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“A little high-spirited? The woman tried to take my head off with a tray of appetizers. If her brother hadn’t thrown her over his shoulder and hauled her away, I’d have strangled that psycho right where she stood.”
“He’s a presumptuous, bad-mannered asshole who somehow brainwashed my sister
into marrying him!” I snap. “Regardless of how things are between them now, I will never forget that. And I will never get along with that dick!” “Indeed. At least, not until the two of you are on even footing. I’m giving you that chance.” Ajello’s gaze lies heavy on me. “He got your sister. You get his. Problem eliminated.”
“Both obedience and loyalty should be inspired by respect, Arturo. A man who would ask someone he considers a friend to do his bidding as repayment for help freely given is not worthy of that respect. What I did, I did because it was the right thing to do. You are in no way indebted to me for that.”
“Are you really going to put a bullet in my head if I don’t do it?”
He looks at me over the rim of his glass. “No. But I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d just agree.”
As far as women are concerned, the key is not to go soft around them.” Ajello’s phone starts ringing, and he shrugs as he takes it out. “Cara mia, you’re still up? … No, I didn’t have time to get the cat food, yet. I’ll do it as soon as I’m finished with Arturo. … Yes, I’m aware that Kurt has been throwing up since yesterday. The damn pest probably ate another gross bug and— … What do you mean he scratched you?” Spinning around, Ajello races toward the office door. “Stay put. I’m coming up right now. I’ll call Ilaria on the way. … I don’t care if it’s just a nick! … No, I’m not overreacting!
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“You have two months to convince your future bride to marry you.”
The door slams shut in his wake, but I can still hear the sound of his fading voice while he continues making a fuss about his wife’s damn scratch. Jesus. If anyone had told me a few years ago that Salvatore Ajello would be such a goner for a woman, I’d have laughed in their face. It’s a tragedy, really. At least no one would ever catch me losing my mind like this. Especially over an unwanted wife.
“But beautiful, yes? I’ve only seen her from afar, but”—he whistles—“she’s a babe. I wouldn’t mind doing her if you two don’t end—” My fist flies as if of its own accord, slamming right into Nino’s face. “What the fuck, man?” he groans, pressing his hand over his busted lip. “Watch your damn mouth,” I growl, then take off at a clipped pace toward my car. Yeah… What the fuck was that?
Truth is, I didn’t give a damn about who I was shooting when I pulled the trigger. I saw that asshole slap Tara, and rage unlike any I’ve ever known boiled in my veins.
“Ma sei
“I’m going to make your life a living hell.” “Of that, gattina, I don’t have the slightest doubt.”
Has Drago finally decided I’m beyond saving?
What a dumb, blind idiot I am!
While doing my best to make my wife despise me, I’ve managed to fall hopelessly in love with her.
“But that doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” she continues in a light, chirpy tone. “With you two falling for each other, this is basically a real marriage now. Who would’ve guessed that Ajello’s meddling would result in another love match?”
When I agreed to this stupid, stupid marriage, I thought I’d put my life on hold for a year, max. In the meantime, my Prince Charming… my knight in shining armor… and our happily ever after would be out there somewhere, waiting for me. The moment when I finally found him would simply be delayed, nothing more. But I’m afraid that’s no longer true.
The man who ruined the fantasy in my life. Because I know… I fucking know! Once our year together is up, once my search for that perfect prince resumes… every man… every other man in the world, I’ll somehow find lacking. There’s no one out there who compares to Arturo DeVille.
“I can’t imagine my life without you, gattina. Please, don’t leave me,” he rasps. My fingers feather over his lips, over that soft little smile. A smile that I wanted to be part of my very own happily ever after. “Your shiny armor is showing,” I whisper just as the lights go out.
One minute and forty-seven seconds. Eternity. That’s the span of time I burned in hell as my wife lay dead on the operating table after she flatlined. Until CPR and epinephrine restarted her heart. Until mine resumed its beating. She died. My wife died.
“You died.” His voice is so quiet, it hardly qualifies as a whisper. “For a minute and forty-seven seconds, your heart stopped. And during each of those one hundred and seven seconds, I died a thousand deaths. It fucking broke me, gattina.”
“I fucked up,” he blurts, running a hand through his hair like he’s nervous. “Big time. Made a mess of everything because I was stupid. And stubborn. And because I was afraid.”
“You told me once that you always screw things up, but that’s not true. Drilling holes in the drywall or taking apart the coffee machine with a butter knife, that’s not messing things up, baby. It’s just you being you. You’re independent and resourceful. Some things might not go your way, but you don’t shy away from a challenge. You don’t give up, and I love that about you. I love everything you do. Even when it involves bizarre hair antics. I get a kick out of seeing what insane idea you’ll come up with next, and I want to keep experiencing that for the rest of my life.”
“Tara, for over a decade, aside from my sisters, the Cosa Nostra Family was the most important thing in my life. But then you thundered into it like a beautiful storm. My precious hazard. And I realized that you eclipsed everything. The Family—if I had to make a choice, I would have betrayed them for you. My life—I would have given it to save yours in a nanosecond. I would give up everything for you, baby, everything. And that thought scared the living shit out of me. Having that kind of weakness, it was simply incomprehensible. But that’s what you became. My Achilles’ heel.
