Page 32 of His to Wed

Her deferential tone hits the right note for me. I didn’t like her fake submissiveness, but I do want her to realize that I’m the one in charge.

“Sure, I’d love to do touristy things with you,dolcezza. I can show you the sights in the city too.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo.”

Huh? I’d have expected her to put the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building at the top of her list. She must like animals. That’s something to remember.

“Then I’ll take you there.”

Her smile brightens her entire face, and it makes me feel like I’m glowing inside, a sensation I am definitely not used to. A strange awkwardness creeps over me as Emilia gazes at me almost adoringly. I clear my throat.

“So, uh, yeah, we’ve got a family dinner tonight.”

She makes a face that tells me she’s not keen on that idea, but she quickly smooths over her expression. “Who’ll be there?”

“My mother, sister, my brothers.”

“Just close family, then?”

I nod. Thankfully nobody has come up with the idea of throwing a party to welcome my new bride yet. I find it a bit much to be in a roomful of my aunts, uncles, and cousins of varying degrees of closeness. Emilia needs to be introduced to the chaos that is the Volantes one step at a time.

“None of your brothers are married?”

I expected this topic would come up at some point, but I wish I didn’t have to explain my older brother’s situation just yet.

“Antonio’s married but we don’t talk about it.”

That’s not strictly true. Every time Livvy wants to needle Antonio, she drags Isabella into the conversation.

“Why not? Is it an unhappy marriage?”

“It’s barely a marriage at all.”

Emilia looks at me, eyes wide, waiting patiently for me to explain. I could tell her it’s none of her business but, eventually, she’ll hear rumors and I don’t want her getting the wrong idea.

“They got married about six months ago. A few weeks into their marriage, Isabella betrayed Antonio. She let our enemies into their home and Antonio got shot.”

Emilia gasps. The shock on her face reflects how we all felt when we learned what Isabella had done. A friend and classmate of my brother, Matteo, we knew her from an early age. She practically grew up around our family. She never really wanted to marry Antonio, but we all thought she’d reconciled herself to her situation. None of us expected her to stab our brother in the back.

“So what happened to her?” Emilia asks.

“She’s living in exile under guard at one of our properties.”

“You sound like you don’t approve.”

I lift my eyebrows in surprise that Emilia could read me so easily. I’m usually good at keeping my emotions under wraps.

“No, I do not. She could have gotten my brother killed, and she’s living at a fucking beach house.”

“So what would you have done? Would you have killed her?”

“No, I’d have kept her close and made sure she suffered every single fucking day for the rest of her miserable life.”

Emilia blinks rapidly, shocked no doubt by the venom in my voice. I don’t care if she thinks I’m being harsh. She needs to know the sort of man she’s married to.

“I guess I should take that as a warning,” she whispers.

“Yes, you should.”

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