Luca frowned. “You and her together are a dangerous combination.”
I leaned closer and pressed a kiss to his tense mouth. “Don’t worry. This time you’ll know everything. So what do you think? A wig. Perhaps you’ll like me better with brown hair.”
“No,” he said, twisting a strand of my hair around his long, strong fingers. “Your hair is perfect. Like spun gold, nothing can come close to it.”
I laughed. His fascination with my hair was almost cute. I’d lost count of the times he’d played with it.
“A wig might work. Luckily, Romero is good at staying in the background and he hasn’t been in the public eye.”
“It’s still months before I could even attend college. We’ll figure out everything then. If they accept me.”
“They will,” Luca said without a doubt. I knew my grades had always been top-notch, but I had a feeling he would have his ways to get me accepted even if they weren’t.chapter 9LUCA“I have a bad feeling about today,” I said as I steered our car toward the Bardonis’ town house. Bardoni had been close with my father, one of the reasons why Matteo and I couldn’t stand the asshole. He was my Captain, not a good one, and his son was a fucking coward.
“Because of Gianna and Matteo?” Aria asked with a small frown. “I know you’re worried because he took off her ankle monitor but she won’t try anything today.”
I wasn’t worried about that. Since Matteo had caught Gianna a couple of weeks ago, they had either been fucking or fighting. And things had been fucking tense in the Famiglia because my uncles weren’t the only ones who thought making Gianna part of the Famiglia was a bad idea. I shared their opinion but couldn’t say so outright, not only because it would make me look weak to doubt my decision, but also because of Matteo and Aria.
“Bardoni thinks his son should be Consigliere and because of Matteo’s decision to marry Gianna, some forces in the Famiglia agree.”
Aria bit her lip. “I hate that you are having so many problems because of Gianna’s flight.”
“I will silence my doubters eventually, but it’s a pain in the ass,” I said. Another bloody statement was inevitable at some point.
Aria huffed out a laugh when we pulled up in the Bardonis’ driveway. “What is that?”
I followed her gaze toward a massive angel carved out of ice that had been set up in the front yard. The entire yard sparkled in white and gold. “Bardoni likes to impress,” I muttered.
Aria raised one pale eyebrow, and I squeezed her hand briefly before I got out of the car and dropped the pleasant expression.
I opened Aria’s door for her when Matteo pulled up with his Porsche behind my Aston Martin.
Aria sighed as she regarded me.
“What?” I asked quietly.
“Sometimes your expression scares me. I prefer the way you look behind closed doors.”
I touched her back. “I know.”
My eyes settled on Bardoni and his wife. Both were beaming at us, fucking fake smiles on their faces. I nudged Aria lightly and she followed me toward my Captain. He shook my hand before he took Aria’s and kissed it. He helped her out of her coat, his eyes darting toward her chest for the briefest moment. I leveled my gaze on him and he quickly stepped back, and turned his attention toward Matteo and Gianna.
“Come on,” I said to Aria, touching the exposed skin of her back, and led her into the living room. My eyes did a quick scan of the guests—the majority were soldiers from New York but I recognized a few men from Philadelphia, among them Cassio. As I made my way toward him with Aria at my side, I said under my breath, “That’s Cassio Moretti.”
“Son of Mansueto Moretti, Underboss of Philadelphia,” Aria finished with a smile. “I remember him from our wedding, Luca. I have a good memory. I know most of the men in this room, and the women too.”
I nodded. Sometimes I forgot how clever Aria was, but I had seen her grades when I’d prepared everything for her application to NYU.
Cassio straightened when he spotted me and I extended my hand for him to shake. Then his eyes moved on to Aria, respectfully. “It’s an honor meeting you again.”
“The honor is all mine, Cassio,” she said with a sophisticated smile, looking up at my soldier. “How’s your wife doing? I heard she gave birth to your first child a few days ago.”
I had forgotten about that. I gave Aria’s hand a light squeeze to show her my appreciation.
“She’s recovering,” Cassio said, then his eyes moved back to me and I could tell he had business to discuss.
Aria smiled, catching the silent message. “I’ll go talk to Mrs. Bardoni for a while.” She turned around and left, giving me a stunning view of her naked back.