I stifled the need to roll my eyes. Of course, the house had a fireplace room. Even though I’d dated Marcella for more than six months, I’d never gotten farther into the house than the foyer and that one time in the living room. Up on the staircase stood Valerio, grinning. Not surprising, he was the Vitiello man I got along with the best. “You’re in big trouble.”
I cocked an eyebrow, but he didn’t elaborate. I followed the housekeeper through the foyer and down the corridor to a wooden door. She knocked. Amo opened the door a couple of seconds later, looking so glum, you could think we were commemorating someone’s passing and not my engagement to his sister.
He gave me a curt nod in greeting before he opened the door so I could enter. Inside seated on the wide leather armchairs, were Luca and Matteo. Their expressions were slightly less hostile. Matteo got up and handed me a dark amber drink. “You’re a lucky bastard.”
“I know,” I said, taking a sniff at the liquid. “Is this your way of getting rid of me?”
“Poison is not my style,” Luca said dryly.
“He prefers to choke people with his bare hands,” Matteo commented. Then he winked and nodded. “Go ahead, drink up.”
“I know what he can do with his hands,” I said, then emptied the glass in one gulp. This tasted worse than the moonshine Gunnar used to make for club celebrations. The brief moment of wistfulness passed quickly, then I fought the urge to cough at the burning feeling making its way down my esophagus.
Luca nodded as if I’d passed a test by drinking. The guy was in his fucking forties but still looked as if he could beat the shit out of most guys, or choke them with his bare hands as Matteo liked to point out.
“Sit,” Luca said, motioning at the empty chair across from him.
I sank down. Amo watched me with narrowed eyes but Matteo’s eyes still gleamed with a hint of amusement.
“So,” I began, scanning the three Vitiello men. “Why am I here?”
“You’re going to marry Marcella, sooner or later.”
“Sooner. We want to tie the bond next year.”
“A year to organize a wedding of this proportion will freak everyone out,” Matteo said with a grin.
“What kind of proportions?”
“Marcella is my only daughter. She’s a Vitiello, so of course she’ll have a grand feast with hundreds of guests.”
“Okay,” I said. To be honest, I’d never thought about the actual feast.
“But first, we need to make the engagement official. Release a statement and so on,” Luca said.
“Fuck, you make it sound like it’s some kind of business endeavor.”
“Marriage is a sort of business endeavor in our circles. It’s used to strengthen families and make peace.”
“The press will probably spin their own tales anyway like they have been doing these last six months.”
“Probably,” Matteo agreed.
“Did you discuss the matter of your last name?” Luca asked.
“What matter? It’s tradition to take the name of the man.” Judging from their expressions, that wasn’t what they wanted. “But you don’t want Marcella to take my name.”
“Marcella White doesn’t have the same ring as Marcella Vitiello, don’t you think?” Matteo said with a crooked grin.
Fuck. Did they expect me to take on their name? Hell would freeze over before that happened. “Did you talk to Marcella?”
“I elaborated my concerns to her, yes,” Luca said.
“It’ll be a fucking shame if she gives up a name that holds so much power for your name,” Amo muttered.
Maybe they were right but I wouldn’t take on the name Vitiello and I didn’t want to have a different name from my wife.
“Marcella and I will discuss it. After all, it’s our marriage,” I said firmly. If I allowed it, Luca would probably control every aspect of my life with Marcella and that sure as fuck wouldn’t happen.
“Do that,” Luca said graciously.
“Now let’s move on to the fun part,” Matteo said, his smile becoming broader, which was never a good sign and could only be for one reason.
I raised my eyebrows. “Threatening to cut my balls off and stuff them into my mouth if I ever hurt Marcella?”
Amo chuckled and even Luca briefly cracked the hint of a smile before his expression darkened with warning. “It would be the beginning of very agonizing hours for you.”
A knock sounded. When the door opened without waiting for Luca’s approval, I knew only three people who had the audacity to do it. One of them, Aria, stepped in, her gaze quickly settling on me as if to check that I was still in one piece before it moved on to Luca. “I thought we were meant to have dinner together?”
A hint of indignation lay in her voice.
“We just had a quick talk with Maddox,” Luca said.
“We needed to make sure your future son-in-law got a fitting welcome.”