DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Borrowed Bride: Chapter 8
“This is important,” Dante says as he adjusts his bowtie in the mirror. “I need you to understand this.”
Standing by the window, I stare out over the vast gardens of the Barrone estate and nod once. “I know.”
“Do you?” Dante turns, and I catch him glaring at me out of the corner of my eye. “Do you really understand? This past week or two you’ve been so infatuated with that woman.”
That woman.
Gianna.
My key to a plan and the most unexpected addition to my life. Just the thought of her sends a shiver curling down my spine. She makes me feel exposed. In her short time here, she’s already stumbled onto my sister and learned about the single greatest love of my life. She was never meant to be privy to any of that.
She’s learning. She’s seeing me in a light that was never supposed to be turned on.
Yet, as exposed as I feel, there’s an aura of excitement around the whole thing. Emilia hasn’t had a new friend in decades, and I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about her or Fawn. What are the chances Gianna will be that person?
Assuming she keeps her mouth shut. She knows a lot now. Enough to bring me to my knees and I don’t think she even realizes.
That woman.
She holds my attention and I’m drawn in, despite trying to hold myself back. I can’t get too close. If I do, I’ll be signing her death sentence if I haven’t already.
“That woman is your daughter-in-law,” I reply lazily, taking a slow drink of my scotch. “You should be happy.”
“Happy?” Dante scoffs sharply. “Are you blind, Marco? Do you not see what you’ve done?”
I drain my glass, watching the sun vanish beneath the horizon, and then I turn to my father. “I fixed our problem.”
“You made it worse!” Dante hisses and he approaches me quickly. “I have done my best to calm our relations with the other families but the Simones? They are furious.”
“Why?” I frown deeply. “They have no daughters for me to marry. Father, this archaic tradition does nothing but bind bad blood, and I for one don’t want to be bound to the fucking Simones.”
“You’d be lucky,” Dante snaps. My father studies me, his expression unreadable. There’s a hint of anger in the set of his mouth but disappointment lingers in his eyes.
“No, father. We would be terribly unlucky. And I am trying to break that streak.”
“What is unlucky?” comes Gianna’s voice.
My father steps back and reveals the absolute vision of Gianna as she walks into the study. My mouth drops open and I don’t even try to hide it.
She pauses at the door and curls her hand on her hip, a light smile playing across her shining peach lips. She’s dressed in a satin, white floor-length dress with a single thigh-high slit up one leg. As she poses, she stretches one long leg out to the side and the fabric pours around her like liquid. Each breath makes the fabric shimmer like the ripples of a rock pool. Sparkling blue beads decorate the neckline and the hem of the slit, and her thick, auburn curls flow around her gorgeous face like some kind of copper halo.
Her eyes, lined with black, lock on to mine, and her smile widens. “Since no one saw the wedding dress, I suppose this will have to do.”
Oh. She’s good.
Diamonds sparkle at her neck and dangle from her ears, a gift I left her earlier this afternoon when informing her of the dinner. I’m pleased to see she’s wearing them.
“You look amazing.” No word of a lie. I approach her, still aware that my father is watching and never have I been more excited to kiss her than in this moment. However, as I take her hand and lean in, she holds up one hand and presses her fingertips to my lips.
“Nu-uh. I just finished my makeup,” she says with a sly smile. “Later.”
Oh, she’s killing me.
The muscles of my abdomen tighten and my cock twitches faintly in my suit. It takes every ounce of my control to smile and kiss against her fingertips instead.
“Of course, dear.”
“Father.” Gianna’s eyes slide away from me and lock on to Dante. “You look devastatingly handsome.”
Dante straightens up slightly at the unexpected compliment and clears his throat. “Yes, well. Tonight it is called for.” With that, he strides out of the room and Gianna instantly relaxes slightly.
“Is tonight really that important?” she asks.
“Yes. Tonight we have to ensure peace with the other families. As you’re aware, many were pretty unhappy when they learned I married out of the blue. Some took it as a personal insult against their daughters that I chose someone not from any of the top families.”
“These people really value unions, huh?”
“It’s how things are done,” I say, unable to take my eyes off her. “Going against the norm is unheard of.”
Gianna looks back at me, pinning me in place with those gorgeous eyes of hers. “But some people are worth it.”
Emilia darts into my thoughts and I nod. “Exactly.”
“It’s better this way,” she continues. “Maybe they will learn not to treat their daughters like livestock.”
“If that was the case, I wouldn’t need to go to such lengths,” I murmur as she slides her hand around my elbow. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
The dinner starts well and to my relief, many of the family delegates love Gianna. Whether it’s because of her upbringing or her ability to read people, she gets on like a house on fire with almost everyone. Those with something to say about my sudden wedding clam up the moment they see her and eat their words the moment they talk to her.
She’s kind and courteous, humorous, and above all, respectful. She bows her head, shakes the hands of the right people, and delivers such tasteful compliments that any of the women jealous of her instantly become her friend. I stay by her side for an hour, but business pulls us apart. Anton and Ben follow her closely, and I watch her from across the room as talk of drug deals, territory, and a new shipment of fake guns from Mexico washes over me.
Gianna is a distraction I never want to lose.
I listen to one man detail the struggles of keeping one of his businesses afloat since ratting out a mole in his organization—turns out the man skimming off the top was also the man keeping things running. Another complaint is that the Triad are getting too bold in their deals and asking for too much money. They ask my opinion and I give it as abruptly as I can. We spend an hour talking back and forth about the benefits and consequences of welcoming the Triads into a serious deal—I think it would benefit us, but some Italians refuse to look beyond their own borders.
I refuse to care. I won’t secure the Barrone legacy by relying on families that fall apart after rooting out traitors. The conversation bores me and I cast my attention back to the main room, seeking out Gianna.
I find her within a few seconds, then anger grips my heart. She’s across the room, laughing alongside a man who puts his hand on her bare arm and leans in close as if they are sharing a private joke.
My world turns red.
She’s not just with any man.
She’s with Leonardo Simone.
The sleazy head of the Simone family. They were once the dream union for my family back when I was a child, but the death of my mother swiftly put an end to that. Seeing him near her is like someone reaching into my gut and dragging my balls through my ribcage.
That fucker.
I stride across the room and reach Gianna in just a few steps. She turns to me with a bright smile, but it fades the moment she locks eyes with me. I clearly haven’t hidden my emotions very well.
“Back. Off,” I snarl, shoving myself between Gianna and Leonardo.
Leo raises his hands and laughs like the bark of a fox. “Hey friend, we were just chatting.”
“I know you and your ‘just chatting,’” I snarl. “Back the fuck off and leave her alone.”
“You’re acting like I’m some kind of danger to her,” Leo replies easily, then his eyes narrow like blades. “We’re not the ones dealing in the skin trade.”
“Keep spewing your lies like I give a shit. You’re lucky we’re even here, so I’ll say it again, in case it’s struggling to get through that thick skull of yours. Leave my wife alone.”
“Is that wise?” Leo’s eyes widen and he places one hand on his chest. “After all, isn’t it you that women have such a habit of dying around? Your mother, your sister, your ex-whatever she was. Honestly, Gianna darling, you might be safer—”
He doesn’t get to finish his sentence. I punch him so hard in the mouth that his teeth snap shut and his head whips back so fast that his sunglasses fly up in the air. My knuckles ache, but my anger finally has an outlet, and it’s Leonardo Simone.
I tackle him to the ground and we land with a crash, two muscular bodies colliding with heated yells and furious fists. He punches me in the ribs, I elbow him in the kidney. We roll over, and he crashes his elbow down onto my collarbone. I switch our positions and punch him twice in the face. We brawl and snarl, delivering blow after blow until Anton and Ben surge forward and pry us apart.
They waited long enough for me to gain the upper hand.
With my shirt awry and blood pouring from a split lip, I’m hauled upward as Leonardo’s own men pull him backward. My father strides between us and holds up his hand, his face contoured and purple.
“This restaurant is neutral fucking territory,” he yells, bringing silence to the entire building. “There is no fighting. Not here. Do you understand? You both know better, yet you brawl like cats in heat!”
I may be in charge of the Barrone family, but my father shows how much power he still carries from the respect he’s earned over the years. No one talks over him and no one interrupts.
“Were you not the head of your respective families I would order you both slaughtered outside for such a disgusting lack of respect!” Dante continues. “You apologize. Now. Whatever this is, it’s over!”
He points at me, his eyes sharp like a bullet. Then he points to Leonardo who nods, wiping blood away from his nose and mouth. Anton and Ben release me when my father stalks away and a cautious rumble of noise rises once more around us. Anton hands me a napkin and starts to adjust my jacket but I shrug him off. I don’t need help. I need Gianna.
I swivel on the spot, scanning the crowd expecting to see Gianna alarmed or even pissed off at my lack of control.
She stands nearby, but instead of looking alarmed, she looks oddly distracted as she stares past me. “Gianna?”
Her eyes flicker to me after a few long seconds, and then she frowns. “Oh, Marco.”
“Are you alright?”
She doesn’t have a chance to answer because Leonardo steps up behind me, his presence making my spine recoil.
“Marco,” he says loudly, throwing himself into the display of apologizing. He clearly wants to look like the bigger man.
I turn to face him. “Leonardo.”
“My apologies.” Leo holds out one hand. A hundred curious eyes watch us from around the room. I can’t have him look better than me, so I grip his hand and shake it.
“Accepted. Mine, too.”
Leo smiles widely as if accepting my apology, then he suddenly jerks me close and embraces me.
“The real twist is that the women around you don’t die. They just fake it to get away from you,” Leo hisses in my ear. “After all, isn’t that how your sister is alive?”