“What’s the matter?”
“Liliana looked sick.”
The door swung open and Aria slipped out, quickly closing the door before we could catch a glimpse inside. “Is your sister okay?”
Aria tugged a strand of hair behind her ear, glancing between Romero and me with obvious nervousness. I had to remind myself again that this was new for Aria, that this was one of the first times she was alone in the presence of men that didn’t belong to her family. “The sheets made her queasy,” she said with a small shrug.
Romero’s expression darkened. “They shouldn’t allow young girls to witness something like that. It’ll only scare them.” Romero sent me an apologetic look, but I didn’t care if he criticized that particular tradition. I didn’t much care for it either, but it was one of the traditions that would be the hardest to abolish.
“You are right.”
“Lily needs some tea,” Aria said, glancing at me, and I realized she was unsure if she was allowed to go into the kitchen and prepare one.
“I can get it for her and stay with her so you can return to your guests,” Romero said.
Aria’s smile was hesitant. “That’s nice, but Lily doesn’t want you to see her.”
I frowned, wondering what had happened. Romero really wasn’t someone who scared females. He was one of the few soldiers with his talent who could hide his violence almost completely. “Is she scared of me?”
Aria laughed. “You sound like that isn’t a possibility. You are a soldier of the mafia. What’s not to be scared of?” She glanced toward the closed bathroom door before she continued in a whisper. “But that’s not it. Lily has a major crush on you and doesn’t want you to see her like that.”
I gave Romero an amused look. “Romero, you still got it. Capturing the hearts of fourteen-year-old girls left and right.” Romero shook his head, obviously uncomfortable with the whole thing. I turned to my wife who was still smiling, looking relaxed and almost happy. I knew my words would change that. “But we have to return. The women will be mortally offended if you don’t give them all of your attention.”
“I’ll take care of Lily,” Gianna said.
Looking over my shoulder, I found Aria’s sister and brother heading our way. The redhead pointedly ignored me, but the midget gave me his best death glare.
I led Aria back into the dining room. The men had by then gathered around the sheets while the women flocked around the table. I reluctantly released Aria so she could head back to the harpies.
The men laughed at something Durant said. It was probably for the best that I hadn’t heard it.
“There’s the lucky bridegroom,” Father intoned, holding out a glass of scotch to me. I took it reluctantly. Judging from the way he and his brothers smiled, they’d probably enjoyed more than one already. Only Scuderi, Dante and Fiore looked sober, which didn’t come as a surprise considering they were in our territory.
Gottardo’s beetle eyes held challenge when I stopped beside him. “So Luca, won’t you at least tell us how many rounds you managed last night? Won’t you share at least that piece of information with us?”
Durant smiled in a way that made me want to slice my blades from one fucking corner of his mouth to the other to see how much wider his fucking grin could get.
“I don’t share, ever, not even the tiniest fucking bit of my wife,” I snarled. My father and his brothers were disgusting pieces of shit. The same sadistic streak stained their blood. Sometimes I worried it ran in my veins as well and was only waiting to show its full potential. I was cruel and pitiless, but not like my father. Not yet.
Father shook his head with a bellowing laugh, but the laughter didn’t extend to his eyes. They were vigilant and suspicious, and for a moment I worried he’d seen through the charade I was playing. But my father was always suspicious because he had reason to be. There was no one he trusted, and rightfully so. Everyone hated and feared him. That wasn’t the base for trust. Not that I had many people I trusted, definitely not without reservations. Matteo had my trust and Romero to some degree, but everyone else could be an enemy disguised as an ally.
“Oh ho, quite possessive of your gorgeous young bride,” Durant cackled. “Considering her beauty and your possessive streak, I’m surprised you agreed to wait three years before marrying her.” His fucking beetle eyes latched onto Aria as she talked to the other women, and something in them made me want to stick my blade into his eyeball before shoving the fucking thing down his throat so he could choke on the slimy globe.
“I like my women of age,” I gritted out. I could feel my blood pressure rising, my fury burning away at my self-control. I took a sip from the scotch even if it was too early for hard liquor and glanced toward my wife. She was smiling, but blatant embarrassment shone on her face and her cheeks were dusted pink. I could imagine too well what the women were talking about. Her eyes darted to me as if she noticed my attention and, for a brief moment, a small conspiratorial smile tugged at her lips, a moment without her usual wariness and submissive fear, a glimpse at her true persona when she was around people she trusted. It was a side of her I wanted to see more of.