Page 98 of Worth of Waste

Show it off.

Make it known.

Dino wasn’t that kind of man, but he did what the boss wanted. That was just how the Outfit worked.

“Yeah, boss?” Dino asked.

“I think now is a good time to share the news you have.”

All eyes in the room turned on him.

Familiar faces.

Waiting people.

Only three or so really mattered to him in some way. Their reactions would be important, and even dangerous.

Ben was one.

Theo was another.

Damian was there as well, though he already knew what was coming.

Dino lifted his glass, smiling, though it felt odd to do it. “In a couple months, there will be some big changes for the DeLuca family.”

Ben’s expression hardened as he looked down the table at Dino. “How so, nipote?”

There it was …

“This is good,” Terrance said, “you’ll enjoy this, Ben.”

Dino doubted it, but he kept talking because he had to. “A marriage, between Lily and Damian, near the end of summer. It’s settled—right, boss?”

He only needed Terrance’s permission, after all.

Ben wouldn’t matter, then.

He couldn’t say a thing.

It still worried Dino.

“A marriage?” Ben asked quietly. “Between—”

“It’s fantastic,” Terrance cut in. “They’re a good match.”

Damian said nothing from where he sat, staring blankly at the wall like he wasn’t even in the room.

“Yes,” Ben echoed, though his gaze cut to Dino, promising a conversation later that probably wouldn’t be pleasant. “A good match, sure.”

Thirty minutes later, Dino left the table, ready to leave the dinner. His uncle met him at the door, and he wasn’t even surprised.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Ben hissed.

Dino had known full and well his uncle would be pissed.

He expected this.

“It’s settled,” he said, echoing his earlier words. “You heard the boss, Ben.”