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I can barely suppress my grimace. My agreement with my father is that I will allow four years for university before I claim her. This throws a wrench into the plan. Four years is a long enough time, I’m not sure I am going to be willing to do five.
Wednesday lunch has been a longtime tradition with my father and his inner circle, the people he trusts the most. It includes me, Andy, my uncles, and a few others. This is my father’s way of keeping us connected, not only in business but personally.
My father catches my eye. It’s as if he can read my mind because he shoots me a warning glance not to say anything. I shove a fork full of food into my mouth to keep myself from speaking. He gives me an approving nod before he turns to Eric.
“A gap year? And Brown is allowing it? What is she planning on doing for a year?” my father asks.
“Yeah, they’ve approved it. I didn’t think they would. It's ridiculous to me to take a year off from such a prestigious school, but I don’t know what’s going through her mind lately."
Hopefully me. She’s spent a hell of a lot of time in my mind recently. I can’t escape my thoughts of her even when I sleep because she lives in my dreams. My memory of the night is the only thing I have to work with since she doesn’t have much of a social media presence, which is helpful in the long run but is currently infuriating.
Eric has my undivided attention, although several other conversations are happening at the table, a few of which are much closer to me than Eric is. Andy is running deflections for me anytime someone tries to get my attention about something. Outside my father, he’s the only one I’ve spoken to about my newfound obsession. He listens intently as it serves as a distraction from his disaster of a marriage.
“And I think she plans on traveling or something. You know, the kinds of things 18-year-old girls with their first taste of freedom do.”
I swear Eric glances at me as he talks. I wonder if Emma told him anything. While I don’t think most girls are eager to tell their father about losing their virginity, Eric has always given the impression he and Emma are closer than most. It makes sense. Emma’s mother dying when she was so young meant Eric had to take point on a lot of things. Awkward conversations, first crushes, and anything else a mother might do.
“It was an utter delight to meet Emma at the wedding. If she’s not going to school right away, bring her around more,” my father suggests. I pull my drink up to my mouth to hide my smile. If Emma hasn’t told her father, and he suspects something, I don’t want to give him any more reason to believe something happened between the two of us. Eric has worked for my family for a long time. He knows the intricacies of mafia life as well as anyone. I doubt the wife of the Don is the life he imagined for his daughter.
“She already has tickets booked to go visit her aunt and then I don’t know where she’ll go afterwards. I doubt she’ll be spending too much time at home.” Eric downs his drink. I watch him pour himself another. I glance at my father, who is frowning at the drink in Eric's hand. So it isn't my imagination that he's been drinking more lately.
Eric might not be much use this afternoon at this rate. We'll most likely find him passed out on a couch somewhere.
“Shame,” my father says. He might be talking about Emma's absence, or Eric's newfound drinking habits.
Andy nudges me at my side and I turn to see a few pairs of expectant eyes on me. I clear my throat. “Sorry, didn’t get much sleep last night. What was the question?”
Boisterous laughs surround us. “You at it again? Oh, to be young and unwed again.”
My stomach sours at their implications. I have no desire to be spending the night in anyone else's bed besides Emma's. I haven’t so much as looked at another woman since meeting Emma. No one holds her appeal. Correcting them would look suspicious, so I let it go.
Until she is my wife, the fewer people who know about my interest in her the better.
It’s been a hot topic, me getting married. Now that Andy is wed, everyone expects me to follow soon after.
“We were wondering if you were the next in line to get married now that you’ve lost your wingman, but I guess you don’t need his help.” One of my father’s men jokes.
“No, just my million-dollar party,” Andy grumbles under his breath. I was the only one who got laid on his wedding night, he and Bianca fought until the early hours of the morning and then he went to sleep in one of the guest rooms.
“We’ll see,” I tell them. Four years is a long time. Father might arrange another marriage for one of my cousins. My sisters are still too young, and he isn't eager to marry them off even if that's what they want. At least, what two of them want.
Lunch ends and everyone returns to their duties. There are some visits Andy and I will make today. Nothing urgent, but we have to be sure we are keeping in the good graces of the politicians and officials that allow us to operate under the radar of the police. My father stops me before we leave the grounds of the estate.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep eye on the situation. We’ll get her home to you. I’m ready to pass on my title, but before that can happen, I need to make sure you have the support system you need. You need a wife. Emma is the one you want to fill the role, I’ll be damned if I let a brief delay, like a gap year, keep me from retirement.”
Andy looks at my dad with fake aghast. “I’m not a good enough support system?”
My dad laughs and slaps him on the back. “Not until you’re able to get your own wife to like you. Being the second in command is no simple task either.”
Andy scowls at the mention of Bianca. Their egos are still in the way of their marriage, but I’ve seen them making progress. I don’t dare bring it up, because if either of them realizes they are growing closer to each other, they’ll probably retreat like a couple of scared mice.
As if we have summoned her, Bianca appears at the top of the staircase. I send a polite smile her way while my father beams at her. “Bianca! Dear! How are you?”
Bianca gets this look on her face. I’ve seen it quite a few times since the wedding, just about every time I’ve seen her, to be honest. It’s like she doesn’t understand what she’s seeing. My father’s warmth when he isn’t being the Don. How all the women in my family balk at the mention of mistresses. And just the simple interactions that happen within the family. Her uncle is the Don of the De Luca family, and I know they don’t hold the same values we do. He’s had several mistresses through the years, going as far as to bring them to parties and public events when his wife is sick with pregnancies. It’s disgusting.
“I’m doing well. And yourself?”
“So formal, dear,” Andy says. Sarcasm drips from his voice and Bianca shoots a glare his way. Although they didn’t sleep together on their wedding night, they’ve since consummated their marriage. I think sarcasm is their form of foreplay. It puts the rest of us in an awkward situation. One night they got into a fight during family dinner and the rest of us found ways to be out of the house so we didn’t have to be subjected to the sounds of their reconciliation.
