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Ah, to be eighteen-years-old again. Little bastard.
“Are you going to go talk to her or are you going to stand here like a wallflower?” Kieran said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“When’s the last time you had a girlfriend?” I replied.
He laughed. “I didn’t need Dad to get me a girlfriend,” he took a sip of his drink. “Go talk to her, lad.”
I rolled my eyes, but did as Kieran told me. He was a couple of years younger than me, but he was definitely the wisest one of all of us. And I didn’t want to hear it.
“Adriana, it’s been a while,” I said, approaching her cautiously. Her eyes flickered over me, assessing my intentions before offering a curt nod.
Adriana was gorgeous, and time had been so good to her. When I had known her, she was a lanky, quiet, withdrawn teenager. Now she was every inch a woman, and embodied it perfectly. Looking at her made my mouth water. Her dark eyes were sharp and bright, and her sleek, raven hair was shorter than I remembered–it framed her face beautifully, highlighting her high cheekbones and full lips. She wore a sparkling black and blue dress that hugged her figure, a cleavage line on her bust I was doing everything to avoid looking at. I didn’t want her to think I was a perv or anything.
The most captivating thing about her was her energy; it was strong and unyielding, radiating a sense of command that made others step back yet drew me in all the same. Goddamn. If I had to get fake married to someone, I could certainly do worse.
“Tristan,” she replied coolly, not bothering to hide her mistrust. “You’ve made quite a splash since our last meeting. Climbing the ranks of the Callahan family.”
“Not even one dig about being a nepo baby?”
She shrugged. “Pot, kettle.”
I smirked, attempting to diffuse the tension. “Well, in any case, you know me. Always striving for more.” Despite my words, I knew there was more at stake here than just ambition. This arranged marriage, a union between two powerful families, could change everything. For better or worse, I couldn’t say. My dad thought the move was for the better, and there was a reason he had been in power for so long. Also, she was being glib. I didn’t have any ranks to climb. I was in line for a throne. She knew my place in this world, and so did I.
Whatever reservations I had about my father’s rule, he certainly knew what he was talking about.
Adriana’s gaze never wavered, her sharp eyes continuing to observe the crowd even as we spoke. “Is that why you’re here? To solidify your position?”
“Perhaps,” I admitted, my thoughts drifting to my father, Malachy Callahan, and the weight of his expectations. “But there’s more to it than that.”
“Is there?” she challenged, her voice laced with doubt. “You don’t know me, Tristan. You never have. Your family has killed people I care about and–”
“That’s not fair. The Orsinis have killed people I care about too.”
“Who told you this was about being fair?” Adriana replied.
I was taken aback by her response. It wasn’t often I encountered someone who spoke so boldly and candidly with me; it was a good way to get killed. But something about Adriana’s demeanor made the hairs on my arms stand up, like a voltage passing through the air. She exuded danger, and I couldn’t deny that I found it alluring. I found her alluring.
She was so much more interesting than the countless models I had taken to bed.
“I’m not saying we have to forget what’s happened between our families,” I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. “But maybe it’s time to consider finding a way to move forward. Together.”
“And how would you suggest we do that?” Adriana asked skeptically, taking a sip of her champagne.
“Look, I know we have our issues. I can’t get away from my surname any more than you can,” I began, trying to convey sincerity despite the setting. “But I believe we can find common ground. We both understand what’s at stake.”
She sighed, her guarded expression softening for a brief moment. “Yes, we do. But trust isn’t easily earned, Tristan.”
“Trust is a two-way street,” I replied, feeling the first hints of an unexpected connection forming between us. Maybe if she knew that I was angry about this, like she was, she wouldn’t be as hesitant. “And it’s something we’ll have to work on together.”
“Why do you care?” she asked suddenly. “You could be married to anyone now. Why me?”
“Well, first of all, thank you,” I replied, grabbing a flute of champagne from a waiter walking past us. “Second of all, this wasn’t my plan. Don’t get me wrong, you look great and everything, but I would rather not marry anyone right now.”
“Oh?”
“I’m not even thirty,” I said. “I might not be able to go as hard as I did when I was twenty-one, but I can go hard.”
Adriana raised an eyebrow, her gaze flickering over to me. “Then why are you here?”
