“Good to meet you too.” Nico accepts his hand and shakes.
Maxim turns to me and nods stiffly. “You were supposed to marry my brother, Jasha. I’ll be honest, my father is not very happy about all this.”
“I’m sorry if we insulted him, but we didn’t mean any offense. My papa plans on making it right.”
Maxim’s smile tightens. “I’m sure he will.” He gestures at the pretty girl standing a few feet behind him. “This is my wife, Siena.”
“Lovely meeting you both,” Siena says, beaming. She seems a lot nicer than her big, ice-cold husband does, that Russian dickhead. “Really nice wedding. Don’t mind Maxim, he’s always like this.”
Maxim grunts in response. “Please send my regards to your father. Siena and I have a long flight tomorrow and plan on retiring early.”
“Thank you for coming,” Nico says. “We appreciate it.”
“Hm.” Maxim frowns at him for a moment. “Let me give you some advice. Marriage is about give and take. You take what you want, and she gives you the world.”
Nico blinks, and Maxim’s intense frown cracks into a grin.
Siena sighs and rolls her eyes as she takes her husband’s arm. “He’s joking. It’s a really bad joke. I’m sure it’s better in Russian, right, dear?”
“No, it’s much worse. More cursing.” Maxim barks a laugh and lets his wife pull him away.
Nico looks nonplussed and grins at me. “That was insane.”
“I’m happy I’m not marrying into that family, yikes. That poor girl. I wonder how she ended up with him.”
“I’m sure there’s a story.” Nico reaches out and takes my hand. He places the empty plate down on the bay window and helps me up to my feet. But instead of leading me to the party, he puts his hands on my hips and we sway together to the sound of distant music. My heart leaps at his closeness and the way he touches my body, and I wonder if this was the right decision or not, but it doesn’t matter.
I’m here now. There’s no stopping it.
“What do you think?” he whispers in my ear. “Was this suitably extravagant for a mafia princess like yourself?”
“Almost. I really wanted more ponies and at least one elephant.”
He kisses me gently. “Then I will make sure you get an entire zoo for our first anniversary. How’s that sound?”
“So long as you’re taking care of them.”
He laughs and kisses me again, and I fall forward into his arms as we continue our slow, close dance. It feels good, right, comfortable, and I don’t know what happened to lead us to this moment, I don’t know how I used to hate him so much, but his smell, his taste, everything about him centers and grounds me for the first time in my life.
We rejoin the party. I’m swept away in the tide of well-wishers and partying, and the night drags on, getting later and later. Around eleven, I find myself standing next to the pool, staring down at the water while Nico’s off getting me some water.
Papa appears at my elbow. He’s so quiet sometimes when he wants to be. The sound of laughter drifts up from the tent and the music continues to pound—the deejay plans on spinning all night, or so I’m told. Many of the guests will stay overnight, sleeping in the various rooms that are usually empty.
“Are you happy, daughter?”
I look up at Papa and smile—but the dream appears like a distant, ghostly apparition. “I think so.”
“You think so?” He frowns a little. “I remember my wedding day. My first wedding day. It seems so long ago but also only yesterday. I was so nervous.”
“I’ve seen the pictures. Mama looked beautiful.”
“Yes, your mother was a beauty. You look a lot like her, you know.” He smiles at me sadly. “Well, it was a good day. And you got what you wanted. Nico’s your husband and you’ll get to stay. It all worked out, yes?”
I shrug a little. Thinking about Mama has me on edge and gives me a headache, and I’m not sure why, like a tingling in the back of my skull.
“Why isn’t Elise here?” I ask suddenly without thinking about it.
Papa tenses. “She wanted to be, only—” He shakes his head. “You know Elise. Nothing can calm her down. She’s just busy.”
I don’t believe him.
“She could’ve flown in. You have the plane, and—”
“Elise is busy in Tuscany, Karah.” He gives me a sharp look. “Please don’t push the matter.”
I take a deep breath and nod, looking away from him, and I feel a deep spike of anxious fear in my stomach.
He’s lying about something, or he’s keeping something to himself. I don’t know why but he didn’t want Elise here tonight.
Nico returns a moment later and hands me the water. I drink it down in big, greedy gulps, not so much because I feel particularly drunk or thirsty, but more because I need something to distract me from the buzzing in my ears.