80

Waiters began piling the tables with appetizers; everything from veal carpaccio, vitello tonnato, buffalo mozzarella, a whole leg of prosciutto di parma, as well as a selection of Italian cheeses, octopus salad, marinated squid, green salads, and ciabiatta. Gianna took a piece of bread and broke it, then said, “I wanted to make a toast as your maid of honor but Dad forbade it.
He seemed worried that I might say something that would embarrass our family.”
Luke and Matthew looked in our direction. Gianna had not bothered to lower her voice and had deliberately ignored her father’s deadly stare. I pulled her by the arm. I didn’t want her to get into trouble. With a snort she filled her plate of hors d’oeuvres and dived in. My plate was still empty. A waiter filled my glass with white wine and I took a sip. I had already had a glass of champagne; this, combined with the fact that I had not eaten much during the day, made me feel slightly foggy.
Luca put his hand on mine, preventing me from taking another sip. “You should eat.” If I hadn’t felt all the diners’ eyes on me, I would have ignored his warning and downed the wine. I took a slice of bread, took a bite and then put the rest on the plate. Luke tightened his lips but did not try to persuade me to eat more, not even when the soup was served and I let it return untouched.
They were serving roast lamb as the main course. The sight of whole lambs made my stomach turn but it was traditional. The cook rolled a rotisserie table toward us because we were to be served first. Luke as the husband took the first slice and before I could refuse he told the cook to give me a slice too.
The center of the table was loaded with roasted rosemary potatoes, truffle mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and more.
I forced a mouthful of lamb and potatoes into my mouth before putting down my cutlery. My throat was too tight for food. I washed it down with another sip of wine. Fortunately, Luca was busy talking to the men at the table of a club the Russians had attacked in New York. Dante Cavallaro, the future Outfit Boss, also seemed to almost come alive when he talked business.
A band began to play at the end of dinner, the signal that it was time for the obligatory dance. Luca stood up, holding out his hand. I let myself get back on my feet and immediately “Kiss, Kiss” resounded . Gianna squinted her eyes and scanned the guests, as if she thought she was attacking the culprit who had started the chorus.
When Luca pulled me toward him, I stumbled into his chest as dizziness seized me.
Fortunately, no one noticed because Luca’s arms around me held me steady. His eyes pierced mine as he lowered his lips and brushed them against mine. The band was playing faster and faster, inciting us to finally enter the dance floor; the tables had been arranged in a circle around it. Luca had his arm around my waist as he led me toward the center. To everyone around us it felt like a loving hug, but it was the only thing keeping me upright.
Luca pulled me against his chest for the waltz and I had no choice but to rest my cheek against it . I could feel a gun under his jacket. Even the groom could not come unarmed to his wedding. For the first time I was happy with Luca’s strength. He had no trouble holding me up during the dance.
When it was over, he bent down. “Once we get back to the table, you will eat. I don’t want you to faint during our celebration, much less on our wedding night.
I did as he asked and forced down a few more bites of the now cold potatoes and meat. Luca’s watchful gaze continued to check on me as he talked to Matthew.
Now the dance floor was full of other people . Lily got up from her chair and asked Romero to dance. No surprises there. He couldn’t refuse her, of course. Neither could I refuse when Luca’s father asked me to dance. After that I went from one man to another until I lost count of their names and faces. During all this, Luca’s eyes followed my every move, even when he danced with the women of our families. Even Gianna could not escape the dance floor. I saw her dancing with Matteo at least three times, and her face grew more somber by the minute.
“May I?”
I gasped at the distantly familiar voice that caused a shiver of fear through my body. Dante Cavallaro took the place of whoever I had danced with before. He was tall, though not as tall as Luca, nor as muscular. “You don’t seem impressed by the festivities.”
“Everything is perfect,” I said mechanically.
“But you didn’t choose this wedding.”
I looked at him open-mouthed. His dark blond hair and blue eyes gave him an expression of cold efficiency while Luca radiated fierce brutality. Different sides of the same coin. Within a few years the East Coast and the Midwest would tremble under their judgment. I snapped my mouth shut. “It is an honor.”
“And your duty. We all have to do things we don’t want to do. Sometimes it may seem like we have no choice.”
“You are a man. What do you know about having no choice?” I said harshly, then stiffened and bowed my head. “I’m sorry. It was out of turn.” I couldn’t talk like that to someone who was practically my boss. Then I remembered that he wasn’t anymore. I was no longer falling under the sway of the Chicago Outfit. With my marriage I was going to become part of the New York Mafia and thus part of the government of Luke and his father.
“I think your husband is eager to have you back in his arms,” Dante said, tilting his head, then handed me over to Luca, who looked at him hard. Two predators compared.
Once out of earshot of Dante Cavallaro, Luca looked at me. “What did Cavallaro want?”
“Congratulate me on the celebration.”
Luca gave me a look that made me realize he did not believe me. There was a hint of distrust in his expression.
The music stopped and Matteo clapped his hands, silencing the guests. “Time to throw the garter!”
Luke and I paused as the guests gathered around the dance floor to watch the show. Some even stood on chairs or held their children so that everyone could get a good look at them. Luke knelt in front of me amid the applause of our guests and raised his eyebrows. I grabbed my dress and lifted it up to my knees.
Luca slid his hands over my calves, knees and thighs. I stood completely still at the feel of his fingers on my bare skin. Goose bumps exploded all over my body. The touch was light and uncomfortable, yet it terrified me.
Luca’s eyes were intent as they surveyed my face. His fingers grazed the garter on my right thigh and he lifted my dress for all to see, revealing the full length of my leg. I grabbed the hem and he put his arms behind my back, then leaned over my thigh, brushing his lips over the skin under the garter. I took a deep breath but tried to keep my face in happy bride mode. Luca clamped his teeth around the edge of the garter and pulled it down my leg until it landed in a heap on my white heels. I lifted my foot so Luca could pick up the piece of lace. He straightened up and presented the garter to the cheering crowd. I forced a smile and clapped as well. The only person not smiling was Gianna.
“Bachelors,” Luca called in his deep voice. “Reunite. Maybe you’ll be the lucky one to get married next!”
The younger boys also stepped forward, Fabiano among them. He frowned. His mother had probably forced him to attend. I winked at him and he stuck out his tongue. I couldn’t help but laugh, the first genuine gesture I had made during the wedding banquet.
Luca’s eyes darted toward me, a strange expression on his face. I quickly looked away. Luca raised his arm, garter in his fist before slipping it into the waiting group of men.
Matteo grabbed it on the fly with an impressive lunge. “Are there any Outfit girls available out there who want to strengthen the bond between our families?” he thundered, waggling his eyebrows.
Applause and laughter resounded from many married and unmarried women. Of course Lily was among them, jumping up and down with a beaming smile. Everything was a game to her. I didn’t want Matthew’s eyes on her; I didn’t even want her name to come to mind when he thought of marriage.
As was the tradition, he had to choose an unmarried woman to dance with.
Luca approached me, his arm encircling my waist with casual possessiveness. I gasped at the unexpected contact, and Luca’s body stiffened.
Matteo stretched his hand toward Lily, who seemed on the verge of exploding with excitement at being chosen. My chest tightened. I knew it was a joke right now. No one was taking a fourteen-year-old girl seriously .
As Luca and I waltzed on the dance floor, I kept my eye on Lily and Matthew. His hand was high on her back, his expression playful. He did not look like the man who had his eye on his future wife.
“If my brother married your sister, you would have family in New York,” Luca said.
“I won’t let him have Lily.” The words were fierce. How could I be tough when it came to protecting my sister but not when it came to me?
“It’s not Lily he wants.”
My eyes flew to Gianna who stood with her arms wrapped around her chest, her eyes like a hawk as she followed us. Father would not give away another one of his daughters to New York. If he wanted to strengthen our family’s position in the Chicago Outfit, he had to make sure he had enough family around him. Once the waltz was over, a faster tempo began and the dance floor was once again flooded with guests.
Luca started dancing with my mother, and I used the moment to sneak away. I needed a few moments to myself, otherwise I would have lost her. I lifted my dress off the ground and ran to the edge of the garden where the grass met the bay before descending the few steps that led to the dock where a yacht was lurking. To my right stretched a long beach. The ocean was black under the night sky and the breeze tugged at my dress and ripped locks from my hairstyle. I took off my high heels and jumped off the pier, landing with my feet on the cool sand. Closing my eyes, I listened to the sound of the waves. The wooden planks creaked and I stiffened before looking over my shoulder and spotting Gianna. She took off her shoes and joined me on the beach, hugging me.
“Tomorrow you’re leaving for New York and I’m going back to Chicago,” she whispered.
I swallowed hard. “I’m scared.”
“Of tonight?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “Of tonight and every night that will follow. Of being alone with Luca in a city I don’t know, surrounded by people I know even less, people who could still be my enemies. Of meeting Luca and finding out that he is the monster I think he is. Of being without you and Lily and Fabiano.”
“We’ll visit as often as Father allows. And about tonight.” Gianna’s voice became harsh. “He can’t make you.”
I gave a stifled laugh. Sometimes I forgot that Gianna was younger than me. These were the moments that reminded me of that. “He can. He will.
“Then you will fight him with all your might.”
“Gianna,” I said in a whisper. “Luke will be Chief of Chiefs. He is a born fighter. He will laugh at me if I try to resist. Or my refusal will make him angry and then he will really want to hurt me.”
I paused. “Bibiana told me that I should give him what he wants, that I should try to make him be good to me, try to make him love me.”
“Stupid Bibiana, what does she know?” Gianna looked at me grimly. “Look at her, how she cowered before that fat fool. How she lets her sausage fingers touch him. I would rather die than lie under such a man.
“Do you think I can make Luca love me?”
Gianna shook her head. “Maybe you can make him respect you. I don’t think men like him have hearts capable of love.”
“Even the coldest-hearted bastards have hearts.”
“Well, then he’s as black as tar. Don’t waste your time with love, Aria. You won’t find it in our world.
Of course he was right, but I couldn’t help but hope.
“Promise me that you will be strong. Promise me you won’t let him treat you like a whore. You are his wife.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes, whores at least get to sleep with other men and not have to live in a gilded cage. They are better off.”
I huffed. “You’re impossible.”
Gianna shrugged. “It made you smile.” She turned and her expression darkened. “Luca sent his little dog. Maybe he was worried you would run away.”
I followed his gaze to find Romero standing on the crest of the small hill overlooking the bay and the pier.
“We should have taken that yacht and run.”
“Where could I escape? It would follow me to the end of the world.” I cast a glance at the elegant gold watch on my wrist. I didn’t know Luca, but I knew men like him. They were possessive. Once you belonged to them, there was no escape. “We should go back. The wedding cake will be presented shortly.”
We put our shoes back on and walked back toward the noise. I ignored Romero but Gianna frowned at him. “Does Luca need you for everything? Or can he at least pee by himself?”
“Luca is the groom and has to take care of the guests,” Romero said simply, but it was obviously a reproach to me.
Luca’s eyes fell on me the moment I returned to the festivities. Many guests were already drunk and some had moved to the pool and were taking a swim fully clothed. Luca held out his hand to me, and I bridged the distance between us and took it. “Where were you?”
“I just needed a moment to myself.”
There was no time for further discussion as the cook moved the table with our wedding cake to the center. It was white, had six tiers and was decorated with peach blossoms. Luca and I cut it under another round of applause, followed by “Kiss, Kiss,” and put the first piece on the plate.
Luca took a fork and gave me some as a sign that he would provide for me, and I then gave him a piece as a sign that I would take care of him as a good wife should.
It was almost midnight when the first cries rang out inviting Luca and me to retire to the bedroom. “You married her, now put her to bed!” – Matteo shouted as he raised his arms and slammed into a chair. He had drunk his fair share of wine, whiskey, schnapps and whatever else he could get his hands on . Luca, on the other hand, was sober. The small hint of hope I had harbored that he was too drunk to consummate our marriage vanished. Luca’s answering smile, all predatory, all hungry, all wanting, made my heart pound in my chest. Soon most of the men and even many women joined the chorus.
Luke rose from his chair and I did likewise, although I wanted to cling to it with desperate abandon, but I had no choice. A few looks of sympathy and compassion from other women were directed toward me, but they were almost as mean as the taunts.
Gianna rose from her chair but her mother grabbed her by the arm, holding her back. Salvatore Vitiello shouted something about a sheet, but the sound and colors seemed blurred, as if I were trapped in a fog. Luca’s grip around my hand as he led me home was the only thing keeping me moving. My body seemed to be on autopilot. A large crowd, consisting mainly of men, followed us, to their chant of “Bed her, Bed her!” becoming louder and louder as we entered the house and climbed the stairs to the second floor where the master bedroom was located. Fear was an insistent pulsation in my chest.
I tasted copper and realized that I had bitten hard on the inside of my cheek. We finally arrived in front of the double dark wooden door to the master bedroom. The men kept tapping Luca’s back and shoulders. No one touched me. I would have wilted if they had. Luca opened the door and I entered , happy to bring some distance between me and the lewd crowd. The screams rang in my head and the only thing I could do was not plug my ears with my hands. “Put her to bed! Put her to bed!”
Luca slammed the door. We were now alone for our wedding night.