“Nice to meet you, this is Valentina,” I reply, and they exchange a hello.
“This is Sal, and this is Dante.” Marchello continues to announce each family member until we are all shaking hands.
“So nice to meet you. I thought Tommaso would be here.”
“He and his wife had a bout of the flu and weren’t able to make it. Trust me, Tommaso would never skip an event with free liquor or beer,” Sal chuckles.
“Congratulations Dante.” I nod to him.
“Thank you. Glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it, this is Valentina.” The men give her a quick kiss of greeting.
A woman who moves with the stealth of a predatory cat slips behind Sal and wraps her arms around him. She gracefully clasps her hands around his neck and holds herself against him.
She’s easy on the eyes with a muscular body judging from her developed shoulders and strong looking back as I catch a glimpse of it as she turns to grab a glass of champagne off a tray passing by. She wears her dress as an accessory that is also functional with a slit up one side; it’s red and has a deep V cut in the front adding to her femininity as her breasts are perfectly aligned in it. Without her impeccable updo of her ashy-blonde hair, she would otherwise be mistaken for an MMA fighter. I heard she boxes.
I’m dying to know her story and how she and Sal met. Sal owns the bar Argon pissed around in and I’m sure it’s a front to launder money. I heard from Tommaso she is the beautiful Francesca and she flexes her fingers possessively on Sal’s arm. I peg her to be in her late twenties, lithe on her feet and she’s surveying the room as if she’s a professional. But of what?
She has tear drop diamond earrings and a gold necklace filled with princess cut diamonds. Her look confuses me, as she’s beauty and practicality combined. Could she be their bodyguard? Is she casing the joint? Her lovely smile throws me off guard as I anticipated she’d be cold, and blunt.
“I’m Francesca, so nice to meet you both.” She smiles and greets us as she continues to caress Sal’s hand. I’m sure they’re in love but she doesn’t bear his ring.
She is like a cobra behind her piercing green eyes, ready to strike anyone who would hurt her or Sal. All her moves appear to be deliberate, even professional, as she came to round us up. The wedding is about to commence and there are a few others in the room whom I don’t know and assume they are bosses that are important to Dante or other family members, some may belong to Juliet’s side.
I’m confused by Francesca’s behavior. Sal grabs her, making a joke about her always working and that we’re all safe due to the secret location and last-minute timing of the affair.
Marchello moves closer to me. “So, I see we have the same dress shoes.”
I look down, sure enough we do. What are the odds?
“Okay, if we have the same watch, I’m leaving,” I joke.
“I’m using an older one, vintage. . . classical. It seemed fitting for a simply elegant day, timeless.” We chuckle at the pun seeing as how it is a wedding on St. Valentine’s Day, the most romantic day of the year.
“That is so true.” Prende joins Sal. “We were married before the holiday in December, and I did all the flowers for both events.”
“You are incredible. I’ll have to make sure to use you for my wedding and special affairs,” Valentina says.
“Oh, you’re engaged?”
“We don’t want to take away from the bride and groom, so let’s not talk about it now. Today is Juliet’s day,” I interrupt, and we excuse ourselves only to run into Juliet’s mother again.
It’s a small affair with few people to talk to, or in our case, move away from so we don’t disclose any unintentional information that could land us in hot water.
Mrs. Accordi mentions the nice day and hopes we aren’t bored in her small town.
“Oh, no,” Valentina reassures her. “It’s a nice town and the drive was incredible. How is the bride? Nervous?”
“After the last affair, yes. Now she’s fretting over every little hair on her head. We should be on time as long as her father leaves the rest of the cooking to the staff.” She excuses herself again, I presume to get everyone rounded up for the ceremony.
“I love this town, it’s so relaxing,” I add.
“Yes, but I bet Juliet has become accustomed to life in Florence. She likes working for Dante’s company,” Prende adds.
“I’m sure, and don’t forget she has Dante, the most eligible bachelor in Tuscany.” Francesca smiles.
“Funny, I thought you were.” Valentina smiles at me and it’s times like this my heart beats faster and I feel invincible. Is she happy to be out of the mansion, or is she happy to be with me?