Chapter Nine
ROME
“You need to remember everything and report it back to me,” Bee insisted from her spot on my bed, where she had been lounging for the last few hours. “And I mean everything.”
Bec had invited me to a charity event and, for some reason, believed I was wildly unprepared to attend…
as if I had no sense of decorum. I didn’t argue and instead spent three hours listening to all the ways I was expected to behave tonight.
This was our first proper outing as a couple since the official statement had been released earlier this week, confirming our relationship.
I wasn’t even allowed to dress myself for tonight’s event. Bec was on her way here now with a suit for me to change into. I guess my off-the-rack suits weren’t fancy enough for the likes of Rebecca Bly. Which… honestly… valid. I found them on clearance.
Bee was more excited than I was about my attendance.
She lived for the society news and gossip of New York City.
While the information usually had little interest to me, Bee was my secret weapon tonight.
I knew who was coming, who their dates were, the faces I needed to keep an eye on, and the drama that would be simmering underneath the surface at the party.
A knock sounded at the front door, and I could hear a stampede of feet running to open it.
Everyone was over the moon to meet Bec. My sisters were excited to get their payback and question my girlfriend, even if it wasn’t real.
My mom was less than pleased when I had explained the arrangement to her, but she was still curious about who Bec was.
All my mom wanted for her children was for them to be happy in every aspect of their lives.
She understood why I hadn’t settled down when in the Army, but now that I was back in my hometown, she was a bit insistent on me finding a real relationship and putting down roots.
She wasn’t naive to my previous escapades and knew I was trying to turn over a new leaf.
She respected Bec, but was worried about how this would all turn out for me.
To be fair, I hadn’t thought through what exactly would happen when this all came to an end. I didn’t know if I would lose my job or potentially ruin my reputation, but once I promised that I would stay in New York City even if this did end in smoke and flames, my mom calmed down a bit.
“Aren’t you going to go and greet her?” Bee asked.
I shook my head. “I wanna see how she fares against the piranhas we call our family.”
Bee chuckled but accepted my answer nonetheless.
It wasn’t that I wanted Bec to be eaten alive by my sisters, but I wanted to show my sisters who Bec really was.
Like the rest of society, they were all under the impression that she was this cold ‘Ice Queen’ the media had dubbed her, when in actuality, she was the opposite. She was strong, smart, and fiery.
Bec burned red hot, and it was time the rest of the world got to see it.
My bedroom door flew open, revealing a panting Livia with Bella at her side, holding a garment bag.
Bella wandered into the room and hung the bag on my closet door. “It’s Prada.”
I made my way to the bag and unzipped it, revealing a black suit, black shirt, and black tie. “Is that good?”
Livia’s eyes grew wide. “You don’t know what Prada is?”
“I’ve spent the better half of the last decade in a desert… sue me.”
Bella shooed our sisters out the door and started pulling the suit out of the bag, handing me the shirt first. “It’s an expensive brand. This suit costs more than Livia’s car.”
I took the shirt and motioned for Bella to turn around as I changed. The two of us had needed to share a room for most of our lives as children and had grown accustomed to routines such as these. She turned towards the wall and peered out of the front window.
I peeled off my work suit and replaced it with the surprisingly well-fitted shirt and suit pants. “You can turn around now.”
She obliged and appraised the look. “I know exactly what you need. Put on the jacket and your guns that you carry around everywhere.”
I sighed and affixed my ankle and hip holsters to my body. No one understood why I still carried the two guns with me everywhere I went, but between the nature of my job and my time in the Army, I had learned it was better to be safe than sorry.
I watched as Bella unclasped the necklace she was wearing before fixing it on me. She proceeded to unbutton the top two buttons on the shirt and positioned the necklace to her liking. “There,” she mumbled as she took a step back. “Skip the tie, it’s not you, and the chain completes the look.”
I took the small, silver R pendant between my fingers. All of my sisters owned one. Mateo had bought them for each of their twelfth birthdays. He wanted them to always remember their heritage as a Romano.
“R for Rebecca?”
Bella smirked, “Like I said… perfect.”
“Come on, Bella, let’s go show off this fancy suit to my fancy new girlfriend.” I winked and threw my arm over her shoulders as we made our way down the stairs towards the chattering voices in the foyer.
There were moments I wondered if moving back in with my family was the right decision.
When I moved back to New York City, I had looked at apartments, but kept feeling drawn to my family.
After being away for so many years, I yearned for their company.
I had more than enough money to live on my own, but I liked being here.
In fact, all of my sisters and I lived here. It was typical in our culture for adults to live with their parents longer than usual. Some of my old Army buddies had been shocked that I had willingly moved back in.
It was in moments like these that I was happy to be here.
Livia and Luna were standing in the corner, whispering to each other while casting glances towards Bec. Aria was sitting on the couch next to Mateo, while Bee and my mom essentially questioned Bec, playing the good cop, bad cop routine.
The view of my family warmed my heart, but just a glance at Bec wiped any thoughts of them out of my mind.
She was in a floor-length black satin gown with matching gloves that reached her upper arm. Her dark hair fell in waves down her back, and her lips were painted in her signature red.
Bec wasn’t just beautiful; she was as stunning as a sunset over the Caribbean… eclipsing all the beauty around her.
When her eyes met mine, there was a heat I wasn’t expecting. I guess she liked what she saw, too.
“Rome.”
“Rebecca.”
She smirked. “Where ever is your tie?”
I closed the space between us in a few large strides. While her heels were tall, she was still a head shorter than me. “Thought I looked better without it. As for you…” I took her gloved hand in my own and kissed her knuckles softly, “You, Bec, are breathtaking.”
She rolled her eyes before pushing my shoulder away. “You, Rome, are incorrigible. Ready to go?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words were taken away as my mom took my face in her hands and started rambling in Italian.
“Ragazzo mio, guarda come sei cresciuto. Devi trattare bene il tuo capo; forse non resterà finto per troppo tempo.”
My boy, look how you've grown. You have to treat your boss well; maybe it won't be fake for too long.
Her voice was laced with pride, even if I could only make out about half of her words, because she spoke too quickly. I knew they were only filled with love.
“Mom,” I smiled while peeling her off of me. “I have to go, which means you need to let me go.”
I kissed her on the cheek before handing her off to Mateo, who luckily was able to indulge in her random bouts of Italian. Her English was impeccable, but with Italian being her first language, it was bound to slip out from time to time.
I guided Bec out of the house and towards the waiting town car. While I would have loved to stay and chat with my family, we were on a tight timetable. I helped Bec into the car before following behind.
We had spent hours in this car together, and it usually consisted of her rolling her eyes while I pressed her buttons. It was often the best part of my day.
As the car pulled away, I stole a final glance at my parents’ house and barked out a laugh at the sight of all five of my sisters standing on the front steps waving us away. They were treating this night like I was going to prom or something.
I couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm and turned to face Bec, who was staring at my family with what looked to be envy, which couldn’t have been right.
Bec had enough money and influence to have anything she wanted, or do anything she wanted.
How could she be envious of the small brownstone that housed my family?
The house could fit into her apartment, maybe even twice. The eight of us were constantly in each other's way, practically tripping over each other. Could she be envious of that?
I cleared my throat, trying to gain her attention as we pulled away. “How did telling your brother about this whole relationship thing go? I have a feeling Will was less than pleased. Especially because, well… it’s me.”
Will had never been my biggest fan, though it was entirely my fault.
When I worked in Oregon, I took every opportunity to flirt with his now wife, for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of him.
I couldn’t even imagine how angry he would be that I was in a relationship…
well, a fake relationship… with his baby sister.
Bec smiled softly, “He’s actually completely fine with it. Said there wasn’t a better guy than you to do this with.”
“Seriously?” I asked incredulously.
Bec laughed, “No, he’s not happy. But not because of you, because of the entire situation. I also haven’t gotten a moment to thank you for doing this.”
I stared at my companion in shock. She seemed to be completely genuine, which was nearly unfathomable. Bec wasn’t thankful for me; she was usually pissed off at my existence.
“Are you still joking? You’re still joking, right?”