Page 11 of Waste of Worth

“I won’t be here,” Dino told her.

With that, he walked away.

Ben tipped his glass of whiskey in Dino’s direction, giving him a look that said his next statement was not going to be something Dino liked.

“Your sister—call her back from Europe. It’s been too long.”

Dino used his own bottle of beer to hide the frown starting to form. “I’m not calling Lily back. She’s fine over there.”

“She needs to be here, Dino. Get her set up in a marriage of good standing.”

Absolutely not.

Dino couldn’t outright refuse Ben, given he was the head of the DeLuca family, and the Outfit’s underboss, but he could use what bit of power he had to divert attention.

“Soon,” Dino promised. “I haven’t picked someone yet, or even offered.”

“Tommas Rossi—”

Dino’s teeth grinded, but he managed to interrupt Ben with a quiet but firm, “No.”

“Is it Tommas you take issue with, or a Rossi?”

Certainly not the Rossi family.

“Tommas is looking at someone else,” Dino said, offering nothing else.

He didn’t know if it was true. He had no idea if the Rossi Capo was looking at any woman as a wife, but Dino did know it wouldn’t be Lily.

“Joel, then,” Ben said.

Was that what they were going to do?

Toss out names of men in the Outfit until Ben hit the one Dino would agree to marry his sister off to?

“For now, she’s fine where she is,” Dino repeated.

Ben didn’t look all too pleased, but it was what it was.

Unfortunately, if Ben really wanted Lily married off, all he would need to do was make a few phone calls of his own, set up the arrangement, and call her home. Dino wouldn’t get much of a say.

And the only say Dino would have, was if he ended up being the person to set up Lily in a marriage of his choosing.

She would hate him for that, he knew.

It would be unforgiveable to her.

Dino figured he had a bit of time before he’d have to worry about all of that. A couple of years, hopefully. A whole lifetime to someone of Lily’s age, essentially. Maybe when he did finally step in, to save her from having their uncle pick her a husband, she would understand why Dino had been the one to choose.

At least he would pick a man who would love her, care for her, and give her the world.

Maybe he already had a man in mind, but … time.

He had time.

“And Theo,” Ben added, resting back in his desk chair.

Dino had all he could do not to roll his eyes. “What about Theo, Ben?”