She’d had four glorious years on her own. But nothing gained was without sacrifice. I hadn’t remained with my neck stretched across the guillotine. I’d left and made my opportunities.
“El.” Nico released me then embraced his sister-in-law in a brief hug before turning to me. “This is Mia Tucci.”
“Mia. It’s nice to meet you.” She waved us in then shut the door.
“It’s great to meet you too.” I kept my fangirl to a minimum, working hard to maintain the mask on my emotions.
“Where’s Marco?” Nico wrapped his arm around my waist, resting his hand against my hip.
“He’s finishing up a call. Let’s go to the kitchen. You didn’t eat, did you?”
She’d addressed me, so I answered for us. “No. There wasn’t time.”
“That’s good. Some of the family are coming over. We’ll get food ready. Do you want any wine?”
“Later for me,” Nico said. “Will you be okay while I grab Marco?”
He’d asked me but looked at El. She gave a small nod. I didn’t bother to respond. What did he think I would do, attempt to kill the person who had given me hope when I’d desperately needed it?
His hand fell away from my hip. “I’ll be back in a moment.” Then he was gone, and I hated that I felt the loss of his larger-than-life presence. It’d been two days, and I was already growing accustomed to him being a part of my world.
El set two wineglasses on the island in front of us, and as she poured cabernet into them, I glanced around their home. The kitchen was huge and loaded with every imaginable luxury convenience. It opened into a spacious living room. Off to the right was a dining room with a table that could seat an army. The décor was light and airy with a color scheme that gave me a modern, contemporary vibe with inviting furniture, bookcases, and nooks for reading.
The sound of a glass being set on the white-veined marble island snapped my focus back to El. “Thanks.” I took a sip, relishing the spicy medley of flavors. Before I could comment on how much I liked her home, a door slammed from the front of the house, followed by voices.
“Hope you’re ready for this.” El shook her head then climbed onto one of the barstools.
I remained standing, unsure of what to expect. Two women entered. I recognized Sofia, with her long chestnut hair and warm brown eyes that were almost identical to Nico’s. The other woman, who had curly dark hair and catlike green eyes, wasn’t familiar to me. I was aware of everyone in the families, as it’d been part of my studies, but I couldn’t place her. More commotions sounded, and before I could say anything to Sofia, Emiliana entered. She’d married Stefano, boss of the Rossi family.
“Mia Tucci.” Sofia grinned, mischief dancing in her eyes. “I hear you’re going to marry my brother.” She elbowed Emiliana, who smiled in return. “I never thought I’d see the day that Nico got married.”
I couldn’t imagine why not. He was breathtakingly handsome. Power vibrated around him, drawing stares from men and women alike. And his quiet demeanor only added to his intrigue. El made introductions, and I learned the woman with the curly hair was Hailey, who was engaged to Trey.
My hand instinctively touched my hip at the realization that the Mafia surgeon was here. Hailey smiled and briefly squeezed my arm. “He’ll be out in a minute.”
I relaxed a tiny bit. “Thanks. I want to get the tracker out and destroyed.”
“You didn’t know about it?” El tilted her head to the side before passing the bottle to Sofia to pour a few more glasses.
“No.” I couldn’t blame them for their suspicion. I was from one of the New York families, a borderline enemy. As I started to tell them what happened, two more women, both blondes, entered the kitchen. I knew one of them well—Summer was why I’d ditched my guards during the fake spa days. I’d needed to warn her about the Amato family after overhearing a conversation between Guido and Ricco.
Everyone hugged, and Sofia’s hand rested on Summer’s stomach.Is she pregnant?
I’d learned she’d gotten married to Luc, the boss of the Brambilla family, but not about a baby.
“Hi, Mia.” The other blonde addressed me. “I’m Lil. Welcome to the family.”
“Not yet.” Sofia hip-checked Lil. “We need details. If you’re marrying my brother”—her expression hardened, and I realized she could be just as deadly as Nico—“you’ll have to fill us in on where your loyalties lie.”
I raised an eyebrow then held up my palm to show the wound across it to ease the discomfort. “I’ve pledged my loyalty to Nico in a blood oath.”
“Yet you’re willing to betray your family,” El noted. “What’s the difference between your oath to Nico and the one to your family?”
I raised my chin, needing them to see my strength and not frustration from being questioned. “My loyalty to my family is six feet under and with my mom. I’ve never taken an oath to my father or stepbrother. And before you say it, I’m aware of the Mafia code. But in their case, I don’t care. I don’t owe them anything.”
“Harsh.” Sofia tapped her glass against Lil’s, whose expression flared with something that looked almost like understanding. “But maybe for the best. I haven’t heard good things about Joey Tucci or Ricco.”
“Everyone hungry?” El pulled open the fridge and transferred two large casserole dishes to the island. Then she took out lettuce and an assortment of vegetables. The cheese was last. “We have lasagnas I can heat up. Just need to make the salad.”