumptuously covered seats and fresh flowers in planters at each corner.
I cross to the balustrade, gripping the ledge, and stare out at the clear night sky, trying to get a handle on the overwhelming emotions threatening to get the better of me.
I set my clutch down and take a deep breath. Jealousy and a lingering fear of rejection are leaving me feeling not quite good enough and definitely not as brave as I was lying in bed with Luca. And I feel like an idiot for falling apart the moment he has to leave my side.
If this is a test, I’m failing pretty spectacularly.
Maybe it’s for the best that Luca sees it now. I’m not the kind of person who can hide their feelings or lie particularly well, something I imagine Luca has to do all the time.
Finally ready to go back out there and smile, letting the humiliation wash over me with grace and poise before begging Luca to send me home, I glance up and see her, watching me from the double doors. Blonde and model thin, she's beautiful in a polished way that makes other women feel inadequate.
She smiles, but it’s not genuine. And I now recognize her as that bitch from Bellini’s whose Krug wasn’t cold enough. "So, you're Luca’s companion for the evening."
Of course, she doesn’t recognize me.
Smiling just as fake, I note how she reduces my place at his side to just this one event, like she’s already decided I won’t be invited again. She moves to the stone wall beside me, leaning her hip against it, and pulls out lipstick before applying it with ease.
"I have to admit, I'm surprised.” She drags her disdainful gaze over me slowly. “You're not his usual type."
Digging my nails into my palm, I try to channel my inner elegant party guest, but it turns out, I don’t have one.
"And what type is that?" I ask mildly, pretending I don’t already know Luca has a penchant for brunettes, especially curvy ones.
"Oh, you know. Someone like me." She slides her lipstick back into her clutch.
"One of us, someone who’s grown up in this world.
Someone who knows what Luca needs." Her wicked smile is meant to intimidate me, to make me think I can never give him what he wants, but all she’s doing is pissing me off.
A couple joins us on the balcony, followed by two men with cigars, and suddenly, it’s feeling a little crowded.
“If you’ll excuse me, I'd better get back. Luca will be looking for me,” I say, but she steps to the side, blocking my path.
"Luca and I have known each other a long time. Our families are close. We’re very, very close."
The implication hangs in the air between us. She seems to think this would come as some kind of shock to me.
"Oh, very, very close," I say flatly. “I’ll just leave now then, shall I?”
Her smile falters when I step forward, no fucks given anymore, and Tony moves a little closer, sensing the tension.
“Except, actually, I don’t think I will.”
This cloak-and-dagger, accosting me on the balcony, bullshit is all very Mean Girls, and I’m too jaded to get caught up in whatever cruel point she’s trying to make.
"Alfonso told me who you are. You should leave before he gets here,” she hisses, not happy that her attempts at intimidation aren’t making me more upset. “Alfonso wanted me to marry his son before Luca made that stupid pact, and he still does. You, he’ll squash like a fly if you get in the way.”
He’ll try. But this time, I’m already at rock bottom. There’s nothing else he can take from me.
When I don’t scurry away like she’d hoped, she tries another tactic.
“Did you know Luca was sleeping with me even when he was engaged to Kate?" That she thinks this is something to boast about, makes her even more vile.
“And you’re proud of this fact because…?”
She comes closer, close enough that I can smell her perfume, cloying and expensive.
I hold up a finger, letting Tony know I want him to stay back. Even though I can’t see him, I know he’s still behind me, somewhere in the shadows.
"He cheated on Kate with me. He's got you on his arm before Kate's even in the ground.
How long do you really think it'll be before he replaces you?
" She tilts her head, studying me like I'm nothing more than dirt she found on the bottom of her shoe, confident as hell that Alfonso’s going to install her as the next Calvano bride, whether Luca wants her or not.
My heart is pounding, but I refuse to let her see how much her words bother me.
I’m supposed to be the future wife of the future don. I don’t think getting into a hair-pulling, claws-out cat fight is the look I should be going for.
In a way, I feel sorry for her. Alfonso appears to be promising her things he can’t deliver, toying with her as he seems to do to everyone without remorse.
So instead of scratching her eyeballs out, I straighten my spine and meet her frosty stare head-on, aware we have the attention of everyone around us.