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“You know why.”
And I sigh, because he’s right. I do know why.
“Still her, huh?”
“Still her.”
Neither of us need to name Aurora to know that’s who we’re talking about. She’s the only girl Curse has ever wanted, even though he only met her once, back in Sicily, when we were all dumb little kids.
“You saw the announcement, then,” I say, more a confirmation than a question.
Curse’s eyes flash with some coiling emotion, maybe anger, maybe not. It’s hard to tell with him.
“Yeah. I did.”
Like me, Aurora Bianchi has recently gotten herself engaged. Her family lives in Buffalo, and after all the shit that went down with our papà none of them wanted to touch us with a ten-foot pole. Since they’re in the States, it never really mattered all that much. We didn’t need the Bianchis for money or power or clout, though they’ve got that shit in spades. Aurora is now engaged to one of the big bosses of New York. Her parents announced it earlier this year, and evidently, Curse and I both saw it.
If there had been a way to get her for my brother, I would have. But after the shit our papà pulled, it was like we had the fucking plague. Her parents never would have agreed to a match with Curse. And unlike me, he’s not the type to abduct a woman in the dead of night and force her into it, consequences be damned.
Curse flips the razor open and closed over and over, watching the morning sunlight glance off the blade. I know he doesn’t want any more words from me, or any pity either. Neither of us can fucking stand that shit. So instead, I just clap him firmly on the shoulder and tell him, “Come on. Let’s get dressed.”
Chapter 37
Elio
Only problem is getting dressed doesn’t take all that long. There’s still more than an hour to go before the ceremony and here I am all ready to go, prowling around the room like a trapped animal. Curse is gone to do a final sweep with Enzo, and now I’m here watching the clock tick down so slowly it feels like it’s mocking me.
I need to see her.
I waited all night. I didn’t disturb her sacred little bridal suite last night. But I’m not going to wait anymore. Fuck the old adage about bad luck before the wedding.
Titones make their own fucking luck.
I snatch the key card to the from my bedside table and hurl myself out the door. The bridal suit isn’t too far away. Just down the hall. I reach it in less than three minutes. Robbie is at his station outside. He straightens up when he sees me. “Boss?”
I ignore him, unlocking the door and slamming it open.
The first person I see is Valentina. See is actually a mild way of putting it. I just about collide with her. She’s coming out of the bathroom just as I step into her path.
“What the – Elio?!”
“Out,” I tell her, looking over her head for my fiancée. But all I see is a wall of dark blue fabric, broken up by the occasional arm or face. Valentina’s wearing the same blue, a long strapless gown of it. She slams her hands onto my hips and scowls at me.
“What do you mean, out? If anyone should be getting out, it’s you! You’re not supposed to see the bride!”
“Out,” I say again, then, more loudly, “Everybody. Out right now.”
Valentina throws up her hands as Lucia, Giulia, and Deirdre’s friend Annabelle all give each other uncomfortable glances.
“Well, you heard the man,” Valentina huffs at them. Then, to me, she says, “Don’t fuck up her hair or makeup. Or the dress. You know what? Don’t even touch her. Just stand across the room and admire her like the piece of art she is, because she’s fucking perfect and I want her looking just like that when she walks down the aisle.”
I barely restrain myself from rolling my eyes. She doesn’t need to tell me what a work of art my fiancée is.
“Out, Valentina. Don’t make me say it again.”
She waves at the others, gesturing them forward like she’s their general or something. They hustle out of the room, closing the door behind them. Once I’m sure they’re gone, I turn around again. And finally, I see her.
And it’s like the rest of the world falls away.
