I clear my throat and wait for him to finish.
He finally does, taking his sweet fucking time, and shoots me a dark look. Antonio is just bitter that I denied his plan of attack. I’ll show him later that I don’t stand pussies like him.
“I thought,” I say, speaking loudly and clearly, “that you should all know I’ve made a deal with Dario. I’m going to marry his sister, Adelina.”
The room goes silent for a moment before cheers erupt. Everyone claps except Antonio and Emma.
Carlo pats me on the back. “Good going, boss. Scoring one of Dario’s sisters.” He whistles. “That’s impressive.”
“Thanks. The details haven’t been hashed out yet, but I wanted you to know. This won’t change anything for our business. In fact, it’ll only make things better with Dario. All right, then. Go back to having fun.”
Everyone begins to murmur and goes back to making out.
I leave the meeting house, ready to go home. I need to be rested.
I have a dinner to attend tomorrow night.
CHAPTER 3
Adelina
“He’s here?” I ask as another knock on the door sounds through the room. “Why didn’t you give me advance warning?”
“Because,” Dario says, “I didn’t want you to try and back out of it. Matteo is just coming over to have dinner with us. You can get to know him this way.”
I look at Serafina, who turns her face away from me. “What do you think?” I ask her.
“I think what I want doesn’t matter.”
Dario sighs. “Stop grumbling, you two. Matteo is waiting.” He walks out of the kitchen and into the foyer, and a moment later, I can hear him open the door and greet Matteo.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask Serafina.
“No. I’m mad that Dario decided to give you Matteo when I wanted him for myself.”
Dario and Matteo walk into the kitchen at that moment.
Serafina flushes, which is a look I’ve rarely ever seen on her.
Matteo smiles. “I wasn’t aware you two were fighting over me.”
“We’re not,” Serafina and I say at the same time.
I take in Matteo, really, for the first time. I’ve never given him much thought before. Now that he’s here, I look him over, taking in his dark hair and scruffy beard. His leather jacket has seen better days. His jeans are ripped. He’s like a stereotypical bad boy come to life. I’m not impressed. He just looks dirty and messy. I prefer a man who’s put together. Not … what Matteo is.
There’s an awkward silence before Dario clears his throat. “All right, then. Matteo, I explained to Adelina that I think you two would make a good marriage match. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to tell her sooner, so I just told her. So … excuse her shock.” He shoots me a look, reminding me to go along with this. I always knew what was expected of me—marriage. But now that I’m faced with it and my future groom, it’s nothing at all like I thought. I never imagined Dario would want me to marry a biker.
Matteo chuckles. His voice is deep. Has it always been that deep? “That’s all right. I was just given the news yesterday myself. It’s still new to me, too.” He approaches me. “I’m glad to get to know you more.” He picks up my hand and tries to kiss it, but I rip my hand out of his grasp.
Serafina gasps at my action. I never act so rudely.
“Adelina,” Dario scolds.
Matteo pauses before a dark grin spreads across his face. “It’s all right. I guess I was coming on too strong.” He stands up, giving me a look I can’t make out. I clench my hands together, feeling the hand he touched zing with some kind of energy. I’m not sure I like it. “You’ll have to excuse me, Adelina. I can be a bit of a brute at times.”
I frown. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
“Oh, I’m always serious.” His words feel like a warning not to mess with him. A filthy biker, indeed.