Chapter Thirty-One

I'm fuming by the time Emelia walks in my door.

I can barely greet her, knowing my voice will come out harsh. She looks just as angry, and I feel a moment of gratitude that she came to me immediately.

She's right. After last night, we are on the same page.

I love her, and I think I have for a long time, and I'm glad that I finally told her exactly how I feel. Plus, if she truly can choose me over her own father and so-called best friend, then I feel more at ease trusting her.

My brother on the other hand…I'm actually not even surprised that he would try to orchestrate stealing this deal from me. He wants all of the respect, of course, and he can't stand seeing me getting my own share. And Grazia…as sweet as my sister can be, she's also na?ve and easily manipulated.

They are the last family I have left, and yet they are choosing to treat me as if I'm an outsider.

Those two have always been partners in crime, acting like I couldn't ever be part of their exclusive club. And as a kid, that shit hurt, but as an adult it's just fuelling me to show them exactly who they're fucking with.

I don't say much to Emelia, but give her a long and deep kiss, a kiss that shows that everything we spoke about last night is still valid. Then I pick up my keys and walk out of the door. She follows me as I hoped she would.

We need to go to the mansion and deal with this, immediately. But we need to do it together, a united force.

The drive to the family house is silent, heavy. I reach over and put my hand on Emelia's knee, keeping my eyes on the road, but I feel her looking at me. Giving her leg a squeeze, I pull into the driveway and exit my car in almost one move.

"Enzo!" I shout, moving through the house, slamming doors open. My brother must be here. If he's planning a take-over of any kind, this is where he'll do his dirty business. Never in his own house, that would be blasphemous, apparently.

As I reach the dining room, he comes out of the kitchen looking annoyed. "Luca, quiet, please. Loridana is here and the kids are napping."

I continue walking until I'm face to face with my brother. I swing my arm back and land my fist right in the middle of his face—I hear a crunch as I slam it against his nose. He stumbles back only slightly, and then steps forwards and hits me back, getting my right cheek.

"What the fuck!" Emelia comes in to see us wrestling each other, and screams.

I let go of my brother and step back, and he does the same. I have never hit my brother in anger before, and the same could be said about him.

But I have also always bowed down to his will, and I'm sick and tired of doing that. We stare at each other, both catching our breath. Emelia comes up to me and tries to hold on to my arm, but I shrug her away.

"I know what you and Grazia are planning, and I'm warning you to stop. I have resources, Enzo. We might be family but if you're going to fuck me over, I'll make sure you regret it." I rub my face where he hit me. There"s no blood, but it"s throbbing.

I catch a glimpse of Nonna's portrait above us. If she were still here, this is where she'd intervene and lecture us all about family and how the business doesn't work unless we work together.

My siblings clearly never took any of those lectures to heart.

"It's too late, Luca. It's being done as we speak. And I'd be careful if I were you. Threats are all well and good until the first person acts." Enzo looks back as Loridana walks into the room. She obviously heard the commotion, but she stands in the background, not trying to get in the middle of family business.

"What do you mean, it's being done as we speak?" I ask him.

He sighs. "Grazia is on our jet and headed to Mexico. She poses no threat, raises no hackles, on her own. She's going to speak to Carlos and his people, and we're going to make sure that the family name is not tainted by the fabrications that you've decided to base this entire deal on."

I take a moment to process what he's saying. "Why the fuck would you send Grazia on her own? Are you stupid?"

Enzo doesn't reply. Using his hand to catch the blood dripping from his nose—that is surely broken—he turns to Loridana, and the two of them go upstairs.

For a minute I think about following them and continuing the conversation with Enzo, but all of a sudden, the solution to this entire fiasco comes to me.

I turn to look at Emelia and give her a Cheshire cat smile.

"Uh, you okay?" she asks, confused.

I laugh and grab her hand, leading her out into the garden. This is the place my grandmother lovingly provided us. The place that Emelia and I first found our chemistry.

This place will be where we fix things.

I lead Emelia out to the lookout, and stand in front of her. "Em, I have one solution for every problem in my life right now." I'm still smiling, partly out of pride for my quick-thinking, and partly because this feels right.

"Sex? Now?" Emelia looks at me, unsure.

"No," I say, and then wink at her. "But we can do that too. No, Em, after our conversation, and this morning, I get it now. I should have seen that you were on my side, that the baby wasn't some kind of trap, that Nonna was right to trust you—to make you family."

I keep a hold of her hand and drop to one knee. Emelia looks stunned, but stays quiet, so I continue. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my family, now? Making it official? I, uh… I don't have a ring."

She laughs and so do I.

"Luca…" Her voice is a whisper, and I see a single tear slip down her cheek. "Of course, I want to marry you! Having a family with you is my dream! But… Is this because you want to marry me? Or because you want to prove to Carlos that we're a real couple?"

I stand up and place a hand under her jaw, bringing her face up to look at me. "I'll be honest. I do think us being engaged will help the situation with Carlos. But it will also solidify everything we spoke about last night. And it'll give our baby the best start in life. I want to marry you, Emelia. I just need you to trust me and do it sooner than I'd originally planned, okay?"

She nods and I kiss her forehead. "Let's get married." I wink at her and she giggles.

***

"Luca! You miss me already?" Carlos answers the phone, laughing. This man is always in a good mood, but I'd hate to see him when someone makes him angry.

"Carlos! Of course, I actually missed you all so much that I want to invite you back to my home," I reply, trying to match his excited energy.

"Back? Ah, Luca, my body is getting old, it doesn't like so much travel." His laugh turns into a cough and I wait for him to quiet down.

"I understand, Carlos, but this is a special visit. Emelia and I, we're getting married next week and would love to have you and the family join us for our ceremony." I silently hope that Grazia hasn't made her way to him yet.

"A wedding! That changes things, of course. Yes, Luca, you send me the details and I will bring the whole family. I'm happy for you—you're securing a good woman there."

"I know, I know. Thank you Carlos. I'll send the details, and we'll see you soon."

I put the phone down and sink into my office chair. The plan seems to have worked, but I still can't get through to Grazia, so I have no idea where she is, if she's safe, and if she's spoken to any of Carlos' men yet. Or worse, his wife.

***

My worries about my sister being lost in Mexico only last a few more hours. Emelia and I are in the kitchen sorting out wedding plans when Grazia storms into the mansion.

"Luca are you mad?" She screams at me, sounding like the only mad person in this house.

"You told Carlos you were getting married? I almost blurted out everything I was going to tell him, but luckily he asked me first if I was there to deliver the invitation in person. If I had said anything, just one word, Luca, I might not be standing here right now. What the fuck? There is no way you two are getting married."

"Married?" Enzo walks into the kitchen behind Grazia. "Who's getting married?"

"We are," I answer them both. "And yes, I have invited Carlos and his entire family. We're going to have the wedding in the garden. It's what Nonna would have wanted. And I am sorry, Grazia, if this put you in any danger–that wasn't my plan. But perhaps you should rethink whether or not you want to be a part of this world."

"Grazia," Emelia speaks up, looking between the three of us siblings, "I, uh, I know this isn't how we always imagined it, but would you perhaps think of being my Maid of Honor?"

She tries to smile, but I can see she's worried the question might not be well received. I think of how cool and calm this woman usually is, compared to how giddy and nervous she is at the thought of marrying me. I smile at her, knowing that she's finally dropped the act.

"I would rather drink tequila from the toilet than do that." Grazia's gaze is hard, so very unlike my sister. This whole situation has brought out different sides of everyone, but Grazia's attitude is enraging me even more.

"Grazia there's no need to be a bitch. And while I have you both here," I point at my siblings, "I want you to know that I will be pulling this off. By this time next week, Emelia and I will be married, Carlos will continue to be happy with this deal, and I will carry on with the distribution. I am, however, never involving either of you in a deal again. I don't need your permission anymore, Enzo, and I really don't need you involving yourself, Grazia."

"Now," I turn away from them and take Emelia's hand, "please leave us so we can plan a wedding."

I hear Enzo softly tell Grazia to follow him and their footsteps pad along the black and white tiles of the kitchen as they leave.

Emelia looks hurt by my sister's response. I know that the two of them have been planning their weddings with each other since they were kids.

A part of me is devastated that I can't give her everything she wants. I pull her face up to mine and kiss her, feeling her mouth respond to mine.

"Okay," I say, pulling away and turning the page in her wedding planner. She"s had this little book within arm"s reach ever since I proposed and we knew we"d only have a week to make everything happen, "what flavor cake should we get?"