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

the great-grandmother, who was helped into the room

guess she wasn’t allowed to

12 people. Don Vicari sat at the far end

Even though we were the closest in distance, the whole setup

the antipasto, there was some weird kind of dish I’d never seen before. It

the silver, scaly

“Butterflied sardines stuffed

a fan of

big part of Sicilian cooking?”

yes. My

“…great.”

a bite

got flooded with fishy

Fuckin’ sardines…

which was just okay – not like the fantastic wines my family produced in our vineyards. But at least it killed the fishy

smiled. “Not to

said as I drank more wine and tried to swish it around

didn’t say much. When he did open his mouth, it was talk about boring-ass things like

old bastard loved to

greatest joy in life: being

silence. Whenever I looked over and caught her eye, she gave me a big smile before

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

main course that things

“how was your first day

Vicari, who gave me a

“Um… uneventful,” I answered.

I’ve never heard anyone describe being around my brother

not

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

our secret conversation

so,” I agreed with a

get bored, I went through my books and found some you might like. I figured you weren’t really one for history or philosophy, but I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. Have you ever

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

looked at me like I’d said

Jesus Christ.

mind. But yeah, I

like the book, then,” she

“Sure. Why

here continued, I was going to have

snarled at the end of the table, “If you want to waste your time with your nose in a book, Isabella,

at him,

was actually angry, way out

and looked down at her plate in shame.

to him,”

unable to look

shock for

I

Vicari and snapped, “What

bastard looked at

was just trying to be

Don Vicari’s face and

nobody’d spoken to him that way for

who had spoken that way to him

silence

at that point I realized I might have

Isabella staring at

did you just say to

I had a choice.

far as the work situation went. Nothing I could do

this was an

let this asshole grind me under his heel, now and for the rest of

could stand up for

And Isabella.

knew that if I did stand up for the both of us, it

in Sicily was going to

So –

FUCK this guy.

vicious tone that matched Vicari’s own. “She was trying to share something with me that means a lot to her – something that she loves. And since

was

anything, I

me protecting your daughter after

for the verbal judo. He’d taught me the general principle a couple of years ago

one thing they CAN’T say ‘no’ to without making

question where they’re FORCED to say ‘no’… or they have to agree with

hatred – but what the fuck could he

don’t want

but a shitheel