AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sal only shook his head at those words. He didn’t seem scared or worried, but still, this invite was visibly a problem. “He does have an ulterior motive. He invited my heir and me.”
“Your heir is not born yet,” I said like I was that dumb.
My brother gave me a hard look. “Mycurrentheir.”
Honestly, it was still not so bad. I couldn’t understand why he was so tense, and I also couldn’t understand the sudden shift in Antonio’s eyes at Sal’s words. It was impossible to read Antonio anyway. I didn’t put much effort but instead just said, “I don’t mind visiting L.A.”
It was the truth anyway. I was not excited to meet Gino Borelli, but I would like to experience L.A. nightlife.
“It is not a simple peace offering, Valerio,” Antonio said without emotion. “He knows you won’t be an heir for long. He also knows Salvatore is about to have a kid, and it is a horrible time to invite him. You are the one he wants.”
Even Sal looked a little surprised. “Really? I was stressed about leaving Mia.”
“You consider leaving my thirty-nine-week pregnant sister to go see Borelli?” Antonio asked, now sounding slightly angry, but his emotions were always strained.
“Of course, I didn’t! I have to answer the invitation, but Mia cannot accompany me, and there is no way I can risk her giving birth while I am away. I was debating other options. Maybe we can visit after she gives birth. It is close anyway.”
Antonio’s golden eyes burned with fire. “You consider leaving my sister with two newborns and a toddler to go see Borelli?”
“I am very close to shooting you in the head, Antonio.”
Their banter was fun to watch, and any other day I would prefer this over actual work talk, but right now, things actually affected me. I wanted answers. I jumped in before Antonio could reply. “Can you please tell me what did you mean by ‘you are the one he wants.’”
My question actually made him look bored. “It is not so hard to understand, really. He wants peace with us, he has a daughter close to your age, and you don’t have a wife or a fiancée.”
Sal and I made an “oh” sound as we realized their intentions at the same time. A smile actually tugged at my lips at the thought. “They are going to ask for my hand? That is so cute.”
“It must be wise to consider it,” Antonio murmured, but it made my brother’s eyes burn with anger.
“Antonio!” he warned with his rough Capo voice. “Valerio will not have an arranged marriage.”
It was not my first choice, but I always thought it was in my future. “Why?”
Sal gave me a strained look. “Because I promised Mia I won’t force you or Verona into something like that.”
Ah, it was cute. In Verona’s case, it made me relieved. I didn’t want to fight my brother over that, but for me, it was unnecessary. I didn’t think there was a type of marriage in my future that was not arranged. Also, both Salvatore and Antonio had arranged marriages and were very happy with their families. It was not the end of the world.
I asked, “What if I want it?”
My brother didn’t look confused a lot, but right now, he did. “You want to have an arranged marriage?”
I shrugged. “Why not? Everybody in our world has arranged marriages, and they are not all miserable. You two are sure as hell happy with your wives.”
“You want the Borelli girl, then?”
Of course not. I didn’t even know the girl. I didn’t even know how old she was, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was sixteen. I was not marrying a sixteen-year-old. “I want to consider the Borelli girl. I need to marry at some point. No harm in examining my choices.”
“It is a wise choice.” Antonio nodded.
Sal looked feral. “Of course, you would say that. You married a woman with a strong last name who could give you children.”
Antonio’s jaw flexed. Priscilla and their children were his soft spot. He would kill people for insulting his wife. “Do you have a problem with my wife, Salvatore?” he asked with a voice of ice.
My brother only rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I like Prisy but accept that you didn’t have many criteria when you chose her to be your wife.”
“And you married Mia because you deeply loved her and not because your parents betrothed you? At least I chose my own bride.”
Sal surprisingly didn’t take offense. I mean, it was the truth, after all. “And if Valerio is going to have an arranged marriage, it will be like yours. He will choose his own bride.”
