by L A Cotton
“Very well.” He snapped the lid shut and placed it on the counter beside me. “You should wear the silver dress.”
“How do you—never mind.”
He studied me, his sharp gaze searching my face, for what I didn’t know. “I know that we didn’t get off on the right foot, but it’s only because you drive me fucking crazy.” Scott reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “We could be so good together.”
My body began to tremble with indignation. Did he really think anything he could say would fix everything?
He was more deluded than I thought.
“You should go,” I said, backing away ever so slightly. He was being weird, and it was unnerving.
“Yeah. But wear the diamonds and the dress. I’ll see you Saturday.”
Dread slithered through me, resting heavy in my stomach.
The seconds ticked by, the silence awkward and suffocating. I half-expected for Scott to make a move, to make some crude comment or try to intimidate me. But he didn’t. He let out a long breath before offering me a sharp nod and leaving.
Luis rushed into the room a couple of minutes later to find me standing in the same position. “Arianne, what happened?”
“He was here.”
“That sly fucker,” he seethed. “I got a call there was a problem in the underground parking lot. He must have called it in to sneak up here. Did he—”
“No. He was... it was weird.”
“Weird how?” Luis drew closer.
“He was almost... normal.”
He smothered a grunt. “Tell me exactly what he said.”
“He bought me this.” I handed Luis the jewelry box. “Told me to wear it Saturday with the silver dress.”
“That’s all he said?”
I nodded.
“This is all a game to him.” His jaw clenched. “He wanted to show us he still holds the power. I’m going to increase security here. Make sure he doesn’t slip through again.”
“Okay,” I murmured, still rooted to the spot.
There was something about Scott’s visit that bothered me, and I was beginning to think nothing would keep him away from me. He knew every trick, every blind spot.
I could handle the dirty mouthed monster who enjoyed making me cringe and cower. But cool, calm, composed Scott was a different beast entirely.
He was changing the rules. Trying to disarm me.
And I was terrified it was working.
Chapter 15
Nicco
“How are you?”
Silence filled the line. It was Saturday, the morning of the party. I wanted to call Arianne and reassure her that everything was going to be okay.
I’d wanted to do it all week.
But I couldn’t find the words. And maybe I was growing paranoid, but she’d been off with me all week.
We still talked and texted. She told me all about her day and I told her about the monotonous routine of mine. But Arianne was distant, a lingering sadness in her voice I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
It was eating me up inside.
Picking on every insecurity I had about our relationship, our future.
She hated Fascini, I didn’t doubt that. My sweet Bambolina talked about him with such disdain I didn’t once question her feelings toward him.
But something had changed.
I couldn’t help wonder if it was the physical distance between us. If what we were asking her to do was too much. Luis kept an eye on her and checked in with me. But it wasn’t enough. After another week apart, with no light at the end of the tunnel, I was beginning to lose faith.
Maybe Arianne was too.
“Amore mio?” I whispered. “Talk to me.”
“I can’t believe it’s today,” she finally replied, easing some of the tightness in my chest. “I lay awake all night wishing things could be different... wishing I was just a normal girl. But my life will never be normal.” Her resigned sigh cut me to the bone. My girl was giving up. She was slipping through my fingers and I didn’t know what the fuck to do about it.
If I went to her...
I couldn’t. My father had given me strict instructions to stay in Boston. He’d given even stricter instructions to Uncle Alonso to make sure I didn’t do anything reckless.
He didn’t trust me where Arianne was concerned, and maybe he was right.
Because as I clutched the phone in my hand, waiting for Arianne’s next words, all I could think about was driving back to Verona County.
“I only want to love you, Bambolina. With all that I am.”
“I know,” she took a shuddering breath. “And I want to be strong, I do. But I can’t help but think tonight will change everything.”
Fuck.
This was killing me.
Arianne had crawled into my soul, entwined herself with my DNA. If she hurt, I hurt. If she bled, I bled. If she cried, my soul wept with her.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” I asked. “Something you’re not telling me.”
“How do you...?” She stopped herself.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me.” My body shook violently. If Fascini had hurt... no, Luis would have told me.
“Are you having second thoughts... about us?” I barely choked out the words over the lump in my throat.
“What? No! It isn’t like that. I love you, Nicco. There is no undoing that.”
“So what is it, Bambolina? Tell me, please. You have to tell me.”
Her silence was deafening.
“Arianne, please...”
“Tristan, he’s awake.”
“He is?” Relief flooded me. “That’s good, isn’t it?” I knew Arianne cared for her cousin, and I would never wish to inflict pain on her. So Tristan being awake could only be a good thing.
Yet she didn’t sound pleased about it.
“I saw him at the hospital. Scott was there, he said some things... things about you.”
My muscles locked up. “What things?” I tried to keep my voice even, but I couldn’t disguise the trace of panic.
“I didn’t want to talk about this over the phone, but I need to know... Did you hurt Tristan, Nicco? Before the accident?”
She knew.
That fucker had told her.
I hadn’t purposefully kept it from her. Everything had just happened so fast, and now here we were.
“I should have told you,” I said.
“So it’s true? You broke his finger.”
“It was before I knew the truth about you.”
She inhaled a sharp breath. “I see.”
“Bambolina, please. You know who I am. What I do.”
“There’s knowing it, and knowing it, Nicco.”
“What do you want me to say?” The words came out raw.
This was who I was.
I couldn’t change my legacy.
Just as Arianne couldn’t change hers.
I was Marchetti. The Family came first. It would always come first unless I decided to walk away and bind us to a life in exile. It would be Emilio Marchetti and Elena Ricci all over again.
“Nothing,” she breathed. “There’s nothing to say. I just wish I knew. I wish Scott hadn’t used the truth against me like that. I felt stupid.”
“You’re not stupid, Bambolina.”
“No?” she seethed. “So tell me why I feel like this? I am sick and tired of having my life dictated to me by men. The only person who seems to understand that is Luis.” Arianne laughed but it was bitter and strangled. Nothing like the sweet soft melody that usually spilled from her lips.
“He gave me a knife, you know. I’ve been practicing with him.”
“He what?” My hand curled into a tight fist. Luis had never said a word during our check-ins.
“He said I should be able to protect myself.”
“Bambolina, you’re safe... I know it doesn’t feel like it, but we’re not going to let anything happen to you.” Even as I said the words, I wa
sn’t sure I believed them anymore.
This wasn’t only about Arianne.
It was bigger than her, than me.
Than us.
“You’re not here, Nicco.” Her ragged words were like a slap to the face. “You don’t get to reassure me of my safety when you’re not here.”
“That’s not fair.”
“None of this is...”
“Why do I feel like we’re having our first fight?”
She let out another sigh. “I should go. I’m meeting my mother and Suzanna Fascini for facials.” The lack of emotion in her voice concerned me.
I knew it was taking its toll on Arianne, but she seemed so defeated.
“I love you, Arianne Carmen Lina Capizola. You just need to hold on for a little longer. Can you do that?” For me? I swallowed that thought. Arianne was already pissed at me; I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.
But I needed her to fight just a little longer.
“Bambolina, please...” I added.
“I should go. I’ll talk to you soon.” Arianne hung up without warning.
I let out a guttural roar, launching my phone across the room. Luckily, it missed the wall, landing with a thud on the spongy carpet. My cell phone was my only way of keeping in contact with Arianne. If I didn’t have that, I had nothing.
Every day spent away from her was another day my soul ached. Another day the ties binding us weakened. I knew enough of this life to know that it required sacrifice. It required men to offer up a piece of their soul, to put the Family above all else.
But most men didn’t find a love like ours.
It transcended familial obligation and rational thought. It lived inside me, woven into the very fiber of my being.
I feared if I didn’t fight for Arianne; if I couldn’t be the guy she deserved, there would be nothing of me left to serve the Family.
Because without her I was not whole.
I SPENT THE DAY HANGING at the house, helping my aunt. She reminded me so much of my mom, her presence brought me an unexpected comfort. Aunt Maria didn’t have a housekeeper, she liked to get her hands dirty. But it was more than that, she respected my need for space, letting me help her in comfortable silence or mindless conversation.
When we were done in the kitchen, she came over to me and took my face in her small hands. “Such a good boy, Nicco. Arianne is lucky to have you.”
“Is she?” My brows drew together.
“You love her, no?” I nodded. “And you would do anything make her happy? To keep her safe?”
“You know I would.”
“Well, then. Stop with the pity party. You are Niccolò Marchetti.” She gave me a knowing wink and tapped my cheek. “I think I heard your cell phone vibrating. You should go check it. It could be her.”
I’d left it in my room to avoid checking it every five seconds.
Aunt Maria went to leave, but I called out to her at the last second. “Are you happy?”
She stopped and gave me a warm smile. “We get one life, Nicco. Love, family, and good food, what else is there?”
“The other stuff... it doesn’t bother you?”
“Of course it does, but I made my choice. Just like Arianne has made hers.” Her eyes twinkled with love. “Life is short. Too short to live with regrets.” She disappeared into the hall, leaving me with my thoughts.
Taking her advice, I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and went up to my room. I’d taken the smallest guest room, not wanting to be a burden. It also afforded me my own bathroom and no neighbors.
My cell was flashing, planting a seed of hope in my chest. But it was quickly dashed when I saw Enzo’s name.
“Hey,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”
“I was helping Aunt Maria.”
“You’re turning into a domesticated pussy.”
“Fuck off. They were good enough to take me in, the least I could do is help out. What’s up?”
“I was just calling to see how you are...” He let the words hang.
“You mean you’re calling to check up on me.” Irritation rippled through me.
“Uncle Toni is worried; we all are.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I gritted out.
“Yeah, and it’s the right thing to do,” he hesitated, “I just thought that with it being the party and all, you might...”
“You thought I’d do something stupid like get on my bike and turn up there?”
The thought had crossed my mind. In fact, I’d thought of nothing else all week.
“You need to stay away and let us handle it. Promise me, Cous.”
“What would you do? Tell me what you’d do if it was the girl you loved?”
He snorted. “Un-fucking-likely.”
“You’ll meet her. One day you’ll meet the girl who puts you on your ass and I’ll be there to watch, loving every second.” The words came out bitter. Enzo didn’t get it. Just like his old man didn’t get it. It was foolish to think otherwise.
“I didn’t call to fight, Nicco.” He let out a small sigh. “I called because I’m concerned. I know it’s hard on you. But Uncle Toni, my dad, and Michele are trying to figure out the best course of action.”
“That doesn’t involve taking out Mike Fascini?” Bitterness clung to my words.
“You’re still pissed over that?”
“I’m pissed that you still don’t have my back.” I was picking a fight, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed the outlet. I needed to get all this shit off my chest and Enzo was the unlucky bastard who was my verbal punching bag.
“That’s bullshit and you know it. I have your back. I’ve always had your fucking back.” He spat the words. “But since she came along you can’t see straight. The Family comes first. Some piece of ass doesn’t change that.”
“I didn’t ask for this, you know. I didn’t go out looking for her. She barged into my life and knocked me on my ass before I even knew what was happening. You think I don’t know she complicates everything? You think I don’t ask myself every day if it would be easier for the both of us to just let her go?” My voice rose, my chest heaving with the weight of the words.
“Nic, that’s not—”
“Loving her is killing me, E. It’s fucking killing me. But not loving her, trying to walk away... there’ll be nothing left of me to give.” I drew in a shaky breath, feeling the weight of my words—the weight of being separated from Arianne—push down on my chest. “She’s inside me, man. And I know you don’t get it. I know there are so many layers of ice around your heart that you can’t put yourself in my shoes and understand... but if I lose Arianne, if we can’t find a way to make this work... you might as well drive out here and put a bullet between my eyes. Because she is it for me. There is no life without her. It’s that simple.”
Silence hung between us. “Fuck, Nicco.”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “One day you’ll understand.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that. But I’m beginning to get it. I don’t understand, maybe I never will. But I get it. I just don’t want you to do something you can’t come back from. You have to trust your father to get the job done.”
“And if he doesn’t?” A violent shiver ripped through me.
“He will. He knows what’s at stake, maybe better than anyone.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He lost your mom. I know things between them weren’t always easy, but he loved her. Aunt Lucia was the center of his universe. He wasn’t the same after she left.”
Enzo was right.
My father wasn’t the same after Mom left. But he’d held it together because he had responsibilities. He had a family who needed him, and an organization that looked to him for leadership.
I let out a heavy sigh, the fight ebbing out of my system. “I know things haven’t been right between us since Arianne,” I said. “But you’re my best friend, E. My brother in all the ways that matter.”
“Don’t
go getting all emotional on me. You know I’ll always have your back. But I’m not Matteo, Nic. I never will be. I won’t always tell you what you want to hear. But I will always give it to you straight.”
“And I love you for it.”
“Fuck off with that shit. She’s turning you into a soft touch.”
“Maybe you and Nora should hook up and once this thing with Fascini is over we can all double date.” A small smile tugged my lips. The chance to tease Enzo was too hard to resist.
He made some garbled choking sound, and I gave a haughty laugh. “Something tells me she could handle a guy like you.”
“No one can handle a guy like me.”
He had a point.
“But seriously, Cous, are you okay?”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid, if that’s what you mean.”
“Just sit tight. We’ve got tonight covered, and Vitelli will be with your girl. He won’t let her out of his sight.”
That wasn’t the problem, not tonight.
“It should be me,” I whispered.
I should have been the one at her side, the one claiming her as mine in front of all those people.
A beat passed and then Enzo let out a long sigh. “Who knows, if everything goes to plan, one day it could be.”
Chapter 16
Arianne
“Ready?” Luis asked me.
Glancing at myself in the mirror on the wall, I nodded. My hair was braided in a crown atop of my head, soft tousles falling around my face. My eyes were smoky, and my lips were a deep shade of red. The diamonds Scott had given me hung like a noose around my neck. I’d almost decided against wearing them. But in the end, I’d snatched it from the box and asked Luis to fasten it for me.
Tonight, I would play my part. I would hang on his arm like the dutiful, docile fiancée I would never be, and I would do it all wearing a secretive smile.
“As I’ll ever be.” I grabbed my clutch purse and tucked it under my arm. We were, in fact, all staying at the Gold Star Hotel tonight, but Mike Fascini had insisted Scott and I arrive together in the limousine he had arranged for us.
“You look beautiful, Ari,” he said, yanking open the door.
I felt beautiful. The dress wrapped around my body like a silky second skin, kissing the floor as I walked. But the night was already tainted.