Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“Is that possible?” Samuel asked with a hint of surprise.
“I can’t walk without support,” I said. “I’m very slow and would need a walker, like I said.”
“It could very well take five minutes. People would have to wait a long time,” Mom butted in. “We understand if you don’t want that.”
Silence. Anger and frustration swelled in me. Mom always worried so much about what other people thought, but she rarely stopped to think what I wanted.
“They can wait for the bride on her wedding day. I don’t see a problem. We can cut short the congratulations afterward. They are a drag anyway,” Samuel said as if it wasn’t a big deal, when it meant the world to me.
I bit my lip to stifle a smile at Mom’s stunned expression.
“That’s it?” Samuel asked after a moment, sounding as if he was already busy with something else.
His curt manner didn’t even bother me today. I was just happy that his reaction showed Mom that my wishes were relevant.
It was only three days until the wedding. Giorgia sat in the first row of the church to time me. I was grateful that she took the time to help me. In the beginning, Mom had been there as well, but her presence had been more discouraging than anything else. Now that Danilo was married to Sofia, I spent every day with Mom, and it made me anxious.
“You did it. Faster than last time.”
I nodded and smiled proudly as I sank down on the wheelchair. “I’m getting used to the dress.” I was grateful for what my body had done today. I had ditched the leg braces very early on in our practice and only used a walker.
“Maybe Danilo could even lead you a few steps, then you wouldn’t have to use the walker?”
“I don’t think that would work. He’d have to support most of my weight.”
Giorgia stepped to my left side and held out her arm. “Let’s try it.”
I held on to it and pulled myself into a standing position. My body ached. I wouldn’t be able to practice much more today, but I channeled all of my remaining power so we could practice a few more times without the walker. Danilo was much stronger than Giorgia, so the chances were high that he could steady me even more.
Giorgia spent the night with us. Her brother had work to do, and her mother lived most of the year in Italy, having abandoned Giorgia with her brother and his wife.
“Are you excited?” Giorgia asked as we settled on my bed after dinner to watch a movie.
“Nervous,” I admitted.
Giorgia tilted her head. “Because he’s an ice prince?”
I shrugged. “Because I hardly know him, and I still don’t believe that Danilo didn’t force Samuel in some way. It doesn’t make sense to establish a second bond between our families. It doesn’t accomplish anything.”
“Maybe you should just leave it be. Even if there was some deal between your brother and Samuel, that doesn’t mean your marriage can’t be real. I mean, it could be worse. He’s hot at least. The bachelors Mom suggested so far are at least twice my age, divorced or widowed, and live in Italy. I don’t want to move, and I don’t want to settle. Mom wants someone who can finance her luxurious lifestyle, and apparently, only old fools are willing to do that for me.”
I huffed. “You are beautiful inside and out. She’s not looking in the right places. Your curves are spectacular.”
Giorgia jiggled her boobs. “Mom says men only like jiggle in certain places.”
I burst out laughing. “Your jiggle is very impressive. Maybe we can find you a match at my wedding.”
“You focus on you. I’ll eventually find someone.”
“We caught a Camorrista. He was trying to sabotage some of the gaming machines in my clubs,” Renato said as he entered my father’s and my office in the back of our biggest casino ship. In the beginning, the gentle sway of the ship had been unnerving, but by now, I was used to spending part of my day on water.
Gambling and whores were the golden combination when it came to making money, which was why Renato swam in it.
Dad peered up from a stack of papers with the forged receipts of our bars from our head accountant. His eyes met mine. “You can question him.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Whenever a Camorrista was caught near or in Minneapolis, I made sure I got my hands on him. It wasn’t the same as torturing Remo Falcone, but it was better than nothing.
“He’s mimicking our tactic,” I muttered as I jumped into Renato’s vintage Jaguar.
“Because it’s a good one.”
“Because he’s mocking us,” I contradicted, feeling a familiar fury burn in the pit of my stomach at the thought of Remo Falcone.
Over the years, our war with the Camorra had become less active. Too many soldiers had lost their lives since the war had begun. Dante preferred to hurt the Camorra’s business nowadays and no longer tried to kill the Falcone brothers. Of course, if we managed to get our hands on one of them again, that might change.