“Don’t be jealous now. I can’t help it if I’m single and the ladies love me.”
Brothers.
He’s lucky I love him or I’d pop him in the nose, and I’m not sure the ladies would be falling into his bed if he had a busted beak and a shiner. Then again, knowing Lucky, they’d drop to their knees and beg to blow him just because they felt bad someone ruined his pretty face.
I don’t say anything to that, just finish off my Macallan, which tastes like another. Fortunately, our servers are on point here at Topolina.
“Another, Mr. Andriani?” asks Giustina with a friendly smile.
She’s a good kid, from the Revello side, putting herself through college. Because of the delicate nature of the rehearsal dinner, everyone on staff tonight is part of the family, known to us and vetted.
“That would be great,” I tell her. “Thanks.”
“Don’t want to be hungover for the big day,” Lucky chirps. “Better not have too many of those.”
I give him a look. “You know, I wasn’t going to break your nose, but now I’m seriously considering it.”
“Go ahead. Just think of all the sympathy pussy I’ll get.”
He’s impossible. “Was there something you wanted to tell me, Luck? Some reason you’re interrupting my dinner?”
“Doesn’t look like you’ve been eating it,” he says with a wry look at my plate. “But yeah, there was a reason, now that you mention it.”
I’m drinking my dinner, and fuck him for noticing. Maybe spending so much time with Antonella has him taking up the concerned mother role too. In her case, she’s twenty-five years too damn late.
“What’s the reason?” I demand, losing my patience for him.
“To tell you I’m bringing Mom as my plus-one.”
My reaction is instant. “No.”
Lucky gives me a look. “She wants to see her son getting married.”
“Then you get fucking married and invite her toyourwedding,” I snarl.
Giustina returns with my new Macallan, and I accept it with another thanks. If she heard any of the shots fired between Lucky and me, she doesn’t show it. Her face is serene as she smiles and heads off in the direction of the Bratva on the other side of the restaurant.
“I’m not getting married,” Lucky starts in after she’s out of earshot. “Ever.”
“You’ll get married because you have to.”
“How many more alliances do we need? None. See? My work here is done.”
“What about the Irish?”
They haven’t been giving us any trouble, but neither were the Bratva until Sidorov came into power.
He lifts a shoulder in a half shrug. “Not worried about it.”
“The answer is still no.”
His jaw hardens, and he gets a stubborn look on his face I recognize too well. “You can’t dictate who I bring as my date.”
“It’s my wedding, and Antonella isn’t invited,” I growl. “So forget about it.”
“She loves you,fratello mio,” he says. “She never stopped. You know why she left.”
Yeah. Because she was cheating on our pop and got pregnant with twins. Not that I blame her for looking for comfort elsewhere. Our father was an ice-cold bastard. But I do blame her for leaving us behind when she went into hiding. The four of us were at his mercy.
