Mafia Kings: Valentino: Dark Mafia Romance Series #6 by Olivia Thorn

Mafia Kings: Valentino: Chapter 41

The dining room was in another white-walled room, but this time, wooden cabinets lined the walls and showed off old porcelain figurines and gold-rimmed plates.

Isabella and I arrived at the same time. After my run-in with Don Vicari earlier, I wasn’t about to be late.

Nobody else was there yet, so I decided to make conversation with my bride-to-be.

“Hey,” I said with a smile.

“Hello,” she said bashfully.

“I read Milk and Honey,” I said, then tried to remember one of the lines. “‘Sex takes two’ – wait, hold on… there was something about consent…”

Isabella’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

“You can’t tell my father!” she said in a panicked whisper. She glanced behind me, probably to make sure he wasn’t coming down the hall.

“I won’t,” I said, surprised by how afraid she was. “But you were the one who said the book title in front of him, you know.”

“My father hasn’t ever read a book of poetry,” she whispered. “I knew he’d never open it. But if you tell him what it’s about – ”

“I won’t!” I said, like Jesus, calm down!

“Thank you,” she said, relieved. Then she frowned, puzzled. “How did you get a copy?”

“I borrowed yours.”

Back to full-blown panic.

“What?! Did you come into my room?!”

“No, Ludavica got it for me!”

God damn.

If this was what she was going to be like all the time, it was gonna be a long fucking marriage.

Isabella looked angry. “Ludavica gave it to you?! She didn’t ask me!”

“I asked her for it so I could read it as a surprise,” I said hastily, not wanting to get the servant girl in trouble. “So you and me could have something to talk about.”

“…oh,” Isabella said, stunned. “That’s… that’s really nice of you.”

I suddenly felt bad for her.

It seemed nobody in her life had ever taken an interest in the things she loved.

I tried to lighten things up with a jokey tone of voice. “I was kind of surprised you liked it.”

“Why?” she asked with a frown. She was acting like I’d offended her.

“Well, it’s kind of spicy.” I nearly added, For a virgin, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate me bringing that up, so I kept it to something she’d told me herself. “Especially for somebody who can’t watch TV or go on the internet.”

“Oh,” she said, her anger gone. “I guess that’s true.”

“Maybe we could talk about the book later,” I suggested.

“Not here,” she whispered frantically.

“Okay, okay – where, then?”

“…I don’t know…”

That sadness in her voice… like she would never be able to discuss something she loved, at least not openly.

Suddenly, she looked past me and forced a smile. “Hello, Daddy.”

I turned to see Don Vicari walking towards us down the hall.

“What are you two talking about?” he asked suspiciously.

“Just the books she’s reading,” I replied.

“Oh,” he replied like he couldn’t care less. “Go sit down. I’m hungry.”

He brushed past us and went into the room.

I felt even worse for Isabella than before.

A father who treated her like she was barely there…

But who terrified her, too.

Especially if he should find out what she was secretly like.

As much as I didn’t want to marry the girl…

a thousand times better to her than her asshole

was just me, Don Vicari, Isabella, and the great-grandmother, who was helped into the room

wasn’t allowed to be present for family

12 people. Don Vicari sat at the

I sat opposite each other in the middle of the table. Even though we were the closest in distance, the whole setup felt

of dish I’d never seen

poking at the silver, scaly

informed me. “Butterflied sardines stuffed

a

part

My father loves

“…great.”

tried a bite

mouth got flooded with

Fuckin’ sardines…

red wine, which was just okay – not like the fantastic

smiled. “Not

I drank more wine and tried to

mouth, it was talk about boring-ass things like how there hadn’t been

noticed the old bastard loved to complain, complain,

his greatest joy in life: being dissatisfied and pissed

I looked over and caught her eye, she gave me a big smile

tuna steaks, which were ten times better than the sardines: not fishy at all,

main course

“how was

over at Don Vicari, who gave me

“Um… uneventful,” I answered.

funny – I’ve never heard anyone describe being around my

off, not

is that the evenings will be pretty uneventful, too, without TV or internet,” she

A callback to our secret conversation in

so,” I agreed with a

one for history or philosophy, but I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. Have

ago.” When she looked at me blankly, I said, “The one with Guy Pearce

me like I’d said some weird

Jesus Christ.

But yeah, I liked the

book, then,” she

“Sure.

was going to have to

to waste your time

at

thing to say – he was

red and looked down at

him,”

unable to

shock for

then I lost

and snapped, “What the hell was

looked

be nice to

drained from Don Vicari’s face and was replaced with

guess nobody’d spoken to him that

possibly the last guy who had spoken that

deathly silence filled

I realized I might have seriously fucked

corner of my eye, I saw Isabella staring at me. Her

you just say to me?”

I had a choice.

thumb as far as the work situation went. Nothing I

was an entirely different

me under his heel, now and for the

stand up for myself

And Isabella.

if I did stand up for the both of us, it could go

didn’t, my life here in

So –

FUCK this guy.

something with me that means a lot to her – something that she loves. And since she’s going to be my

like he was about to kill

could say anything, I hit him with

me protecting your

the general principle a couple of years ago when he

they CAN’T say

question where they’re FORCED to

sat there stewing in his hatred

don’t want

but a shitheel would