Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“I just wish people would stop giving me that look.”
I let my gaze wander over the gathered guests, but people were careful to keep their faces neutral when they felt my eyes on them. Still, I caught the occasional look of doubt.
“What look?”
“Like I’m a liability,” Emma muttered, her eyes full of indignation.
I emptied my champagne. “They’re ignorant. Eventually, they’ll realize they were wrong.”
When people looked at us, they pinpointed Emma as the weakness in our relationship because what people perceived as her flaw was apparent to the naked eye. My flaws were well hidden.
One of my great-aunts, who was only invited because honor dictated it and not because my parents liked her, approached us with a benevolent smile. She stopped in front of us and supported her weight on her walking stick. She was probably around ninety. “Samuel and his wife,” she said with a too bright smile, but her eyes were like those of a hawk. “When can we expect offspring?”
My mouth set in a tight line. Emma took a sip from her champagne, her expression pinching.
“That’s a very private question, Aunt,” Dante said as he came up behind her. She clucked her tongue but excused herself with a tight smile. Valentina and Leonas joined us a moment later.
Dante gave Emma a small smile before he turned to me. “How about we discuss Leonas’s stay now?”
“Business talk at your sister’s birthday?” Valentina asked with a frown.
Emma shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“It’s not a milestone birthday,” I said. Mom had celebrated her fiftieth birthday with a huge party last year.
“Excuse us,” I told Emma and Valentina. I knew Valentina would keep Emma entertained until my mother could evade the chatty wives she was stuck with.
Leonas gave me a bored look. “Samuel.”
“Leonas,” I deadpanned.
Dante and I walked ahead toward Dad’s office. I didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe he was already waiting for us. Leonas trailed us a few steps, letting his cool gaze scan the crowd, but nothing caught his interest. Knowing him, he preferred a very different kind of celebration, with pot, booze, and girls.
As suspected, Dad was in his office, probably already tired of socializing. He greeted us with a new bottle of bourbon and handed glasses to Dante and me.
Leonas scoffed. “Come on, Uncle Pietro. I’m a Made Man. I fuck girls, I kill, I torture, and you refuse to give me a drink like I’m a little kid?”
Pietro looked at Dante, who had the last word on the matter.
I didn’t remember the first time I’d had a drink. Maybe after my first time when I was fourteen.
“As with almost everything, it’s a matter of moderation,” Dante drawled with a hard look at Leonas.
“Why would I want to fuck in moderation?”
“You won’t ever talk like that in front of your mother.”
“She knows I’m not a virgin anymore. There are no virgins in the mafia.” I could tell he was riling up his father on purpose. I remembered times when I was like that too.
“One drink,” Dante clipped.
Leonas winked at me. Dad handed him a tumbler, and we finally clinked glasses.
“Whoo,” Leonas exclaimed, letting out a hiss after downing the drink in one gulp.
I could tell he would be a handful to keep in check. His teenage antics would undoubtedly drive me up the wall.
He and I stayed in the office when Dad and Dante left a little later.
Leonas lifted his glass. I rolled my eyes and poured him a small sip.
“When you take over from your father, will you change how things are handled?” he asked, suddenly dead serious and not sounding like a teenager at all.
I cocked an eyebrow. “In what regard?”
“The Outfit has shown a lot of restraint over the years when we should have sought revenge, when we should have sent a bloody message.”
I didn’t say anything. “Some things aren’t for me to decide, even once I’m Underboss. That’s the job of a Capo.”
“When I’m Capo, our enemies will regret they ever underestimated us.” I didn’t think they underestimated us. They knew Dante had a more controlled approach to many things. Leonas’s green eyes met mine. “I definitely won’t stop you from getting revenge on the crazy fuckers in Las Vegas.”
My smile became hard. “We killed one of their Underbosses.”
Leonas shook his head. “That’s not enough. Don’t tell me it’s enough for what Remo Falcone and his brothers did.”
It wasn’t, but unless we did what he had done, I didn’t see how it could ever be enough. “You are young. Until you’re Capo, your perspective will change.”
Leonas smirked.
I wasn’t looking forward to August. Another wedding to attend with Renato and Giorgia’s last-minute nuptials, becoming Leonas’s babysitter, and worst of all, the anniversary of Arlo’s, Enea’s, and Domenico’s death.
Emma must have felt my darkening mood because she often regarded me in worry. I knew she wanted to help, but I didn’t see how she could. I was taking over more and more tasks from my father every day to make the switch to me becoming Underboss go as smoothly as possible, but that also meant the focus shifted more and more toward me, and, as a result, also on Emma. Our life would remain in the spotlight for a while, especially with people wondering when, how, and if we’d ever have children. I wasn’t too keen on becoming a father yet, not with the tasks ahead in the next couple of years. Emma and I had never discussed the matter of children or the prevention thereof. I hadn’t ever used protection, so I couldn’t help but wonder if Emma could conceive. We had only been married for six weeks, so it wasn’t as if it was unusual, even without protection, that she wasn’t pregnant.