Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Dante laughed as he extended his hand. “How are you, my friend?”
Unfolding my arms, I reached out and shook his hand. “As well as can be expected.”
“And your father and Liliana?”
“The-most-interesting-man-in-the-world and his new bride? They are happy hermits up north at his ranch in San Vito di Cadore—but you already knew that.”
He shrugged again. “I keep tabs.”
With a flick of my hand, I motioned to his men. “So, what’s with the welcoming party?”
Dante rubbed his forehead, then let out a frustrated sigh. “The girl’s father is furious. He’s threatening to tear apart Palermo looking for her.”
“Interesting. Too bad he didn’t show this much interest in her whereabouts sooner or we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
There was no point in diplomacy. If Antonius Carlo Fichera had shown even half as much interest in his daughter as he had in Liliana’s godfather, Salvatore Giovanni Mangano, and his plans to try to oust Dante as the boss of their mafia syndicate, I wouldn’t even be in Sicily preparing to marry her.
I placed the blame solely at her father’s feet for letting her run wild and fuck inappropriate men under his command.
Clearly, the girl had been acting out for attention. I had since learned her mother ran off when she was just a young teen. It was all so classic rebellious teenager bullshit, it would be tiresome if she wasn’t now in her twenties and my forced fiancée.
After a quick glance over his shoulder to ensure his men had maintained a respectful distance, Dante turned back to me. “On this, we are in agreement. However, that does not solve my problem this evening.”
With a sweep of my arm, I motioned for him to join me in the forward deck lounge. “If you agree to leave your pets on shore, I could offer you a drink.”
After a ghost of a smile, Dante kept his gaze on me as he called out, “Leave us, but guard the plank.”
His men filed off my yacht, leaving only two to stand guard over the temporary gangplank they used to board.
As he followed me to the lounge area, he said, “No offense, friend, but you aren’t going to serve me one of your family’s wines, are you? I prefer to drink red only when I dine.”
After stepping behind the bar, I placed two digestivo glasses on the upper counter. Holding up a bottle of Amaro Montenegro, I said as I unscrewed the cap, “No offense, friend. I only offer those bottles to invited guests.”
Pouring the aromatic liquor in both glasses, I pushed one toward him.
He lifted the glass. “Cin cin.”
“Cin cin,” I responded, sipping the nutmeg-and-orange-sweetened bitters.
Making our way to the railing, we both looked out over the harbor for a moment, taking in the sparkling reflection of the moon off the water, the blinking green and red harbor lights bobbing in the distance, piercing the darkness.
The crisp winter air was acrid with the fragrance of char and roasted nuts from the steady stream of thick smoke rising above the stucco buildings marking the location of Piazza Garraffello. Carnevale continued in full swing amidst the glowing windows and streetlights of Palermo, as it would until way past dawn.
Dante leaned on the railing. “While I’m pleased that you are keeping your promise, I confess I’m confused as to why you would want to stir up trouble with your future father-in-law.”
My knuckles whitened as I gripped my glass. “The man should thank me for dragging her away from Carnevale where she could have gotten into all sorts of trouble.”
Like parading around in barely more than a corset, fucking a man in public, and offering me an anal threesome, to start with.
“I was doing him a favor. Trust me.”
Dante frowned. “I hadn’t heard she was at Carnevale. That’s not like her.”
I snorted and raised my glass to take a sip. “Really? Because it sounds exactly like her to me.”
He shook his head. “Strange. Either way, I need to return her before her father and sister find out you were the one who took her.”
Despite wanting to point out that her father’s sudden Catholic concern for his daughter's maidenly virtue was far too late, I bit my tongue.
As to why her sister would give a fuck, I had absolutely no idea.
I was aware Antonia had an identical twin sister named Antonella, Ella for short, but my sources said they were not particularly close. It was odd for twins, but not unusual, especially twins with such polar opposite personalities.
As far as I had learned, Ella was a shy little thing who was only interested in her studies and playing the cello. By all accounts, she was absolutely nothing like her sister, Antonia.
I couldn’t even find evidence of Ella having a boyfriend. It was crucial that I know of all the males surrounding this situation in case one decided to play knight in shining armor to Antonia’s damsel in distress. Including Ella’s boyfriend if she had one, since I wouldn’t put it past Antonia to cross that line if it suited her purposes.