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"Eh?" She darts her gaze up in my direction. "You mean—"
"You and me, and the people we’re engaged to? Why don’t we go out for dinner together?"
"You’re joking, right?"
"You are family, after all, so it’s not unusual to ask to meet the man you’re engaged to." My chest hurts, but I push the sensations aside. If she’s hellbent on holding on to this farce, then I am going to dig in until I unearth the truth of the situation. "Unless—" I peer into her eyes "—you’re not engaged, in which case—"
"Iamengaged." She tips up her chin. "And fine, I’ll arrange for you to meet my fiancé."
"I’ll text you the details," I reply.
She pulls the door shut, and I step back barely in time to avoid the door smashing into my leg. A smile curves my lips as she steps on the accelerator and the car leaps forward. She makes a turn and peels out of the parking lot.
Why the hell do I find her temper so attractive? She has more personality in the tip of her little finger than any woman I’ve ever met. That includes her sister. Not that there’s anything wrong with her. She’s just not Olivia.
And I’m trapped in this god-awful mess, where I’m engaged to a woman who I have no interest in marrying. Except to fulfill my promise to Nonna—which I have every intention of keeping. But first, I need to figure a way out of this quandary, and face the music with my brothers.
I grab my helmet, swing my leg over my bike, and drive out of the lot.
Half an hour later, I park my bike outside my oldest brother Michael’s home and head for the entrance. Before I can ring the doorbell, the door swings open. Adrian scowls at me. "Took you long enough to get here."
"I came as soon as I could. Had some business to finish."
"And did that business have anything to do with the sister of your fiancée?"
“Vaffanculo.” Fuck off.I brush past him and head down the corridor with Adrian at my heels.
"He’s pissed at you,” Adrian murmurs.
"Won’t be the first time." With the death of our father, Michael took over as head of theCosa Nostra.He’s also spearheading the plans to legalize our businesses, an initiative I whole-heartedly support, and one which my brother Luca hadn’t been in favor of until he fell in love and married Jeanne, Olivia’s friend. The two women are still friends, although Olivia has managed to cease all communication since the incident. If it hadn’t been for her sister’s engagement, I might never have run into her again. And now that I have, I’m going to find a way to keep her. No way am I letting her out of my sight again.
I walk up the hallway and into Michael’s study, not surprised to find the rest of my brothers scattered around the space. The floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on opposite walls look down on the wide desk against which Michael leans. Seb and Axel are talking in one corner near the window. Luca is sprawled out in a chair, with Christian on the settee. All of them turn to watch me walk in.
They track me as I cross the floor and fling myself onto the settee.
They don’t take their gazes off of me as Adrian shuts the door behind him and walks over to the bar. The silence stretches as he pours out a healthy measure of Macallan into two glasses and brings one over to me. I take a glass from him and throw back the liquor. It burns its way down my gullet and hits my stomach, sparking off a steady heat. I place the glass back on the coffee table, then lean back and watch them watch me. Finally, I throw my arm over the back of the settee and fold one leg over the other.
"Out with it," I snap through gritted teeth.
Still, no one says anything. The tension in the room ratchets up. A bead of sweat slides down my shoulder blades. Not that I’m nervous. I’ve known these men my entire life. Been with them as each of them navigated the perils of having an abusive father at home, then helped them as they fell in love and overcame challenges to marry their wives. All except Adrian, who’s in love with Michael’s housekeeper but hasn’t found the balls to propose to her yet.
"Anyone care to tell me why I’ve been summoned?"
The men look at each other, then stay silent.
"If you have nothing to say to me, then I might as well leave."
I start to rise when Michael stops me. "Sit down," he says in a deceptively soft voice.
I take in the determined set of his jaw and sink back. "I know what you’re going to say, so you may as well save your breath."
"Do you, now?" He leans forward on the balls of his feet. "Have you any idea how serious the situation is?" His gaze narrows on me. "You walked out of your own engagement. Your. Own. Engagement."
“I did go through with it, didn’t I?”
"That’s not the point. This is your future we’re talking about. You left your fiancée without acknowledging her or speaking a word to her. Worse, you ran out after her own sister. Do you know how grievous that is?"
"Nothing that hasn’t been done before.” I raise a shoulder. “Men cheat on their fiancées and wives all the time."
