Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Never in a million years did I think I’d be going with Aurora to her parents’ house for dinner. And yet that’s exactly what we’re doing. After the doc left, with a pint of my blood in a bag, Aurora and I showered. More like we fucked in the shower and then washed off, but you get the point.
Now my hand is gripped tightly in hers—though she’s the one doing the gripping. I’m not sure what she’s got to be nervous about. No one here wants to kill her.
When we pass the gates, the guards whisper something into their earpieces. And by the time we reach the house, up the long as driveway, there are at least fifteen additional men standing in front of the landing.
Aurora ignores them and leads me up the few steps to the door. “Are you sure we’re supposed to be here?” I whisper into her ear before she opens the door.
“It’s my home, Connor. Of course we are.” It’s her home. Not it’s her parents’ home. “Well, it was mine. Now it’s… my childhood home. You know what I mean,” she clarifies, reading the expression on my face.
I do know what she means. I really need to sort shit out so she can come back to New York. She needs to be with her family. As much as she says she’s happy with me, and I believe her, she loves them too. And I want her to have everything she wants. I’m going to make sure she gets it.
I pull my phone out and send a text message to Cillian, who I’ve left in charge while I’m not there.
Me:
Anything?
After hitting send, I pocket my phone again. I’ve been in this house before, in Aurora’s bedroom. I risked everything sneaking in here, but it was worth it to be there for her when she needed me.
“This is where you grew up?” I ask, looking around the perfectly-decorated space.
“Mhm, why?”
“It looks like something from one of those magazines with homes and gardens and shit in them,” I tell her. It looks like a display.
“My mom is the best interior designer there is. What did you expect?” Aurora asks. Before I can answer, she turns back and yells at the top of her lungs. “Mama, you here?”
What does she mean? We were invited, weren’t we? Why wouldn’t her mother be here?
The sound of clicking heels approaches us as Aurora leads me farther into the house.
“Aurora, oh my gosh, what are you doing here?” Her mother reaches out, pulls Aurora into her arms, and kisses her cheek. Aurora doesn’t let go of my hand while she returns the gesture with her free arm.
“You said to drop in, so we did. What’s for dinner?” Aurora asks, looking past her mom.
“Ah…” Shit, we were not invited for dinner. “I’m sorry Mrs. Valentino. I thought… I can go.” I do not need her mother to hate me as much as the rest of them do.
Mrs. Valentino looks at me and smiles. “This is her home. She’s always invited to dinner. It’s nice to finally meet you, Connor.” Her eyes roam up and down the length of me. “I can see why my daughter is so lost in you. You’re quite the looker,” she says, and I don’t know why but I fucking blush.
“Um, thank you, ma’am.” I glance over at Aurora, who is trying her best not to laugh at my discomfort.
“Come on, we were just about to eat,” Mrs. Valentino says.
“Who is we?” Aurora asks, following her mother.
“You picked a night—that’s for sure, sweetheart,” Mrs. Valentino replies, and Aurora grips my hand tighter.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“Mhm, just making sure you can’t run away,” she tells me.
“I’m not running from you, princess, ever,” I whisper to her.
When we enter the dining room, I pause. The table is full of people. “Look, everyone! Princess came for dinner.” Mrs. Valentino turns and winks at me. Guess she heard that.
Aurora’s father is the first one out of his seat. He hugs her, clearly not liking the fact that she doesn’t release my hand as he does. “Princess, everything okay?” he asks her.
“Yep, Mama invited us,” she says.
“You invited them, Savvy?” Mr. Valentino asks his wife.
“It’s her home. She doesn’t need an invitation, Matteo,” Mrs. Valentino tells him.
“Her? No. But he sure as fuck does.” Mr. Valentino points to me.
“Papa, be nice.” Aurora glares at her father. “Mama, make him be nice.”
“Matteo, not here, not now,” Mrs. Valentino says, and just like that, Aurora’s father shakes his head.
“Come and sit down. You must be starving,” he directs to Aurora.
“Aurora, good to see you again.” An older man stands next. He looks me up and down—yep, another Valentino man who wants to kill me.
“Thanks, Nonno. This is Connor. Connor, my grandfather.” Aurora waves a hand between us.
She does this with everyone who’s sitting at the table, which is only every single one of her uncles and aunts.
After we take our seats, Aurora breaks the silence. “You know, considering he saved Dante from being killed today, you all could be a little nicer.”
I tense. That did not need to become public knowledge. And I don’t need these assholes to like me.
“Aurora, it’s the dinner table. We don’t discuss business at dinner.” This comes from her grandmother.
“Sorry, Nonna,” Aurora says. Her hand is still firmly closed around mine.
“I heard from Lily the other day. She said Levi was spending some time in Ireland,” her grandmother adds.
“Is he well? Hopefully he doesn’t get himself killed.” Aurora smirks. “You know that mouth of his is likely to be the end of him one day.”
“Have you seen him?” Her Uncle Theo asks.
Aurora lifts a single shoulder. “Last time I saw him, I put him on his ass in the ring. He thought he could beat me.”
“Good girl.” Mr. Valentino smiles at his daughter with pride.
The rest of dinner consists of a lot of random small talk. Thankfully, I get left out of most of it. Which I’m happy for. I came for her. She wanted this, and there isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do for her.
After all the dinner plates are cleared from the table, Mr. Valentino stands. “Connor, follow me.”
“Papa?” Aurora pushes up from her seat when I do the same.
“Not you, just him,” Mr. Valentino says.
“It’s fine. I’ll be right back.” I lean forward and press my lips to the middle of her forehead, and she melts into me. “Promise.”
“Okay.” She sighs and reluctantly drops my hand.
I follow Mr. Valentino out of the dining room. I expected his brothers to come with us but they didn’t. He leads us into his office and asks, “Drink?”
“No, thanks,” I tell him.
“You don’t drink?”
“Not much,” I say, because I’ve preferred not to drink lately. And tonight, I’m driving. I would never put Aurora at risk by drinking and then driving her home. “I’m driving.”
“Right. Sit down.” Mr. Valentino points to the set of matching brown leather sofas.
I don’t dislike the man. As far as fathers go, he’s a good one. I also totally understand his hatred towards me, because if it were me, I’d hate me too.
I sit down, and after he pours himself a drink, Mr. Valentino positions himself on the sofa across from me. “I heard what you did today. With the Albanians.”
I wait, because that wasn’t a question. Is he wanting me to incriminate myself? Because that’s not happening.
“What exactly are your plans, Connor?” he asks after a moment of silence.
“In regard to what, exactly?”
“Life? Are you planning on continuing with the organization? Are you giving up on Harvard for it?”
“I don’t think Harvard is an option for me anymore,” I admit.
“What if I said it was?”
“How?” I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“I submitted the last of the schoolwork you and Aurora did. It was left behind at Lorenzo’s. The school is issuing you each a diploma. You’ve already taken your SATs. All you have to do is accept their offer,” Mr. Valentino says.
“Yeah, it’s not that easy. You and I both know I can’t just walk away without putting a target on not only my back but also Aurora’s. I’m not doing anything that would put her at risk,” I tell him.
“What if I said I have a way for you to get out? Without any fallback.”
“Why would you help me?” I ask him.
“Because my wife wants our daughter home. I want my daughter home, and she’s not coming home without you. So, Connor, if I told you there’s a way out, would you take it?”
I consider his offer, even though he hasn’t actually offered me anything. Just asked if I’d take the way out. If I’d come back to The States and go to college.
“Yes, to getting out of the organization. As for Harvard, I would have to talk to Aurora about that one. She’s… a little sensitive about the topic of college. Or she might want to stay here, in New York, and NYU courses are… well, they exist.”
As much as I want to go to Harvard, I don’t ever want Aurora to doubt herself. She’s expressed more than once that she doesn’t see how she’d fit into my world if I were there.
“I graduated from NYU,” Mr. Valentino says with a tilt of his head. I already knew that. “You’d give up an offer to Harvard for her?”
“There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give up for her,” I tell him.
“I believe you.”
“Let’s get back out there before she does something that we’ll both have to clean up.” He stands, and I follow him out of the office.
When I sit back down next to Aurora, she looks me over. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” I tell her. “You?”
“Better now.” She takes hold of my hand and doesn’t let go for the rest of the night.