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Leo clears his throat. “Still time to try out your two stepbrothers before you seal the deal.” He winks.
I stick my fingers down my throat. “I’d rather ram skewers into my eyes.”
Luca laughs, and so do Mia and Leo. “I’ve got to admit, you fit into this family like a missing piece,” Mia says, squeezing my hand. “I’m so glad you’re my stepsister.”
Guilt slides through me like a viper, twisting around my heart until it squeezes painfully as I look down at our hands.
Would she still say that if she knew the things I’ve done with her dad?
We’ve crossed the line too often. The thought of kissing Alex doesn’t inspire the toe-curling desire that kissing Remy does. Maybe it’s the taboo and forbidden aspect. A novelty I need to forget and move on from.
But no matter how hard I try, Remy keeps sinking under my skin.
The car finally pulls up outside the restaurant, and I take a deep breath. Lunch without him staring at me like a predator waiting to pounce should provide an escape from my tangled emotions. Mia squeezes my hand again before we climb out of the car and head inside.
I’m surrounded by luxurious decor and glittering crystal, but as I try to focus on my surroundings, all I can think about is Remy. Even when he’s not here it’s like he’s always there in the back of my mind.
I shake my head and force a breath between my lips. I need to focus on the present and the man I’m likely to get engaged to in less than two weeks.
As we step inside the main dining room, the familiar notes of the recent pop hit, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa, fill the air. The drumbeat syncs with my racing heart, a rhythmic backdrop to our entrance. Despite the internal war waging within me, I can’t help but tap my foot to the tune.
But the further I try to push Remy from my mind, the more the thoughts of him push back. He’s everywhere: in my thoughts, in my dreams, and even in this restaurant, as if his presence is haunting me from a distance.
“Ella,” Alex’s deep, alluring voice speaks from behind me.
I force a smile and turn to face him. “Alex. It’s good to see you.”
He takes my hand and kisses the back of it. I hate that I make comparisons. I don’t feel that spark when our hands touch or when our eyes meet. There’s nothing there. Not like there is when Remy looks at me.
“Shall we take our seats?”
“Sure,” I respond, and we walk toward the elegantly set table.
Alex’s piercing blue eyes are fixed on me. “How have you been since we last met?”
I shrug. “Fine. I’ve not been up to a lot. What about you?”
There’s an odd flash in his eyes as he clears his throat. “Working mostly.”
“Your father keeps you busy in the family business?” I ask.
He admitted to me that his family is mafia, like all of them here, and they mainly make money through arms. It made me feel a little sick. And yet, finding out Remy traffics women for money didn’t stop me from craving his touch, his kiss.
I need to be put into a mental health facility as clearly I’m not in my right mind.
“Yes, I’m learning the ropes, ready to take over as pakhan.”
My brow furrows. “pakhan?”
“I forget you’re new to the mafia world. It’s the word for a leader in Russian.”
“Oh.” I nod. “And you will take over from him soon?”
He shakes his head. “I hope not. My dad isn’t dead, and until he is, I won’t step up as pakhan.”
I suppress a shudder as I imagine what growing up in the mafia world must be like. The violence and corruption play on my mind, but I try not to let it show.
“Have you always known what your dad does?” I ask, changing the subject.
