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I flew to my feet, looming over him and thundered, “That’s a fucking insult.”
Nelu stood up, putting a hand on my shoulder, which I shrugged off before backing down.
Raising his hands in supplication, he began with a conciliatory little chuckle before saying, “Settle down, boys. I’m glad to see that my only daughter is so important that you’re fighting over her. She’ll be a great asset to your family. It’s impressive that you already see her worth and consider her one of your own. That is a compliment to her upbringing.” His hand landed on Simu’s shoulder. “But we are still attached to her and worry about her comfort. She’ll be more at ease with one of our family.”
“But she is one of us and it’s about time she began to get to know us,” I insisted. “The groom should have a say in this as well. Nicu, what say you? Give us your final word.”
Nicu hadn’t said a word during this entire discussion, observing everyone closely, likely trying to interpret everyone’s motivations. Thank Christ I had the excuse of doing this as a test of my newfound flexibility, but there was no way I was backing out now. Simu’s opposition had turned this into a point of honor.
I held my breath as I waited for his response.
Nicu’s incisive gaze narrowed on Simu for a long moment before turning to me. Clasping the arms of my chair, I shut down my expression and maintained a mask of disinterest, but I had no idea what he really saw. Our relationship wasn’t as complicated as the one between Alex and me, but I’d never call it easy. We spent much of our time throwing digs at each other. I resented him for worshipping our bastard of a father and kowtowing to Alex’s every demand. He was irritated that I didn’t toe the line and lived to needle me. I didn’t resent either of them for my radically different upbringing. It wasn’t their fault. Nor had I ever been jealous of them.
Until now.
And I didn’t know what to do with that information, so I buried it down deep.
Even though Nicu and I weren’t close, we were brothers. I’d never hurt him. He didn’t care a whit about Cat, so I wasn’t worried about his feelings, but his pride was another thing. Cat was off-limits for that reason alone.
Finally, after what seemed like an interminable amount of time, he said, “She’s going to be my wife. Her protection is my discretion. Regardless of how unbiddable he may seem, I trust my brother.”
Thatta boy. There’s the old Lupu loyalty.
Turning to Simu, he spat out, “Honestly, Simu, your opinion means nothing to me while my brother’s does. As payment for your insult to his character, I insist it be Luca. Your lack of subtlety has only forced my hand. Let that be a lesson to you in the way you speak to us in the future.”
Take that, you fucker.
There were few times when my family outright pleased me, but this show of allegiance had to have topped the list.
Whether I wanted it or not, rain or fucking shine, Cat was mine. A car ride from Queens to the Upper West Side could take at least an hour, each way. I had the enviable task of figuring out what the hell I was going to do with that bounty of time. And how I was going to keep my hands off her.
