“No, I doubt Nate will let them just get rid of me.” What once would have annoyed me suddenly feels a little different. There is no way Melissa will just cut my hours or fire me because there isn’t enough work to do—she can’t. She can’t fire me because I’m the crime lord’s girlfriend, and I’m a little…happy about it?
I’m protected.
I walk into the apartment, chewing on my lip and scrunching up my face at the idea.
“Aunt Ginny would be horrified.” I open my mouth, planning to discuss all my recent revelations with Vee, but my phone dings before I even make it to the kitchen. I dig around in my purse until I find it.
Nate O: Are you done with work?
“That’s weirdly blunt.” I narrow my eyes at the phone. No “How was your day?” or “My Cherice” has been included, and I suddenly feel tense again.
Yes. I just got home. What’s up?
Barely a second passes before I get a reply.
Nate O: Come to the house please
Why?
Nate O: Need to talk
About?
Nate O: Just get over here.
Chapter 16—Catholic Guilt
This is it. Tonight, Cherry will come to my house and meet my family for the first time. This is a crucial step to solidify my hold over Cherry, using her need for a family connection to my advantage. If all goes well tonight, she will be sure to agree to marry me when the time comes.
I take a deep breath and look at everyone gathered for our family meeting.
“What’s the status of the restaurant?” I ask Antony.
“Pretty well taken care of,” my cousin tells me. “Word is out. No one will go there anymore.”
“Good.” I stifle the smile that tries to creep over my face. “Is that everything?”
Kate looks over her notes before she rattles off a few more numbers. Pops leans against the wall, near the giant portrait he had commissioned for himself a few years ago, and yawns. I glare over at him, but he doesn’t pay any attention to me.
“That should cover it all,” Kate finally says.
“Good. Now, the last order of business is a little more personal.” I look around the room. “Cherry is coming to dinner tonight. I expect everyone to be welcoming, obviously, but also make sure you avoid any talk about business. Family stuff is fine, but she doesn’t know what all we’re into, and I want to make sure that by the time she understands, it’s not going to be an issue.”
“How the hell are you going to do that?” Antony asks.
“He thinks she’ll be too hopelessly head over heels for him to care,” Nora says, snickering. “Blinded by love, right Nataniele?”
“Something like that.” The first meeting she attends in weeks, and she has offered nothing but sarcasm the whole time.
“Buy her a new car,” Antony says. “That piece of shit she drives is an eyesore.”
“That’s not what she wants.” I stand up and stretch my aching back as I wonder if I need to replace Pops’ chair. “Cherry has no family and no friends to speak of. I don’t need to give her trinkets. I need to give her a place where she feels like she belongs, and you’re going to give that to her. Be friendly. Include her in everything, and for fuck’s sake, don’t talk about business!”
“That’s a standing order for family dinners,” Nora reminds me.
“Yeah, well, it’s especially important tonight.” I glance at Kate, but she doesn’t look at me. She keeps twisting her fingers in her lap and chewing on her lower lip. “Kate? Did you want to say something?”
“Honestly, Nate,” my aunt says, finally looking up, “I don’t know how I feel. We need a wedding quickly, of course. Weddings must follow funerals to keep the family numbers up and that strengthen us. Not having one invites further tragedy, and we’ve seen recently how true that is. Who gets married and to whom they get married isn’t necessarily of consequence. That said, I’m not sure why you haven’t reached out to the other families for a suitable arranged marriage. Then you wouldn’t have this problem. Some poor, backwater girl enamored and blinded by your money and power is fine for your bedchamber but hardly an asset to the family.”
The room goes quiet for a moment.
“You asked,” Kate says. She squares her shoulders and holds my gaze for a long moment before looking down at her clipboard.
“I suppose I did.” I lean back a little in the chair. “I think she’ll fit in just fine with legitimate business. I’m also in the process of making her more familiar with the maple syrup business, and she might very well run that factory for us in the future if she’s so inclined.”
“We can hire any high school graduate to make syrup.” Kate narrows her eyes at me. “It’s your decision to make, Nataniele, but I don’t know why you haven’t even considered asking about Moretti’s daughter or someone from the Franks family. That’s how it used to be done.”
“Moretti is still recovering from his war with Grecko,” I say. The very idea is ludicrous. Those families—though distant relations far back somewhere—were way out of our league. If I were to ask Rinaldo Moretti for his daughter’s hand, he’d probably have me shot for the insult. “Besides, he only has his daughter to run the business after he retires. She isn’t going to move from Chicago to fucking Cascade Falls!”
“Pretty sure he’s setting up his hitman to take over,” Threes interjects.
I glare at him.
“Just sayin’.” He shrugs and looks over to his sister.
“I thought he died in the last tournament,” Antony says.
“Oh,
