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I couldn't understand these thoughts my mind was having, and I didn't understand my attraction to this man.
But while a part of me wanted to be here with him, I still couldn't get over what he'd done to Jess and Jacob. My mind was in turmoil—how could I hate a man but desire him at the same time?
One day, when I went downstairs for lunch, I found Debi talking to a girl I hadn’t seen before.
The girl looked to be around my age, or possibly a few years older, and she had beautiful white-blonde hair cut into a stylish bob that skimmed the top of her shoulders. She was wearing a denim skirt plus a yellow sweater decorated with pale blue pawprints.
“Hey,” the blonde girl said to me.
“Juliana, this is Anni. She’s married to Marco’s cousin, Lorenzo, and they live nearby.”
“Hi Anni,” I said cautiously.
“So, you’re the girl who’s snared the Capo,” she grinned.
I gave her a small smile back. “Well, technically, he snared me.”
A laugh escaped her lips. “Yeah, these Marchiano guys are hard to argue with when they get an idea into their head.”
“You were forced into a marriage too?”
“It was an arranged marriage, but that’s basically the same thing in our world, isn’t it?” She flicked a stray strand of blonde hair off her face. “I was a Veneti before my marriage. Lorenzo and I started off on the wrong foot when we met, so a marriage was arranged to stop the Venetis and Marchianos falling out and murdering each other.”
I liked this girl. She said what she thought and didn’t look like she’d let any guy browbeat her. “Why don’t you stay and have lunch with Debi and me?”
Anni readily agreed and we ate lunch around the kitchen island and got to know each other.
“What does Lorenzo do in the Fratellanza?” I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.
“He’s the Underboss for Chicago, so he works pretty closely with Marco and Alessio. Us living so close by is really convenient for his work.”
“And how are you finding married life?” I was eager to know if she had found happiness with a Marchiano; if she had, then maybe there could be some hope for me.
“Married life? I’d say it’s pretty busy and full-on, but in a good way.”
“Lorenzo and Anni have two children—Clara and Clemente,” chipped in Debi. “They’re four and two, and they’re just adorable.”
“You have two kids—already?” I was shocked by this. She looked quite young to already have two children.
Anni chuckled. “Lorenzo was married before and had two children, but his wife died. So, I’m not their birth mom, but I love them as if they were my own.”
“Wow, Anni, I thought an arranged marriage was difficult, but having to take on two kids as well must have been a huge adjustment for you.”
“We made it work, although there were a few teething issues to start with,” she said seriously. “You’ll probably find that with Marco too. I know the Marchianos have a reputation for their cruelness and brutality, but under it all they’re decent guys.”
“How are the children doing?” Debi asked.
“They’re great. Lorenzo’s just the most amazing dad. Clara is a real daddy’s girl. She idolizes Lorenzo. He works a lot more from home now, and she loves to be with him whenever she can. Obviously not when he’s talking about business, but if he’s just on his laptop, she’ll be in his study with him so that she can be near him. The other day I went into the study and Lorenzo was supposed to be working, but I found Clara curled up in his lap and he was reading a story to her.”
“My dad would never have taken time out of his working day to spend with my siblings or me,” I commented.
Debi nodded in agreement.
I looked down at Anni’s clothes. “Do I take it by your sweater that you like animals?”
“Definitely. A house isn’t a home unless you have at least one pet. Although Lorenzo isn’t always on the same page as me when it comes to having pets.”
A small frown furrowed my brow. “I don’t know what it is about these Marchiano men, but they really don’t like animals, do they?”
