AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Elle!” Millie hissed, pushing her curvaceous frame through the crowd towards me. My body instantly tensed at the look on her face.
“What is it?”
“There is a man over there who is requesting Legacy Rum and is being pretty fucking rude to the barmaid because she doesn’t have it behind the bar. Do you know him?”
I glanced over to where she was pointing and sighed heavily, “Yes, I know him. Let me deal with this.”
“Thank you,” she huffed in relief as I squeezed her arm and made my way to the main bar where a sandy blonde-haired man in a well-tailored grey suit stood menacingly with his back to me. I could see the terrified barmaid’s pale face over his shoulder and pushed down my irritation.
“Enzo?” I interrupted as he turned at my voice. “Is there a problem?”
His dark blue eyes swept down my body and settled back on my face with a smile. When I had first met this man two years ago, he had been a scrawny nineteen-year-old with a pretty face but a lack of self-belief, hiding behind his father’s shadow. Now, he filled out his suit and stood with an arrogant confidence, warning everyone around him that despite his age of twenty-one, he was not someone who should be messed with. Giovanni had taken him under his wing so to speak and taught him everything he needed to know about being a Boss. Their alliance was beneficial to both families and if Enzo Aiani made money, so did the Buccinis. In my opinion, Gio had turned a once timid boy into a beast of a man.
“Elenora. You are looking as stunning as ever,” he smiled, leaning one elbow lazily on the bar behind him. He had never tried to hide his interest in me, but I had grown up knowing how to play that to my own advantage.
“Grazie. I heard there was a problem and I just wanted to check if everything was okay?” My eyes darted over to the barmaid, whose wide eyes glanced between us with terror. Enzo didn’t even bother to turn around and face her.
“No. I just can’t believe they do not serve Legacy at an establishment like this,” he smiled.
“Oh, I am sorry. I can go and let Giovanni know, so he can send someone to get some for you?” I offered sweetly, fluttering my lashes. We both knew that Giovanni would never do that and would be pissed at Enzo’s demand and insult at his wedding.
Just as I thought, Enzo’s smile faltered and he coughed, clearing his throat. “No, there is no need for that. I will just have a whiskey instead.” I see he is still terrified of my fratello. I nodded to the barmaid as she smiled at me with relief and walked away to make his drink. “Can I get you a drink?”
I shook my head, raising my champagne in answer. He nodded, his eyes dipping to my cleavage in my rose gold, silk dress. "This dress is incredible. You wear it best. Out of the bridesmaids I mean."
I refrained from rolling my eyes. "Grazie, but I think we all look great."
“So I heard you graduated from uni. Congratulazioni.” He raised his glass of whiskey in the air to me and I knocked my glass into his. “And you are moving back home?”
“Have. I am already back home,” I responded, moving to stand next to him and watch the bodies on the dance floor. Olivia and Giovanni were in the centre of them all, laughing and drunkenly twirling around in their own little world of marital bliss. I smiled, ignoring that small pang of jealousy rocketing through me once more. Urgh. I hated feeling this way. Feeling like I was missing out on my epic love story while everyone else moved on with their lives.
“Well, now that you are back home, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner one evening?” Enzo asked, watching my side profile as I kept my eyes firmly glued on the dance floor. Panic immediately erupted through me. It wasn’t that Enzo was a bad man. My brother wasn’t a bad man either. Although that didn’t mean they didn’t do bad things. However, that wasn’t what bothered me about this lifestyle. It was a way of survival. A dog-eat-dog world that we lived in. In order to stay on top, you had to keep the rest in line. Dating someone like Enzo would not give me a different life from the one I was currently living. It would just be more of the same.
But I knew my place. I couldn’t shoot him down completely. He was, after all, an important ally. “That would be nice. I have lost touch with some of my friends in the city. It would be nice to have a new one.”
His smile dropped as he realised I had just friend zoned him but a cheeky, determined expression quickly replaced it. “Well, I don’t mind starting off as friends but I was hoping we might-”
“Oh please excuse me, Enzo! I need to catch the wedding planner before she leaves and I just saw her head out the door,” I lied, shooting him a look of sympathy. “Have a good night! Enjoy the whiskey.”
I pushed my way through the throngs of people towards the entrance of the ballroom. Two guards with their guns hidden behind their suit jackets clocked me coming, their expressions stern and confused. I quickly swerved and entered the ladies’ bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
I exhaled loudly in relief as I walked over to the vanity counter and looked at my reflection in the mirror before throwing my bag down. I leaned into my hands on each side of the sink, hanging my head low. And that’s when I heard it. A low, muffling cry coming from one of the closed cubicles. I turned, frowning deeply.
“Ciao?! C’è nessuno?” I asked if anyone was there. A loud sob came once more and I stepped forward.
“Elle?” The whimpering voice made me push open the cubicle door to see my mamma huddled down on the floor, tears staining her pretty face. Mascara ran down her cheeks and I dived down onto my knees in front of her.
“Mamma? What’s wrong?” I quickly shut the door behind me, in case anyone entered the bathroom. “What’s happened?”
“Nothing. Everything,” she cried as I grabbed some tissues and wiped her face. “It was so beautiful, wasn’t it? It was just what it was supposed to be.”
I sighed as I realised she was having an episode. It had been so long since she had missed her pills, resulting in this. The high she was on had switched to an overwhelming amount of emotions, triggering her brain into a frenzy. I nodded as I brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes.
“Mamma, did you take your pills this morning?”
“Yes!” She snapped, her eyes turning to pools of red-hot anger which quickly dispersed back to a confused state. “Maybe. No. Maybe I forgot, with the excitement of everything.”
“It’s okay mamma. Let’s get you back to your room and you can take them, yeah?”
