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I lean forward, face in my hands. I can’t believe this is happening right now. “Did you even think this through?”
“A little bit.”
“They’re going to want to know how we met.”
He pauses. “Online.”
“Great, we met online.Whereonline? What application? Bumble? Tinder? eHarmony? Who messaged who first? What did you say? What was our first date like? Where was it? Who kissed who first?”
He frowns. “I see your point.”
“I’m starting to doubt your ability to keep me safe.”
“Never doubt that.” He sighs as he pulls down a lonely driveway leading away from the main road. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Ahead, a massive wall appears, with a gate across the road. A man in a black suit comes out of a small guardhouse, peers in at Lanzo, then waves us through.
“They really do know you here,” I say, watching as we twist up a long pathway through massive, perfectly manicured trees.
Lanzo ignores my comment. “Tell my friends what you think works. I’ll play along with whatever you say. Please, just trust that this is the easiest thing for everyone.”
I clench my jaw. I’m tempted to tell him to fuck off—but there’s something in his expression that makes me stop.
These are his friends. And from what I gathered at Carmine’s house, he hasn’t seen them in a while. If he says this is for the best, then what do I care? I’m not in this to make these people happy. It doesn’t matter if Lanzo wants me to pretend to be his mail-order bride. I’m here to collect a three-million-dollar payout and nothing more.
“Fine, but you better be a gentleman.” I lean forward, mouth falling open, as the Oak comes into view. “Wow, that’s one hell of a building.” It looks like an enormous Roman temple made from marble and ringed by columns.
“Thank you,” he says, which I think is a first. “And you’ll like the inside even better.”
Chapter14
Renata
He wasn’t kidding. The inside is ridiculous.
It looks like a huge social club built for eighteenth-century royalty.Sumptuousis the only word that comes to mind. The entry room is obscenely big with multiple halls leading off into other area. There are something like half a dozen crystal chandeliers, priceless paintings on the walls, a couple statues I actually recognize from an art history coffee table book Grandpop bought me when I turned sixteen, and lavish furniture.
But it’s the living oak tree in the very middle that holds my attention.
“I know, right?” Lanzo stares up into its branches. “Nobody’s sure how it even exists in here.”
“It doesn’t get sunlight,” I say, shaking my head. “There’s no soil. No rain to water it.” The roots disappear into the tile floor as if it sprouted from the foundations of the building.
“Some things really are just magic,” he says, slipping his hand in my arm, steering me away. “Remember. We’re together. We’re happy. Maybe even in love?”
“We’re nowhere near the love stage yet,” I say, trying to pull myself together, but the tree has me shaken. How the hell does that thing even exist?
This entire building is a monument to power in a way I’ve never experienced before. It dwarfs my entire life—makes everything I’ve experienced seem small and worthless in comparison.
I hate it.
“I’m wearing you down,” Lanzo says, sounding happy.
We head down a side hall into a lounge area. There’s a jazz trio playing standards to the left with tables scattered in front of them. A bar’s on the right with people drinking and talking at a quiet murmur.
Carmine spots us first. He stands, waving. A pretty girl stands with him, obviously his wife. More men come toward us, and Lanzo’s hugging them all and greeting them, apparently meeting some of the wives for the very first time.
“Everyone, this is Renata. We’re seeing each other.” Lanzo beams at the group, shoving me toward them.
“Hello, everyone.” I catch Carmine’s eye. He grins and winks at me. “It’s nice to meet you.”
