Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
“We’ve got this,” he said.
He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Aria.
She was so nervous that all he wanted to do was keep her close, protect her, and not let anything happen to her.
They walked into the function, and Dante already spotted his parents, along with Aria’s. The whole house was thriving. Engagements often were. His own had been the same, but there had been several nasty comments, all of which he allowed to slide because he’d been so pissed.
He knew people watched them. This was not new, apart from him holding Aria. Whenever they entered a function, they were side by side. He never touched her. Now, he kept Aria close.
Dante noticed the whispers start, and he decided to go straight toward his father.
Again, he did something different by taking Aria with him.
“Dante,” his father said.
“Father,” he said.
“Mr. Gallo,” Aria said, bowing her head toward him.
She didn’t look up, but stayed silent at his side.
Dante smiled at his father. “I wasn’t expecting an engagement party so soon after the last one. Is this someone I know?” There was always some cause for celebration. A party, a child’s birth. Dante knew exactly who this was and who they were engaged to.
This was the capo’s daughter, Mary, who was joining with another capo from another city. Again, the man was twenty years older than her, but it was a business deal. This is what they did. Strengthen alliances, build wealth, and gain power.
His father didn’t even answer his question.
“Aria, you’re looking lovely tonight,” his mother said.
This made Aria lift her head and then glance down at the red dress he’d insisted on her wearing.
“Thank you. Uh, Dante picked this out.” Aria ran her hand down the fabric at the front.
He loved the dress. Often, Aria wore something that drowned her body. This one enhanced her curves. When he first saw her in it at the shop yesterday, he’d been utterly speechless.
The dress molded to her tits and curved in at the waist before flaring out at her hips. She looked stunning. He’d even hired a hairstylist to take care of her hair for tonight.
Aria tended to wear hers either pulled back or in some kind of bun. It was always bound up. This time, ringlets fell down her face. She had long hair, beautiful, soft, thick, and rich golden brown.
Her makeup was minimal as he didn’t want to go to the party with a clown. Smoky eye shadow, mascara, and some lipstick. She looked amazing.
“Ah, my son always had a good eye for quality,” his father said. “Do you mind if I steal your husband away for a moment?”
Dante didn’t want to leave his wife’s side. He looked toward his mother. “Please, don’t leave her. I’ll be right back.”
This wasn’t part of the plan.
He’d promised he would stay by Aria’s side. Following his father to a small alcove, he stopped and waited for his father to say what he needed.
“What is going on?” he asked.
Dante looked at his father. “About what?”
“Cut the crap, Dante. I know these last eight months you’ve ignored her. You bring her to these events because I order you to. You could have left her home for this one, instead you bring her. Why?”
His father had told him there was no need to bring his wife. It was a small gathering, but Dante saw this was anything but small. Not bringing Aria would have created all kinds of rumor and gossip.
“I’ve accepted my life. Aria is my wife, and I’m going to start treating her like it.”
His father grunted. “She will not be for long. I have men working—”
“With all due respect, you said I wouldn’t even have to go through with my own wedding, and yet, that is exactly what I had to do. In the past year, we have gotten nowhere. Aria is my wife. I’m attempting to make her pregnant with my child. I’m going to start treating her like a wife.”
“Do you think you’re fooling me?” his father asked.
“I’m not trying to fool anyone, but what I’m not going to do is allow my child to grow up in a home where his parents hate each other. You made sure we didn’t.”
He saw his confession shocked his father.
Seconds passed when neither of them said a word.
“Dante?”
“Dad, don’t, okay? I’m the one that fucked up, and this is the consequence of that. Aria’s nothing like her father, and according to my staff, all of them have fallen in love with her. Trust me, I didn’t task them with helping her. They were horrible to her, and still, Aria found a way to win them over. That is quite an accomplishment.” He reached out and slapped his father’s arm. “Trust me.”
He moved back toward Aria, who hadn’t taken a single sip of her champagne, and then Dante remembered. Banding an arm around his wife’s waist, he pulled her in close, and then stopped a waiter before he could pass.