Of course, Aunt Egidia chose dresses that would have made most Disney princesses jealous. Too flashy, too eye-catching, just too much. Not me at all. Luckily, Aria and Giulia worked together and found dresses that were closer to my taste.
I chose a simple white mermaid, off-the-shoulder dress with lace trim around the neckline. A sheer veil was attached to the neckline as well and fell down my back and over my bare arms so I didn’t feel quite so exposed.
“Beautiful,” Aria said with a gentle smile. She was still trying to figure out my true feelings regarding the wedding, but I had learned to hide them well over the years. It was the only way to survive after what happened.
Giulia nodded, her eyes watering, and even Aunt Egidia seemed pleased with my choice—even if it wasn’t as flashy as she’d originally planned. “You look very elegant and sophisticated. A true lady.”
I took a deep breath, hoping Nino would treat me as a lady. The man I saw fighting in the cage didn’t strike me as someone who would.
NINO
We pulled up in front of the massive stone and stucco Vitello villa in Baltimore, where the engagement party would take place. With only two days before the actual wedding, there was no logical reason to get officially engaged at all, but logical decisions weren’t the Famiglia’s forte. Savio, Adamo, and Fabiano remained in Las Vegas to make sure things went smoothly over there. They would only fly over for the actual wedding. It wasn’t as if any of us cared for the festivities. It wouldn’t be a huge affair like Aria and Luca’s wedding had been many years ago. Our Underbosses and Captains would stay in their territory. Remo wouldn’t risk anything after the Outfit attack.
“If they’ve invited that fucker Growl, I will paint their walls bright red with his fucking blood and that of any Famiglia fucker who gets in my way,” Remo growled.
“He won’t be invited, Remo. Luca won’t risk it. He knows you and Growl will tear into each other.”
“What about you? You’d fucking stand by and watch that fucker prancing around when he killed our father before we could?”
“Of course not. I’d slice him open ear to ear.”
The moment we got out of the rental car, the door to the house opened, and Felix and Egidia Rizzo appeared in the doorway. Remo shot me a look, one corner of his mouth curling up. “Someone kept an eye on the window, it seems,” he muttered as we walked up to my future wife’s aunt and uncle. The engagement wouldn’t be a grand feast, only held to appease the traditionalists in the Famiglia who required an official engagement before the wedding, but the Rizzos were dressed up in a tuxedo and a long evening dress anyway.
“I think we are underdressed,” I said quietly. I had put on a black turtleneck and black dress pants with black wingtip shoes. Remo was dressed in a similar fashion, minus the turtleneck, which he’d swapped for a black dress shirt.
Remo shrugged.
“All in black,” Mrs. Rizzo said with raised eyebrows after I kissed her hand. “What a curious choice for the occasion.”
“It’s the choice color for our profession. Blood is so very difficult to wash out,” Remo drawled in his best Oxford English as he kissed her hand. That was pretty much the only thing he’d learned during our time in England. Of course, he only used it to unsettle people.
Mrs. Rizzo took a small step back from Remo, tugging her hand out of his grasp.
I shook hands with Mr. Rizzo, and he squeezed harder than was necessary. I tilted my head, eyes narrowing. If he tried this with Remo, the black shirt would prove its worth. “We are honored to give you Kiara in marriage,” he said, releasing my hand. “Please call me Felix, and this is my wife Egidia.”
I sent Remo a warning glance before he shook the man’s hand.
“Come in,” Felix said, stepping back. Remo and I followed him inside. It was a large old house with lots of dark wood and rugs in the entrance hall.
“The guests have already gathered in the living room and on the patio, but you and Kiara should enter together,” Felix said then turned to Remo. “Perhaps you can join the guests. My wife will lead the way.”
Egidia gave a tense smile and motioned for Remo to follow, but he made no move to do so. “I think for now my brother and I will stay together.”
Felix blinked then nodded slowly. “Very well. Come on. I chose the library for your first meeting. It’s the place Kiara spends most of her time.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “She likes to read?”
Felix hesitated. “She does, but she is also very beautiful and demure. The perfect wife despite her intelligence.”
Remo rolled his eyes behind the man’s back. We stepped into a wide room that was filled with dark wooden bookcases. A book lay opened on the small table beside the reading chair. I walked toward it as Felix frowned. “She should be here.”