11
AXEL
"You're doing it wrong."
I look up from my tie. Luca is standing in front of the mirror, struggling with his own.
"Says the man who's making a bigger mess than I am," I point out.
He looks at my reflection and grins. "Fair point."
We're both in our tuxedos, designer, expensive, and uncomfortable as hell. The gala starts in thirty minutes, and neither of us can figure out how to tie a proper bow tie.
"You'd think," Luca grumbles, yanking his tie loose again, "after all these years, we'd have mastered this."
"You'd think." I give up on mine, let it hang loose around my neck. "When did we become the kind of men who attend charity galas?"
"When we needed to launder money and look respectable doing it." He laughs. "Remember Istanbul? We wore jeans and leather jackets. Broke into that Gala like we owned the place."
"And nearly got killed doing it."
"But we didn't." His expression sobers. "Because you took the fall for me."
Here we go.
"Luca you don’t—"
"I could never thank you properly, brother. Seven years, Axel. You gave me seven years of your life. Seven years that could have crippled your empire.
I don't know what to say to that. Don't know how to tell him that those seven years are nothing compared to what I feel now, watching his daughter engaged to my son.
"You would've done the same," I say finally.
"Maybe. But I didn't, you did." He meets my eyes in the mirror. "You're a better man than most, Axel Santego."
If only you knew.
If only he knew I'm obsessed with his daughter. That I got her pregnant. That I'm counting down the days until this nightmare ends so I can figure out how to fix it.
If there’s any way to fix it.
"We should focus on these ties," I say, changing the subject. "Before we're late to our own fucking event."
"Right." He turns back to the mirror and frowns. "How the hell does this even work?"
The door opens.
“Dad, are you here?” Aurora walks in.
And my brain stops functioning.
Whoa.
She's wearing emerald green, a gown that hugs every curve, off the shoulder, a slit up the thigh that makes my mouth go dry. Her hair's swept up, exposing her neck. Diamond earrings catch the light.
She's devastating.
Fuck.