Chapter 24

24

Olivia

I had almost allowed him to kiss me. If he'd touched his lips to mine, I'd have been a goner. I'd have kissed him back, then probably thrown myself at his feet and asked him to fuck me. Jesus, what's wrong with me?

He's going to marry my sister, and I told him I want nothing to do with him. I made that clear to him. But he hasn't gotten the memo. And if I'm being honest, neither has my body. When I walked into the conservatory and stumbled into him, every part of me came alive. My pulse rate went into overdrive, and it still hasn't calmed down. My stomach is tied up in knots and my clit throbs. I want his face between my legs, his cock inside my channel, and his tongue in my mouth as he fucks me. My pussy clenches, and my core dampens further. The constant need under my skin to have him has only grown more insistent in the past few hours.

I'd managed to put him behind me and focus on starting my life again, and now he's swept in and turned everything upside down. Fuck. I park outside the house where my family is staying and stomp up the path to the door. I ring the doorbell and wait, drumming my fingers on my dress-covered thigh. Maybe I should have changed before coming here… but fuck that. They know who I am. They know I'm not going to change. Besides, they already saw the dress, so it's not going to be a surprise to them.

The door is flung open, and my sister stands there.

"Livvy." My sister throws her arms around my shoulders. She's the only one I've tolerated calling me by that nickname.

I pull Solene close and bury my nose in her fragrant hair. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" She pulls back and scans my features. "You left so suddenly."

"I had some business to take care of," I murmur. I take her hands in mine. "I am so sorry I interrupted your engagement."

"Oh pfft." She waves me off. "It doesn't matter. Besides, because the engagement was interrupted, Diego demanded the Sovranos to push the date of the marriage forward."

My heart leapfrogs into my throat. A massive weight seems to have parked itself on my chest. I force out the words, "They… They have?" I glance away, then back at her. "How do you feel about it?"

She raises a shoulder. "Guess I'm okay with it."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"I'm fine with it… I suppose." She blows out a breath. "To be honest, I don't think I have too much of an opinion about it."

"It's your wedding, your engagement... your life, Solene." I squeeze her fingers. "You need to expect more from it."

She scans my features. "That's why I've always envied you. You've always known what you want, Livvy. And you've gone after it. The only thing I've loved is singing."

"And I've told you, you could make it professionally, if you wanted. You just need to?—"

"Leave home and try my luck in LA, I know." She shuffles her feet. "I've never had the self-confidence you have. I don't think I'd survive out there on my own."

"You wouldn't be alone; you'd have me," I point out.

"I wouldn't want to cramp your style." She bites the inside of her cheek. "Remember when we were younger, how I'd always tag along behind you and try to imitate you?"

"And I loved it."

She narrows her gaze on me.

I release her hands. "Okay, not always. You could be a pain sometimes, but I enjoyed having you along."

She half-smiles. "You're a wonderful sister, and now you're going to become a famous actress."

I laugh weakly. "Somehow, I don't think so." I raise my hand to touch the scar on my cheek, then lower it to my side.

"It doesn't take away from your beauty. It only adds to your mystique, you know?"

"If you say so." I scan her features. "I just came to make sure you're okay."

"I am," she says in a soft voice.

"You sure?"

She nods.

"I didn't mean for him to follow me out like that… I'm not sure why he did it."

She frowns up at me. "I guess he was being a gentleman and making sure you were okay?"

I tilt my head. Is that what she chooses to believe? Was the tension between me and Massimo not that obvious? Maybe I'm the only one who noticed it? Should I put her right? And what would I say?

"Olivia, is that you?" my brother calls out from inside the house. "Come in and visit with us, will you?"

Thank God for the distraction. Not that I want to see my brother, or anyone else in my family. I back away from the door. "I have to get going, uh... another thing that I need to be at."

I hear my brother's footsteps and he appears behind Solene. "Come in and have dinner with us. You owe us that much, after the stunt you pulled earlier."

A-n-d that's Diego for you. If he'd said he missed me, I'd have gladly joined them, but he had to turn this into a negotiation, as if I owe him something. If he could achieve something by threatening me or making it transactional, he would, when the straightforward route would work much better with me. He spins around and walks off, leaving Solene to look apologetically at me. "You know he doesn't mean to be this abrasive. He loves you, Livvy."

"He has a funny way of showing it." I blow out a breath. "Come on, let's join them before he bellows again."

"So, how did you meet Massimo?" Diego asks.

I stop with my spoon halfway to my mouth. The only reason I accepted the invitation for dinner is the food. God, I've missed the food. My mom can be a bitch, but her cooking is still the best I've ever tasted. And she doesn't even make too much of an effort. She seems to put the ingredients together without any measuring or tasting, and the dishes just take shape. I, clearly, didn't inherit that flair from her, but then, I hope I am not a total shrew like her, either.

I bring the fork to my mouth and taste the pasta. The tangy taste of tomatoes, the acidic bite of garlic, the slightly sour flavor of the mozzarella cheese—all of it combines to explode on my palate. Not even the fact that I have to face the conversation I've been dreading takes away from the taste of the food. I swallow down the portion, then place my spoon back on my plate.

"He was at my friend Jeanne's wedding to his brother, Luca."

"Clearly, the two of you got to know each other well," Diego murmurs.

Next to him, my mother opens her mouth as if to say something, but thinks better of it.

I whip my gaze in Diego's direction. "What are you insinuating?"

"Just that it's useful you're already acquainted with him, since he's going to be part of the family." He glances up and meets my gaze. "As long as it doesn't interfere with your sister's wedding."

That familiar anger knots my guts. A pressure builds behind my eyes. "Why don't you come out and say what's really on your mind?" I lock my fingers together in my lap.

He places his fork in his plate and blows out a breath. "Whatever happened between the two of you is of no consequence to me. Men like to fool around with women, but when they marry, they want to settle down with someone who is untouched and who can bear them children and keep their home?—"

"All of which I am not. That's what you're implying, right?"

"You said it." Diego tilts his head. "You knew the road you were embarking on when you left home and decided to become an actress. I warned you it wouldn't be easy. I warned you once you left, you couldn't return to the fold. That the career you'd chosen would only bring you grief. And especially after what happened to your face?—"

I resist the urge to touch the scar on my cheek.

"—it's clear that your choices aren't going to serve you well."

"But they were my choices. My mistakes and my successes, all of which I'm perfectly happy to contend with."

"Oh, you'll have to do more than that. Life isn't as simple as you think it is. You were sheltered in the family. Treated like a princess. Your every whim catered to. Our father spoilt you; he was lenient toward you. If it were me, I'd have never let you leave home in the first place."

"Good thing you're not my father." Oh, Papa, you're the only one who understood me. " If he were still alive, he'd have never agreed to this arranged marriage with the Cosa Nostra ."

"It's because he was so lenient in his affairs and allowed his own clan to swindle him that I had to make this arrangement with the Cosa Nostra . It's the only way to strengthen our position and ensure that our future is taken care of."

"So, you'd barter our sister for that? You'd allow her to be treated as a piece of merchandise so that your future is secure?" I shoot back.

"I wonder if you'd be protesting so much if it were you who was the bride-to-be."

The blood drains from my face. "What are you insinuating, Diego?"

"If you feel so badly for your sister, why don't you marry him instead?"

"Diego!" I lean forward in my seat. "You can't treat us like commodities to shift around at will. Solene's engaged to the man. You can't go around making these kinds of statements. It's not being fair to her."

"And you running out of the engagement, only to be followed by Massimo, is?" Diego steeples his fingers together. He narrows his gaze on me and there's something in his expression that indicates he knows I had a relationship with Massimo.

I curl my fingers, so my nails dig into the palm of my hand. "Whatever there was between me and Massimo is over."

A silence descends on the table. My mother draws in a breath. I sense my sister stiffen, but don't turn my head to look at her.

"There's nothing between us now."

"So, you admit you had a relationship with him?" Diego taps his fingertips together.

I glance away. "It wasn't a relationship. It was… nothing."

"It was something, considering how he rushed after you," Diego points out.

"It doesn't mean anything. He was probably just being gentlemanly. That's all," I lie out of desperation. "It's not my fault he chose to come after me to make sure I was okay. I don't want anything to do with him, okay?" What is wrong with me?

The silence at the table intensifies. I glance toward my mother, who's watching me with disappointment on her face. Yeah, yeah, so what's new? I've never managed to live up to her expectations. I wasn't the demure, girly daughter she longed for. That's my sister.

Me? I never did what I was told. I rebelled. I asked questions. I could never accept the status quo. It's why I left home to pursue my dreams. I left my sister behind. And while my father and mother loved her, she never had a chance to find out what she wanted to make of herself.

No doubt, they indoctrinated her in the ways of the Mafia and convinced her that her future was that as wife to a Mafioso. If I had stayed behind, I might have encouraged her to think otherwise. On the other hand, if she's going to marry anyone in the Mafia, it might as well be Massimo. This way, I'm sure she'll be taken care of. If she were to marry anyone else, there'd be no guarantee of how he'd treat her. I was selfish and left her behind, and now I have to make it right. For all our sakes, I have to give up Massimo... For her.

I glance around the table, then declare, "I have a fiancé."