wer that's blameless and the men who touch me must be perverted and wrong.
I toss Gian a glare.
Joey won’t even speak to me. If he sees me, he runs the opposite direction.
I don’t blame him.
I wasn’t lying when I told Liam that fucking me was the kiss of death.
“No,” I mutter.
“You need a good man.” My father says before bringing a heaping forkful of manicotti to his mouth. The look on his face tells me the gears are turning in his head, he’s thinking about whose son he can set me up with.
Arrangements are common in our world, more than I’d like to believe. My best friend was subject to an arranged marriage, and though it worked out for her, it’s not something I’m interested in. I don’t think Giuseppe would ever force me down the aisle, but I wouldn’t put it past him to set me up on dates.
The real problem is, no man will ever be good enough for me in the eyes of my family.
“It’s hard to find one when these two,” I give my brothers a look. “Chase them all off.”
Gio grins like he couldn’t be prouder of himself, and then brings his glass of whiskey to his lips.
We don’t talk about his drinking.
We don’t talk about my father overworking himself.
We don’t talk about Gian, how he kills anyone who doesn’t agree with him.
We don’t talk about any of their problems, but we do talk about mine.
My father waves his hand dismissively. “They were all shit,” he says, and then the three of them share a knowing look, a look that says her choice in men can’t be trusted.
I don’t know if I can say they’re wrong after what happened with Robbie Pearce.
And then with Liam O’Connor.
Maybe I do have shit taste in men.
Well, at least Liam drove me home without drugging me unlike Robbie.
I huff, but I don’t argue with them.
“You start tomorrow.” My father tells me, looking at me for the first time tonight.
He was pissed when I got home late on Friday, after ignoring their calls and abandoning my car and my enforcer, then refused to say where I’d been.
“You’ve played around enough, Gemma Antoinette. You’ll work for me, pull yourself together. This has to end, now!” He had screamed at me. My father doesn’t scream, and especially never at me, so I know I hit a nerve. Later, when he was done screaming and had downed half a bottle, I could hear him crying.
The real problem was he was afraid to lose me. Like Ma.
“I’ll drive you.” He adds.
“You leave too early.” I groan, which earns me a chuckle from him.
My father leaves for the office before 7 AM, when I’m normally still sleeping.
Gian grins beside me. “You’re gonna learn some responsibility, Gem,” he teases, as if I’ve never been responsible before.
Yay me. I don’t respond, instead I just agree.