by Bethany-Kris
She still wasn’t sure where she went wrong here.
Theo showed up earlier without a reason, said less than a few words to Dino when their older brother invited him in for supper, and now they were acting like strangers again. What in the hell had become of their lives?
“Theo!” Lily said, desperation pitching her voice high.
“Dino’s doing right, Lily.”
That was it. That was all her brother said.
Lily dropped her fork to the table with a clatter, gaining both her brothers’ attention as she stood from the table and pushed her chair roughly away.
Dino eyed her plate of food. “We’re not finished eating, Lily.”
“I’m finished, or do you plan on telling me how many calories I have to consume in a day, too? Maybe you would like to give me a list of things I should and shouldn’t be doing, like the miles I jog in the morning or the color of my lipstick. What should I wear, how should I speak and walk? Come on, Dino, what more can you do to me? Let me have it.”
“Lily—”
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked. “Why, Dino?”
“Because I have to.”
Damian’s words a few days before clanged around in the back of Lily’s mind like a warning bell.
“I am not your way to the top!” she shouted.
Dino didn’t blink. “I’m not aiming to get there.”
Lily couldn’t begin to understand her brother. And God knew she tried. “Dino, please.”
“Stop begging, Lily,” Dino said, his words sharp like the edge of a blade. “You’re a DeLuca whether you want to be or not. DeLucas don’t beg, we never have, and you’re sure as shit not going to start now. As far as what you can and can’t do, you already know the answer to that, so don’t start looking for direction from me. You know what is expected from you; what more do you want from me?”
“To let me live my life,” Lily said.
“I’m trying.”
Abriella Trentini dropped the stack of magazines on the coffee shop’s small circular table and took a seat with a huff. The white lace, pearl buttons, and flowing silks on the covers of the magazines made Lily sick just by looking at them.
“Do you have a style you like?” Abriella asked. “That’d help to narrow it down a bit.”
“She’s going to make this extra difficult,” Evelina informed before taking a drink of her chai latte.
Lily gave her best friend a dirty look. “Classic, A-line, lace.”
“Someone was wrong,” Abriella said in a sing-song manner, grinning.
Evelina shrugged. “Give it time.”
“All white?” Abriella asked.
“Off-white,” Evelina said.
Lily laughed under her breath. “She knows. Definitely off-white. The less whispering I have to listen to, the better. No need to give the mob bitches anymore reason to act like barking spiders than they already have.”
“Hey,” Evelina said, mocking offense with her hand pressed to her chest. “Is that how you think of us—mob bitches?”
“No, just bitches.”
All three girls’ laughter rang out in the quiet coffee shop, drawing the attention of several annoyed gazes. Lily didn’t even care about them. Their life wasn’t being upturned and decided on without their input or approval. They weren’t being forced to plan a wedding they didn’t want or being made to marry a man they didn’t know.
“Seriously though,” Abriella said, sobering. “How are you doing with all of this?”
Lily sighed and eyed the magazines. “I’ve spent the last week arguing and yelling at Dino.”
“And?”
“And here I am looking at bridal magazines.”
Lily thought that statement was self-explanatory without her needing to go into further detail.
“How in the hell did Dino get the church to agree to overlook the mandatory six-month couple’s counselling?” Evelina asked.
Lily scoffed. “Paid the church off, probably.”
“Ah, the smell of old money, bribery, and religion first thing in the morning,” Abriella said in a long sigh. “Smells like home, girls.”
Evelina laughed under her breath. “Just like home.”
“And the mob,” Lily added bitterly.
“Is that all it is for you?” her best friend asked.
Lily didn’t know how to properly answer Evelina’s question. “Partly, but it’s about me, too. Why let me just begin my life away from all this and then drag me back into it?”
Evelina shrugged. “Maybe Dino and Theo never really let you go; you just thought they did.”
“Dino picked the date,” Lily added. “I couldn’t even pick my own wedding date, he had to.”
“Why?” Abriella asked.
“I don’t know. It’s a little less than a month before the start of his trial.”
Evelina’s gaze widened. “That’s like … That puts the wedding almost two months from today.”
“Yep,” Lily mumbled.
“Shit.”
“Yep.”
“They’re not wasting time, then,” Abriella said softly.
“Nope,” Lily replied, sadness twisting at her insides.
“Damian didn’t want a little more time or something?” Evelina asked.
Lily shrugged. “How the hell should I know?”
“Pardon?”
“I haven’t seen him since the dinner at the boss’s. He’s not been around, he’s not asked for me, and we’ve not spoken otherwise. I have no idea what Damian wants but I can bet it isn’t me.”
“What if he did?” Abriella asked.
Lily snorted indelicately. “He doesn’t.”
“I didn’t ask that. I asked about if he might, what would you do if that were the case?”
“Nothing,” Lily said honestly. “I would do nothing.”
Evelina watched Lily like she was a deer ready to bolt over the rim of her cup. “You’re already doing nothing, babe.”
“Talk to me when this is you, Eve. Let me know how you feel then.”
“I will. It’s bound to happen. And I expect you to let me bitch, moan, and cry my goddamn eyes out because I’m not marrying the man I want. Simple as that.”
Lily felt thunderstruck at her friend’s blatant statement. “I will.”
“Good. Carry on with your bitching and moaning.”
“I’m not crying,” Lily pointed out.
“Yet,” Abriella muttered.
“DeLucas don’t cry,” Evelina said before Lily could.
“We don’t.”
“Not to other people, anyway,” Evelina added.
Grumbling, Lily flipped open one of the many magazines Abriella brought along for their lunch date. Abriella Trentini was a lot like Lily and Evelina in the way she had been brought up in and around the thick of Outfit business. She was a mafia child through and through, so she, like Lily and Evelina, likely knew there wasn’t any way around the arrangement made.
“They’re planning a huge party,” Lily said. “Dino was working on the guest list this morning. It was ridiculous.”
“How big?” Evelina asked.
“At least three-hundred guests. Probably more.” Lily made a face. “I didn’t even know most of the names on the list. How do you plan a wedding that big in less than two months?”
“Money,” Evelina said like that explained it all.
Lily supposed it did.
“Big thing for two families to merge,” Abriella said. “I’m not surprised Dino went for a Rossi.”
Lily wasn’t even sure she wanted to know but because she had been so out of the loop with the Outfit and the families involved for the last several years, she didn’t have a choice but to ask. “Why is that?”
Abriella raised a single brow high. “Really?”
“Yeah, I asked, didn’t I?”
“Terrance made the call, Lily,” Abriella said quietly. “If Dino wanted to align you with another family, it makes sense for him to d
o it with one he trusts. The Rossi family had very little to do with what happened. Terrance and your uncle made all the calls on that mess, you know.”
Lily still didn’t understand. “No, I don’t.”
Evelina cleared her throat, shooting Abriella a look Lily couldn’t decipher. “She’s never been around a lot, Ella. Dino’s kept her out of a lot of it, especially the Outfit. She doesn’t even talk to me about that stuff, all right?”
“Can’t blame him,” Abriella muttered.
“I’m right here, okay,” Lily said. “Talk like I am.”
Abriella sighed. “Your parents. Terrance and Ben did all of that.”
Lily’s spine straightened in the chair. “I know.”
“Then you know why Dino would choose a Rossi and not someone closer to your family or a Trentini to align you in marriage.”
“So, what? Dino doesn’t think someone in the Trentini family would marry me because our father was a rat? That’s—”
“No, because Dino doesn’t trust them,” Evelina interrupted gently. “It’s been a long time, sure, but wounds like those don’t ever heal as well as people think they do.”
Lily swallowed hard, trying to force the lump in her throat down. It didn’t help. Her wounds certainly weren’t healed. They had barely faded at all.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Lily whispered.
“Okay, enough of this,” Abriella said, grabbing the magazine from Lily’s hand.
“Hey!”
Evelina just laughed at Lily’s wide eyes.
“Seriously, enough.” Abriella gathered the magazines and tossed them into her messenger bag. “This day is ridiculous. This wedding is ridiculous. Pick a dress another day. Dino will have everything planned and going ahead regardless of us, so we might as well let him do it. We have better things to do.”
Lily gaped. “Like what?”
Abriella shrugged. “How about a club?”
Evelina made a face. “Should we?”
“Who’s going to tell? One of us?”
“What is the problem?” Lily asked, glancing between her two friends.
“Nothing,” Abriella replied, giving Evelina a pointed look. “We do this all the time. Go out and have some fun, shake off the stress, and forget about the day. Nothing is wrong.”
“As long as nobody sees us,” Evelina said. “Daddy would be in a right fit and you know your grandfather would flip, Ella.”
“Terrance will never know.”
“But—”
“He hasn’t found out about all the other times, Eve.”
“True, but it still makes me nervous. I mean, Lily is getting married and they know we’re all friends. Terrance probably has a half of a dozen enforcers trailing us on a daily basis just to make sure we’re being good.”
Being good?
Lily scoffed. What fucking world did they live in? They were adults, right? “And what if they did find out?”
“They don’t, so it’s not important,” Abriella said. “Eve is just overthinking, like she always does.”
“I am not!”
“Okay, you’re not. Shut up about it. Tommas’ place?” Abriella asked.
Evelina nodded. “He’s the only one who won’t run his mouth if he sees us out.”
Abriella smiled. “He is. And I always know how to lose the enforcers trailing me. They’re too embarrassed to call Granddaddy and tell him they lost me because they know how much shit they’d be in. How about we take my car, stop at the place Tommas’ rents for me after I lose the—”
“Whoa, hold up,” Lily said, leaning forward with interest. “What did you just say?”
For the first time, Abriella actually looked nervous. She wouldn’t meet Lily’s gaze. “It’s nothing.”
“A family Capo is renting you a private place and that’s nothing?” Lily repeated dully.
“It’s nothing to you,” Abriella said firmly. “Better you don’t know, Lily. Trust me.”
“I don’t know, either,” Evelina said with a grin.
Oh, she clearly knew.
Abriella didn’t take her eyes off Lily for a second. “Listen, what I do is what I do, Lily. And I’m going to make damn sure I have fun while I can before I can’t anymore. I’m not looking for anyone’s permission here. Are we good?”
Lily thought so. “We’re good.”
Tommas Rossi’s club couldn’t fit another soul inside. Lily was sure of it. How the club didn’t have fire marshals knocking on the door to clear bodies out, she didn’t know.
“What are you doing here?” Adriano asked his older sister.
Evelina didn’t turn from the bar as she ordered.
“Hey, look at me,” Adriano barked. “Don’t act like I’m not talking to you, Eve.”
“Shut up, Adriano,” Evelina said with a huff. “You’re not even legal. Who the hell let you in?”
“Tommas.”
Abriella rolled her eyes. “Figures. Where is he?”
“In the back office dealing with some shit.”
“Work, you mean,” Abriella said. “Somebody’s dealing in here for him. God, he’s never going to learn.”
“Something like that,” Adriano replied with a shrug.
Lily took the bright green grasshopper drink Evelina offered and tipped it back to take a big sip. The alcohol flooded her mouth instantly right along with the intense flavor of the drink. Christ, it was good.
“Not so fast,” Evelina said, laughing. “You’ll be so hammered I might not be able to get you home without Dino knowing.”
“Screw Dino,” Lily replied before taking another drink.
Lily’s attention went straight back to the brother and sister who were glaring at one another.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Adriano said.
“Tommas is here, right?” Evelina asked sweetly.
“I said that already, Eve.”
“Exactly. Someone is here. He’ll keep watch over us. What is the problem?”
Adriano’s teeth gritted beneath his jaw. “You know what the damn problem is.”
Evelina waved a hand flippantly at her brother before taking a drink of her Sourpuss and Seven-Up mix. “Not really, little brother.”
“You’re fucking impossible,” Adriano muttered. “I’m trying to give you some warning here and you’re ignoring me.”
“Are you going to be a little rat and run to Daddy?” Evelina asked.
Adriano’s gaze narrowed as he glanced between Lily and Abriella. “No, but you’re not the one someone might flip over tonight, Eve.”
“Turn cheek, Adriano. Isn’t that what everybody keeps telling me?”
“You owe me.”
“Whatever.”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut about you, but somebody else needs to know about her,” Adriano said, nodding at Lily.
Who the hell would care if she was at the club?
Adriano disappeared back into the crowd without another word.
“That was easy,” Lily said.
Evelina didn’t look all too pleased at her brother’s parting words. “Fucking spoil sport.”
“How long do you think we have?” Abriella asked.
“An hour, maybe.”
Abriella pouted. “I’ll go find Tommas and see what he can do.”
Evelina scowled. “Nothing, probably.”
“Give him a chance.”
“What am I missing?” Lily asked, sipping on her grasshopper again.
She needed one of those for each hand. They were that damn good.
“It’s nothing,” Evelina assured. “Let’s just have some fun and dance while we can.”
That sounded perfect to Lily. The music practically pumped through the floors and vibrated the borrowed heels Lily stood in.
She had come to find out Abriella Trentini’s rented apartment might as well be a second home with an entire wardrobe included. Lily chose not to ask questions when she noticed a man’s suits hanging alongside Abriella’s dresses earlier. Th
en again, she figured Tommas Rossi’s name had been mentioned more than enough for it to be kind of obvious.
Someone wasn’t going to like it when their secret was found out.
“Let’s dance!” Evelina shouted, giggling as she tugged on Lily’s hand.
Lily grinned. It had been too long since she was able to just have fun, especially with Eve.
“Let’s dance.”
Strobe lights flashed from all angles in rapid succession, making the crowd nothing but a blinking black and white blur to Lily. She turned with her arms thrown high, swallowed by the club goers, drunken laughter, sweaty, swaying bodies, and music.
She wasn’t the partying kind of girl. Sure, Lily had her fun every once in a while, but she never really let loose. It felt so good to dance and be just another face in the crowd—someone unrecognizable and unknown.
Not a DeLuca.
Not a girl affiliated with the mob.
Not the daughter of a turncoat or the sister of made men.
No, just Lily.
It reminded her of traveling all over again and of being free.
Lily realized she had lost her friend somewhere in the crowd. She didn’t really care. Evelina had probably gone back to the bar for another round of drinks. The buzz slipping through Lily’s veins said she probably had enough of her own for the night.
Large hands found Lily’s waist from behind before her body was drawn into the firm chest of someone. A man. He smelled like the club, liquor, and unfamiliar cologne. He wasn’t the first person to randomly grab Lily and bring her in for a dance or two, so she didn’t mind. Her hips moved in time with the man’s and the music. Lily wanted to see who it was that decided to dance with her, so she turned in his embrace to find a good-looking stranger with a wide grin.
“What is your name, pretty girl?” he asked.
She didn’t think giving her name would be an issue. It wasn’t like she planned on taking this man home.
“Lily.”
“Carter,” the man replied.
“Hello, Carter.”
“Hello, Lily. Beautiful dress.”
“Thank you.”
His grin melted into a sensual smirk. “Let’s see if I can get it off you before the night is through.”