After we’d accepted the congratulations of the other guests and they swarmed around the buffet, Danilo turned to me. “You kept the blonde.”
“I did,” I said. “I like it, but I decided on a new haircut so I wouldn’t look like a bad replica of anyone.” A hint of cattiness rang in my voice, surprising me and obviously Danilo.
His eyebrows twitched, but he simply nodded. “That’s your decision, of course. I, however, prefer you with long, brown hair.”
How could he keep up this polite act when he was obviously pissed? “You don’t deal well with change, I get that. But don’t worry, I like my brown hair better as well. I’ll change the color when I feel like it.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re young. I might have frightened you yesterday, which is why I’m going to pretend that you didn’t act like a petulant, rude child just now, but I expect more from you.”
I blinked at him in astonishment. Maybe I had acted a tad childish, but his condescension definitely didn’t make me want to meet his expectations.
As if the matter was settled for him, his gaze moved to Samuel who gave a terse nod. I felt Danilo becoming tenser.
Dad cleared his throat, then tapped his knife against his wine glass. “We have another announcement to make. Danilo, would you?”
Danilo dropped his hand from my back and took a step forward. Confused, I raised my eyebrows at Anna, who just shrugged. Usually she got the hot news first and passed it on to me, but this time even she seemed to be clueless.
“It is with great honor that I’d like to announce that our families, the Miones and the Mancinis will further our bond. Samuel will marry my sister Emma the same summer as my wedding to Sofia takes place.”
Surprise shot through me. Samuel smiled tightly and headed over to Emma. Samuel gave them another one of his tight-lipped smiles before he put a hand on Emma’s shoulder. She was smiling brightly but it wasn’t honest. I knew because I’d learned the art of fake smiling from an early age. I didn’t understand why she wasn’t happy about marrying my brother. Samuel could be a bit of a moron, especially when emotions were concerned, but he was a good guy.
“A clever deal,” a low female voice muttered spitefully, but I couldn’t detect its source. Frowning, I turned to Danilo. He had a murderous glint in his eyes.
Now that I paid closer attention, I noticed that quite a few guests were whispering conspiratorially, thinking nobody would notice because many others were congratulating Emma and Samuel.
“The poor girl is so lucky.”
“What about him? He needs an heir.”
Danilo pressed his hand against my back, firmer than before, his eyes thunderous as he led me toward his sister and Samuel. I understood his anger. From the whispers, everyone considered Emma lucky to have landed a match like Samuel, or any man really. They made it sound as if she were less because she was in a wheelchair.
I gave her a bright smile and leaned down to hug her. “I’m so happy for you two.”
“Thank you,” she said politely then pulled back a few inches to look into my eyes. “I’m sorry our announcement hijacked your special day.”
I laughed. “I didn’t even think about that. Don’t worry. I don’t mind.”
In fact, I was relieved the announcement had cut through the argument between Danilo and me.
I turned to Samuel and wrapped my arms around him.
I grinned. “You’ll finally settle down. Congrats.”
His expression loosened slightly. “I never thought I’d marry the same summer as you, ladybug.”
I flushed, my eyes darting to Danilo, who must have heard Samuel’s use of my embarrassing nickname. Samuel chuckled but sobered immediately when the next guest congratulated him in a less-than-honest way.
I stepped back and allowed the other guests their turn. Danilo was talking to Dad and Uncle Dante, so I snuck away toward Anna. She used the distraction to grab a flute of champagne. I clucked my tongue. “Your parents don’t want you to drink alcohol.”
She took a deliberate sip. “Hmmm . . . delicious.” She flashed me a grin.
I rolled my eyes at her. “You’ll get in trouble if they find out.”
“It’s a special day.” She nudged my shoulder. “Are you mad that they turned your engagement into a double announcement?”
Why did everyone think that? I wasn’t generally keen on being the focus of everyone’s attention, I only wished for Danilo’s attention. Or had wished for it. “No. I’m actually relieved.”
Anna nodded, but her expression told me she was mulling over something else.
“What?”
“When did they decide to give Emma to Samuel?”
I shrugged. “I think Dad, Dante, Danilo, and Samuel made the arrangements yesterday. They had a meeting then.”
Anna pursed her lips. “Could be. They didn’t waste any time to announce it, that’s for sure.”
Something in her voice was off, but I didn’t get the chance to ask her about it because Danilo appeared at my side. “We need to take a few photos.”
I put my hand in his outstretched palm, giving a polite nod in return. Despite my best intentions to give him the cold shoulder, I felt the familiar flutter in my belly as he closed his fingers around mine. I couldn’t switch my feelings off, even if Danilo wasn’t quite the prince I had hoped he was. I followed him through the French doors to a spot on the terrace that had a beautiful view of the gardens.
Danilo wrapped an arm around my hip and presented my hand with the engagement ring to the camera. The photographer snapped one photo after the other. I risked a peek up at Danilo, and his eyes met mine for the briefest moment. He didn’t look angry anymore. He looked almost confused. Too soon, the moment was over, and we turned back to the camera, playing the dream couple that we’d hopefully one day become.
It was the last summer before I’d be married. I’d seen Danilo only once since
