She hadn’t made it two and a half steps before Todd was following right behind her, the fury in him replaced by utter infatuation yet again.
Poor Todd.
Eight
Her First Dance
The wedding in the church had been beautiful but entering the ballroom in the casino hotel was even more so. All of Maria’s hard work had come to fruition; she had spent a month on making the perfect wedding since the day Drago had chosen Katarina. It was the only job she had been given from her father and Lucca. And, even though it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, she took what she could get. Plus, she might have enjoyed it … maybe a bit too much. It was the first wedding between a Caruso and a Luciano, so she had spared no expense.
It was the most upscale event the Lucianos had probably ever seen, might ever see. She made sure it was a black-tie affair. The sea of black and white clothing matched the decor, making the to-die-for red roses adorning the tables stand out.
Katarina was unlike any bride she had ever seen. She looked like an ethereal goddess straight from the underworld. The dress might have not been the most traditional, as it was as black as Maria’s heart, but it made Kat’s pale skin glow and her baby pink hair stand out enough to have Maria thinking about dying her blonde locks pink for a day.
Since her dress was black and gothic in style, Maria had settled for a tight, ruched, satin white dress that had a slit up her left thigh. She’d wanted to look the opposite of Kat so Kat was sure to shine in this very untypical wedding.
Watching Kat plead for help as she was dragged to the dance floor, Maria didn’t move, making no plans to rescue her. She needed to rescue herself.
Every day that they had gotten closer to the wedding, her skin tickled with the thought of Dominic’s words.
I’ll be wanting a dance.
And Lucca’s ….
If my men see you dancing with him, then everything Dominic has sacrificed will be for nothing.
So, Maria planned to avoid him like the plague, and she definitely wasn’t going to go anywhere near the dance floor. Whether it was the fact that her body craved that dance he promised her, or that she didn’t want Dominic to give away his sister all for nothing, she would never know.
Looking at the empty flutes on the table, she needed another drink. ASAP.
Maria stood and found a young bow-tied waiter who held a tray of champagne. She stole a glass of the bubbly liquid, downing the contents like a worn-down, middle-aged mother of four who sucked down red wine.
“Have you seen the bride’s dress?” an old, stuck-up woman from the Caruso side of the family asked another old bitch who was already one step in the grave. “She’s Luciano trash, for sure.”
“I thought she’d get more use out of a black dress, Luisa.” The Caruso’s consigliere’s mother or no, someone needed to put that hag in her place. “I’ll tell her to wear it to your funeral.”
The two scoffed at her before they saw the man who was now standing behind Maria. Without retorts, they quickly shuffled off.
“I have to say that was better than anything I could’ve come up with, princess.” Dominic came up from behind her. Taking the empty flute from her hand, he put it back on the tray and replaced it with a freshly filled one. “You really are as cold as I think you are, aren’t you?”
“What makes you think that?” she asked, looking down at the bubbles dancing in the glass.
“Do you remember the last time we saw each other before all this?” He motioned to the festivities going on around them, specifically referring to the time prior to him vowing to give Kat away.
Her brows furrowed, trying to think. She wasn’t sure. To be honest, she just vaguely remembered him being younger.
“Wow.” He laughed, picking up a drink for himself. “You don’t even remember, do you?”
Shaking her head, she took a quick sip from her glass. “When was it?”
“Dance with me, princess, and I’ll tell you.” The way his hazel depths bore into her as he spoke, she felt like he could see her soul.
Wanting nothing more in this moment than to see how it felt to dance with this man, she couldn’t do it. The two sides of the room were finally starting to come together with the music and alcohol consumption.
“I … We can’t. Not here in front of everyone. Our blood only mixed a few hours ago, and I think it’s probably too soon for the Luciano boss to dance with the Caruso’s boss’s daughter.”
Smiling, Dominic started to walk off. “Well, who said I wanted to dance with you in front everyone anyway?”