“Stick around here long enough, and you’ll have to choose one path.”
“I made my choice when I agreed to work for you.”
“Not like you had a choice.” He snickered. “My dad offered you a job you literally couldn’t refuse.”
“Until my graduation, I never had a real family.” Pressing my palm to his chest, I felt the steady beat of his heart. “The night Dante made us dinner reminded me of what I wanted as a kid and never got. I like being part of your family.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” He moved me in front of him, so we could look at the ocean. “We’re keeping you, Ava. And there ain’t a damn thing you can do about it.”
“Good.” My cheeks hurt from smiling. “Because I want you to keep me.”
Stefan kissed the top of my head. “Feeling better,bellezza?”
I shrugged. “I still don’t understand why Nico has to marry Vittoria.”
“Paulie, my dad’s advisor, came up with the idea. He suggested it to my dad as a way to broker peace with the Vitales. So the old man met with Vincenzo Vitale since he hasn’t found anyone who will marry Vittoria.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I said with laughter in my tone.
Stefan chuckled. “Better Nico than me. I’d jump off this building if I had to marry that uptight bitch.”
“Is she that bad?”
“We hate the Vitales.” His grip tightened around me. “Ever since Carlo fucked up Angelo’s face, we’ve been planning how to get rid of them. Then my dad suggested Nico marry Vittoria and threw all of us through a loop.”
“Why did he wait until this morning to tell Nico?”
“Our dad likes to spring shit on us last minute. Nico is only doing this to avoid another war with the Vitales. It has nothing to do with you. If it were up to Nico, he’d be here right now with you.” He cupped the side of my face, and I leaned into his hand. “It makes sense. This is how we do things in our world. We marry for power.”
“Would you have married Vittoria if your dad asked you?”
Stefan rested his chin on my head and held me. “Just like you, we can’t refuse the boss. Everyone’s gotta take orders from someone.”
“I want to go home for the night.” Tilting my head back on his chest, I looked at him. “Do you think that would be allowed? Or am I a prisoner here?”
He considered my question and then dropped his hands from my body. “You wanna go home?”
I spun around to look at him. “Just for the night. I want to see Angelina and Enzo and get a break from Nico and this engagement shit.” I swiped at the single tear that slid down my cheek. “Please, Stefan. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Stefan reached into his pocket and removed his cell phone, fingers flying across the keypad. “I’ll drive you. But don’t mention this to Dante, okay?”
“Who are you texting?”
“Angelo,” he said as we walked into the house. “I told him to keep Dante busy until I get back.” He stuffed the phone into his pocket and grabbed my hand, leading me toward the front door. “I’ll pick you up in the morning. Don’t try anything stupid.”
“I won’t,” I promised.
ChapterFive
AVA
All the way home, the tears would not stop falling. I hated crying in front of Stefan, but Nico broke me. I’d never had a real relationship. So the Luciano brothers were technically my longest relationship to date.
Stefan let me cry and vent on the ten-minute ride to my house. I lived in a brick colonial on the edge of Atlantic City. It had a big yard with a perfectly manicured lawn and trimmed hedges lining the property—the typical cookie-cutter suburban home.
Stefan parked in the circular driveway and tapped his fingers on the leather steering wheel. “Do you want me to walk you inside?”
I pushed open the door and shook my head. “No, that’s okay.”