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“I figured as much,” Caterina says quietly.
“I’m sorry.” I bite my lip. “I wanted this to be a good weekend for you.”
She smiles weakly, shrugging. “This is just life. I didn’t really expect more from him. I’d just—hoped, a little bit. But it’s alright. I knew what kind of man he was when I agreed to marry him.”
That last statement gives me pause. Ihadn’tknown what kind of man Luca was when I’d agreed to marryhim. I’d thought I did, but I’m beginning to suspect that I was wrong in some ways. And it makes me wonder if I was wrong about other things, too.
As if summoned, Luca steps into the doorway, looking over the three of us before his gaze settles on me. “Morning, ladies,” he says, that deep voice sending a shiver over me. He walks behind my chair, looking at Caterina and Ana.
“I apologize for what happened last night,” he says, and I can feel his hands resting on the chair behind me. “I’ll be talking to and questioning the security today to try and find out how anyone managed to get up here in the first place. I’ll find out how this happened, I promise.” He pauses, hands gripping the back of the chair. “It wasn’t my intention for any of you to be in danger. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Caterina says quietly. “You did try.’’
“Bullshit.” Ana spits out, and I’m suddenly aware of how quiet she’s been this entire time. “You told Sofia you’d protect her when you married her. Youforcedher into this marriage because it was supposed to keep her alive. And yet, she almost was shot last night. Whatever is going on, you should have been here, dealing with it, instead of off getting your dick wet with your boys.” She glares at him, her gaze flicking down to my neck and then back up to Luca. “And then what? You were still so horny you had to come home and fuck Sofia, too? You’re a disgrace. And a liar.”
“Ana!” I exclaim, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest. Luca has been remarkably calm throughout all of this, but I don’t know how he’ll react to being spoken to like that. Rossi would probably have Ana killed on the spot for that kind of disrespect. While I know Luca isn’t that kind of man, I don’t know that he’ll stand for being yelled at by a girl that I know he doesn’t particularly like or entirely trust.
“No, it’s fine,” Luca says, his voice cool and even. “Anastasia, can I speak to you in private?”
“Luca, she didn’t mean—” I start to protest, but Ana is already standing up, still glaring at him.
“I’d be happy to,” she says coldly, stalking out of the kitchen.
Luca follows her out without a word, and I feel my stomach clench, turning over as I watch him walk out to the living room with her. Their voices don’t carry well, but I can hear them talking in low, angry tones, and it makes me feel a little sick.
“It’s fine,” Caterina says, trying to console me. “Luca is probably angrier with himself than she is with him.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it.” I bite my lip, glancing in the direction that they went.
Caterina stands up, collecting the empty containers from the table and carrying them to the trash. “Did you two really--?” she trails off, glancing at my neck. “Did you want to?”
I hesitate, feeling myself flush a little. “Yeah,” I finally say quietly. It’s hard for me to admit that I gave in, but I also don’t want Caterina to think that Luca forced me to do anything that I didn’t want to. “It just—kind of happened.”
“It might be a good thing.” Caterina turns on the faucet, washing her hands before facing me. “Some peace between the two of you might help Luca focus on the problem of solving the feud with the Bratva before it spins out of control.” She takes a deep breath. “You’ve been there for me, Sofia, even though we don’t know each other all that well. So I’m going to give you some advice, even though I know you might not want it. Being a mafia wife isn’t just about looking the other way while your husband sleeps around, raising kids, and being a pretty face at dinners.”
“Then what is it about? Because so far, that’s all I’ve seen.”
“It’s about knowing when to let things go so that your husband can do what he has to. It’s about accepting that the man you married has sides to him that might frighten you sometimes, might even disgust you, but that it’s part of who he is. And if he’s a good man, he won’t like those parts of himself, either. It’s up to you to help him live with it.”
“What about Rossi?” I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help saying it. “He seems to like those parts of himself. And he wants Luca to be the same way.”
“My father isn’t a good man,” Caterina says evenly. “I’ve always known that. I love him because heismy father and I know no other way to be a good daughter. But he isn’t good.”
“And you think Luca is?”
“I think he wants to be.” Caterina looks at me, her gaze unflinching. “And I think what happens next, in these coming days and weeks, will determine a lot about what kind of man he is in the future.”
I don’t know what to say to that. “I didn’t ask for any of this,” I say quietly. “I didn’t ask to be his wife.”
“You could have said no.” Caterina shrugs. “I know that’s not what you want to hear. But you didn’thaveto take the vows.”
“What kind of choice was that? Marry him, or die? That’s not a choice.”
Caterina laughs then, and there’s nothing cruel in it, but it still catches me off guard. “Yes, it was.”
* * *
I can’t getthat conversation out of my head for the rest of the day. Luca doesn’t tell me what he and Ana talked about, despite my asking him, only that he sent her home after their conversation. He has his driver take Caterina back to the Rossi house as well, assuring her that Franco should be back by the evening.
