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“I already had my fair share this morning,” he grinned. “When I saw that you were here, I ran down to Aubrey’s to get you your favorite.” Aubrey’s was a little café on the corner that we made rich every week.
“God bless you,” I sighed before taking my first sip of perfection.
“Just like you like it,” he said, tossing me a playful wink.
Close to about two years ago, Ryan and I had engaged in a brief fling, something to take the edge offour stressful jobs. At six-foot-one, Ryan Buckner had light brown hair, dark blue eyes, and kept in shape. He was a good-looking guy, and he knew it, though he wasn’t obnoxious about it. Ryan was easy to like, and he also knew his way around the bedroom.
Nevertheless, three months later, I had discovered just how casual Ryan had been treating our fling, and while we hadn’t committed to anything, finding out that he’d been juggling three different women at the same time had turned me off. Though I understood the concept of casual dating, I still took my health seriously enough to be turned off by a guy that datedthatcasually.
Luckily, Ryan had been a good sport about it, taking the time to understand my point of view. We had managed to part ways as good friends and coworkers, and I was thankful for that. I didn’t have many friends, so it was nice to know that Ryan was always willing to lend a helping hand if needed.
Before I could give any more thought to my past with Ryan, his voice bounced off the walls ofmy office. “Is that aweddingring?”
I lifted my hand and looked at my finger absently. I’dbeen tempted to throw it in the gutter after seeing Nero with that blonde last night, but why provoke Nero Sartori when I didn’t need to? Though I had my pride, starting a war with a Mafia Underboss when I couldn’t possibly win was stupid. Besides, my disappearing act aside, I wasn’t too keen on doing anything that would make him put an end to my career. I could see Nero making it so that no one ever hired me again.
“Yeah,” I answered tiredly before taking another sip of my coffee.
“I…I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” he stammered, and he looked a bit upset by the news. Granted, there was no way that he could be jealous, but we were close enough that I could see why he’d feel bothered by not knowing.
“It’s not like that,” I told him as I leanedback in my seat.
Ryan sat down in one of the empty chairs in front of my desk. “Then what’s it like?”
“It’s…an arranged marriage,” I answered, not sure how to explainit without beingtoohonest.
“An arranged marriage?” he echoed skeptically. “Like…in the Victorian Era?”
That got a smirk out of me. “It’s not as archaic as it sounds. There are lots of people that marry to strengthen dynasties or for more wealth.” I shrugged. “How many country club marriages do you think were born out of love?”
“Does this have something to do with you being a Milano?”
Though I led a separate lifefrom that of my family, it was still well-known that my father was Renzo Milano, and whispers followed him around just like they did anyone else involved with the Mob. It wasn’t anything that I had ever confirmed or denied to anyone. I knew that if I wanted to keep this job, I’d also have to keep my mouth shut, though that hadn’t ever been a problem. Even though my life had taken another direction, I’d still been raised in the Mafia, and I still knew the rules just like everyone else.
While a part of me wanted to lie to him because Ididunderstand the rules of being in the Mafia, I also knew that the news was going to spread like wildfire soon enough. I also knew that Nero was going to appoint me a guard, no matter what he’d said back at the house, and only the truth was going to be able to explain why an armed bodyguard was following me around suddenly.
“Possibly,” I hedged.
His blue eyes just stared at me, trying to get agrasp on how arranged marriages were still a thing. Ryan lived a life where he was allowed to marry the woman that he was in love with. He lived a life that gave him permission to date around until he found the right woman for him. He didn’t have a selfish, spoiled, and immature sister that thought of only her wants and had no concept of accountability.
Finally, he asked, “Are you okay? I mean…are you happy about it?”
I took another sip of my coffee, biding some time to find a way to explain what I was feeling. “Honestly, I don’t see it impacting my life much.”
Ryan’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “You don’t seemarriageimpacting your life?”
“Ryan, I’m still going to work here,” I told him. “With all the hours that I work, I seriously doubt that I’m even going to see him that much.”
“That sounds…it sounds sad, actually,” he mumbled, and that got a laugh out of me.
“Honestly, it sounds a lot better than hanging out with a guythat I have to pretend to love in front of a bunch of people that I don’t care to know.”
His lips twitched at that. “That’s a fair point.”
“It’s not that big of a deal, Ryan,” I semi-lied. “With as much as I work, it wasn’t like I was going to have time tostart dating seriously enough to find the man of my dreams anyway.” I shrugged. “This takes the mess out of all the hits-and-misses of dating.”
“Is it a…realmarriage?”
I grinned. “Is that your way of asking me if I have anopen marriage?”
