Papa lets out a grunt as he frowns at me for a long moment.
I try to smile. I’m getting married, so I should be happy, right?
Except I’m so nervous I could puke.
Papa doesn’t want this. I mean, not really, otherwise he would’ve set this up from the start. He gave me Nico as an option only to keep me from losing my mind, but again, he never really thought it would pan out.
But he’s trapped.
My father is a lot of things, but he’s a man of his word, because in a world like ours with sharks circling and beasts lurking around every corner, trust is absolutely everything.
“The Russians will be furious,” Papa says finally, resignation dripping from his tone.
“Pay them off, Papa.”
“It isn’t that simple. They still need a daughter for their son.”
“There are other mafia girls you can send them,” Nico suggests. “I can come up with a list of suitable candidates. The Capos have plenty of daughters.”
Papa nods. “Do it and run it by Casso before you show it to me.”
“I will.”
“They’ll want a payment as well since they’re getting a downgrade.”
“Lovely how you talk about women as if they’re cars,” I say, glaring at him.
Papa shrugs. “It’s the truth. You know how things are.”
“The Famiglia,” Nico says as if that explains a thing.
“You’re going to accept this then? You’re okay with it?” I lean forward, a jolt of excitement running down into my guts.
Papa sighs and rubs his face. “Yes, Karah, I accept it. Congratulations, you two. I’ll call the priest and make it official this weekend.”
My jaw drops open and I should feel happy, but this weekend is only two days away, which means I have two more days of freedom before I become Mrs. Nico’s wife.
And I suddenly realize I don’t know his last name.
How am I going to marry a man without knowing what my name will be afterwards?
The weight of the situation drops squarely on my shoulders, but Nico’s thanking my father and shaking his hand, and my father’s smiling like he’s got a knife in his belly, and I feel like I’m watching everything from a faraway hill or an entirely different world.
This is really happening.
“Congrats, you two,” Gavino says in the hall when we emerge from the lion’s den, more commonly known as my father’s study. “Got to admit, I never thought it would happen.”
“Neither did I,” Fynn says, frowning.
“Welcome to the family.” Casso hugs Nico and thumps him on the back. “Shall we celebrate? Champagne by the pool?”
“None for me,” Nico says, his smile fading. “I’ve got work, unfortunately.”
“Work?” Casso laughs and shakes his head. “No, no work tonight, brother. Celebrating tonight. Work tomorrow.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to celebrate.”
“Come on, quit making fucking excuses. Now, where is that champagne? Let’s go find a bottle.” Casso steers my future husband away toward the kitchen and I’m left with Fynn and Gavino.
“You sure about this?” Fynn asks quietly as he runs a hand through his hair.
“I’m not sure about anything anymore,” I admit with tightly pressed lips. “But I think it’s too late to turn back.”
Fynn says nothing and Gavino steps forward. He gives me a tight hug and I can see the concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Really, you two, you don’t have to worry. What happened the other day, it won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, sure, Kar, I know it won’t.” Gavino grins but he’s lying and isn’t very good at it.
But whatever, I’m not going to press the point. I extract myself from my brother and put my hands on my hips.
“Now, let’s go get some of that champagne before Casso drinks it all, shall we?” I try to put on a brave show, even if my nerves are jangling.
Fynn shrugs and heads off, but Gavino lingers behind.
“Elise called me this morning. She was asking about you.”
I grimace and look away. “Yeah? How’s she doing?”
“Freaked out about what happened, but fine otherwise. She says London is so boring she could cry.”
“Elise is doing great as usual.”
“You should call her. She’s worried about you.”
“She doesn’t need to be.”
“We’re all a little concerned, Kar. And now you’re marrying Nico? You hated the guy, like, two weeks ago.”
“Weren’t you the one saying I should do it? You’ve all been pushing me toward Nico, and now you’re acting like it’s a bad idea?”
“Only because of what happened.”
I feel my anger bubbling again. I have one outburst—one fit, one bad moment—and suddenly I’m this thin glass sculpture that might shatter into pieces at any moment. I’m not soft and I’m not weak.
“Do you think Nico will treat me right?”
He hesitates, but he nods once. “Yes, I do.”
“Then it can’t be worse than going to Dallas. So please, Gav, be happy for me, okay?”
He takes a deep breath and gives me a big smile. “You’re right. I’m happy for you, little sister.” He drapes an arm across my shoulders and steers me toward the pool. Casso, Fynn, and Nico are already down there, cracking open a massive bottle and laughing as the foam sprays all over.