Smirking, I turn to see what beauty has caught his eye… and spot Matilde gliding down the stairs.
My mother is a few steps behind her, but there’s no question who everyone is watching.
Antonio was joking when he asked if she might become the lady of my house. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem like the craziest notion. Even if many would be offended by me choosing an unknown soldier’s daughter over the daughters of one of my underbosses or captains.
Under the crystal chandeliers, her lustrous black hair shines like pure obsidian. For the first time, I wonder what it would feel like wrapped around my fist. Her smooth, bronzed skin glows in the glittering tangerine gown that hugs her voluptuous curves and makes my mouth water.Fuck.
Those big brown eyes nervously scour the room filled with strangers until they find mine. Melted dark honey with chestnut starbursts radiating out from the pupils. Alluring and hypnotic.
I knew she was beautiful. I’ve been keeping that acknowledgement strictly in the box of things that are mere facts – blood is red, ice is cold, Dante is crazy, Matilde is beautiful.
But this? This I’m not prepared for.
“Hell-fucking-no,” I curse under my breath, squashing these stirrings to dust.
I can’t claim her.And she’d never want me.
Nevertheless, I’m not sure if I’m more flabbergasted or furious when Dante joins her at the bottom of the stairs. He murmurssomething that makes my children’s nanny blush and giggle. Fury, it is.
“I’m going to ask her to dance tonight. I’m going to ask her. I’m going to ask her.”
Primo is repeating the words under his breath, a litany meant to pluck up his courage.
The thought of this boy asking her to dance makes something inside of me snap. I don’t need repeated words to find my courage. I prowl toward the birthday girl, determinedIwill be the man who claims her first dance.
10
Matilde
Tugging at the straps of the beautiful evening gown, I look in the mirror.The Capo’s Charity Case.I dismiss the thought as quickly as it forms. I can have something nice tonight.
“Matilde, all the guests are here,” Zeta says breathlessly from the doorway of my bedroom.
“I should see the twins first, no?”
“One of the maids is watching over them.”
“Yes, okay.”
But I turn back toward the mirror, wondering who the person staring back at me is. Not because of the dress or the bit of makeup. I’m thinking of everything I lost this year, everything I never knew, everything I find myself longing for, and it’s all a jumble inside of me.
“Are you sad because your parents aren’t here to celebrate the day with you?” Zeta’s voice is tinged with emotion, and my chin trembles. “Oh, I’m sorry! Please, don’t cry! Your mascara will run, and I’ll cry, too!”
Her panicked words make me laugh despite the circumstances. “I never had a party like this,” I admit.
“Well, a girl’s eighteenth birthday only comes once in a lifetime!”
She doesn’t understand, and it’s too embarrassing to confess when everyone is waiting.
“Come have some cake,” she encourages. “Open your gifts, meet people, dance with a handsome young man if you like.”
My spirits lift with her words as we walk toward the grand staircase. The house looks even more beautiful than usual, and I’ve never seen so many colorful balloons. Do I dare mention my allergy? No, I don’t want to disappoint Zeta after she’s worked so hard to put this party together.
I nearly stumble, seeing all the people below. The rumbling chatter dies down as I’m noticed by a few and then a few more. Almost all are strangers to me. So many men in dark suits. So many elegant women with perfectly arched eyebrows. Paola and her minions are here because their fathers are captains. Social events are important in the mafia. Even the daughter of a mere soldier knows that. I want to run back to my room.
Then I seehim.
Instead of eye contact, it’s like Nico has eye magnets. I can’t break free from his steely gaze. For once, he’s not wearing a tie, and his black dress shirt is unbuttoned enough to reveal a hint of his broad chest. A dangerous heat builds low in my belly at the sight.