Chapter 20

Victoria

 

 

 

Weddings were supposed to be beautiful and make people cry because everyone was happy.

Scarlett’s was beyond beautiful, Mary Donati had made sure of that, but I was fucking tired of crying. It was exhausting, and I wasn’t even sure I had tears left to cry. My sister was happy, though, and glowing so that was all that mattered to me.

But now she was on her way to the airport to start her honeymoon, and I felt more alone than I ever had before.

“I’m tired of seeing you moping around,” Dante grumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table with me where I had been trying to bury my troubles in a pint of sugar-free vanilla bean ice cream. “It’s distracting, and you’re depressing the hell out of me. If you huff one more time, I’m going to pull my hair out.”

I rolled my eyes at him and took another bite of my ice cream. “I thought you had to go back to Chicago tonight.”

He shrugged. “The best part of having access to a private plane is that I can leave whenever the fuck I please.” He took my spoon from me and scooped up a bite of my creamy treat. “Not bad considering it doesn’t have any of the good stuff.”

I snatched the spoon back. “Get your own, asshat.”

“Now, here I was, going to take you out so you didn’t have to sit in the dark all by your lonesome and you’re being mean to me.” He sighed like I was the most ungrateful person alive and he was fed up with me. “Guess Allegra and I will just go clubbing by ourselves.”

“Like that’s a hardship. You’ve been panting after her for years. Seal the deal already, bitch.” I took another bite, wishing I had some toppings to toss on top, like gummy bears and hot fudge sauce and extra creamy whipped cream. But we didn’t have any because Papa didn’t want me to have the temptation in the house.

His eyes shot flames at me for calling him out, but he didn’t deny it or offer an explanation as to why he was taking his sweet-ass time when it was so obvious he was stupid in love with my cousin.

“Cristiano and Anya are going to meet us at the club. Go change your clothes before I change my mind.”

“I don’t want to go to a club,” I whined, digging more ice cream out and sticking a huge bite into my mouth, not caring that I could induce a brain freeze. “I just want to sit here and eat my ice cream, and pretend it’s got enough sugar in it to send me into a coma long enough for my sister to get home.”

“Drama queen,” he grumbled as he stood. He started to turn to leave, but suddenly he turned around and scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder as he headed up the back stairs that would get him to my room the fastest. “You are going to change out of these silly pajamas and into a nice, decent dress, and then we are going dancing. You will have fun, and even smile a little for once. Stop acting like your life is over, dammit. He’s a fucking guy. There will be other guys. Hundreds of guys. And you’ll fall in love with every one of them. You will break some of their hearts and some will break yours. I’ll kill the ones that do, though, so don’t worry.”

He dropped me on the end of my bed and stepped back, not even a little breathless after having just carried me so far. “Get ready. You have ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes!” I squeaked, looking at the clock on my nightstand. “Are you insane? I can’t get ready in that short a time.”

“Make it six,” he said, pulling his phone from his pants pocket. “Hurry up.”

“You’re unbelievable!” I called after him as he headed for the door. I was already on my feet, planning what I was going to wear.

My hair still looked good after the wedding that had taken place downstairs earlier that evening, and my makeup was modest, but if I put on a little more eye makeup and retouched my gloss, I would be club ready. Knowing Dante, he would storm back in when the six minutes were up and toss me over his shoulder again, making me go whether I was ready or not.

I hastily picked up a black dress that fell a few inches below my ass, slipped my feet into a pair of white wedge sandals, and hurriedly put on a little extra makeup in the bathroom.

I was just putting my things in my black and white clutch when the door opened without warning and Dante stuck his head in. Behind him, Allegra was staring at me wide-eyed from over his shoulder.

“Good, you’re ready. Let’s go.”

I snapped the clasp closed and tucked it under my arm as I begrudgingly crossed the room toward him and my cousin. “I’m telling Scarlett how mean you’ve been to me,” I said as I passed him, sticking my tongue out childishly. That was how we had always acted with each other. He loved to annoy me, and I secretly loved it, too.

“Oh no,” he said with a mock gasp. “Allegra, baby, she’s going to tattle on me.”

“I don’t understand you two sometimes,” she murmured, shaking her head, but I saw the pink that had filled her cheeks, making her even more gorgeous.

I linked my arm through hers and urged her toward the stairs. “I wouldn’t try to figure us out, Allie. Dante is a complicated guy.”

She giggled, the sound so damn lovely that it eased some of the ache in my chest. “I know that all too well.”

“And yet, you are still considering marrying him,” I teased, glancing at Dante from over my shoulder as he followed us.

He was openly glaring at me, telling me with his eyes to shut the fuck up.

I lifted a brow at him.

“Oh, I’m more than considering it,” Allegra said, but it was so soft that only I could hear her.

I felt a smile try to tease at my lips and pressed them together before my sweet cousin could see it. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but I knew that she was just as crazy about Dante as he was about her. It was her father who was making it so complicated for her. Damn Gio and his stupid grudge against the De Stefano family.

 

 

 

***

We didn’t go to Anya’s club, which was just fine with me. The less chance I had of running into Adrian, the better. I was still angry at myself for having melted for him so easily back in Chicago. I felt like a freaking slut where he was concerned. My body wasn’t my own when he was around.

Cristiano and Anya were already waiting for us inside Valor, one of New York’s most popular clubs. I hadn’t ever tried to get into Valor, so this was the first time I had seen the inside of it. The reason I hadn’t tried to sneak in when I was a teenager, or even more recently, was because I knew the place was under Cosa Nostra protection. All it would have taken was one person to recognize me and my father would have been there in a flash to drag my ass out and straight home, where he would put bars on my windows and doors and handcuff me to one of my guards. So, of course I had stayed as far away as possible from Valor and any other club operated by my father’s people.

It felt odd being in it right then. It felt even weirder having both Dante and my brother with me. I was twenty-one, yet this was the first time I had ever felt like an actual adult while out at a club. All the sneaking out had made me feel like a kid, but I had to admit, this was much nicer.

It would have been better if Scarlett had been there with us.

And Adrian.

I clenched my jaw as he yet again invaded my mind, and I downed the shot of tequila a waitress had brought us, along with an entire bottle of silver tequila, a pitcher of frozen margaritas, and a bottle of Dante’s favorite scotch.

Allegra was tentatively sipping at her margarita. It was her first time drinking anything stronger than wine, but after half the glass was gone, she started relaxing more and was actually even flirting with Dante, who was eating it up.

He stood and took her hand. “Come dance with me,” he commanded in a low, deep voice with all the hunger none of us were blind to.

She smiled sweetly up at him and went like a blind sheep about to be devoured by a very hungry lion.

Anya shifted beside me, drinking her tequila over ice with just a little twist of lime tossed in. “You know what would make this night even better?” she told me with a sly half-smile.

“What, tesoro?” Cristiano asked distractedly from her other side. He was doing something on his phone, only half paying attention to us. I could see it was annoying Anya.

“Strippers,” she said with a serious face then tossed back what little of her drink was left. Leaning forward she poured herself another, not bothering with the dish of lemon and limes among our assortment of drinks.

“Sounds fun,” my brother muttered. I was pretty sure he hadn’t heard her.

“Male strippers,” she amended, narrowing her eyes on him, but he never lifted his gaze from the phone.

“Mmhmm.”

“And I could get a lap dance … with their dicks in my face.”

“Yeah, baby. That sounds—” His head snapped up from the phone, lightning and fire flashing deep in his eyes. “What the fuck did you just say about dicks?”

“If you had been paying attention, you would have known what I said,” she muttered, scooting away from him, which meant I had to scoot over, too, leaving no room for Allegra whenever she returned. “Who are you texting, anyway?”

“It’s work,” he said, quickly putting his phone in his pocket. Turning, he draped his arm along the back of the couch in the VIP area roped off from the rest of the club. No one else was with us, despite the fact that I had seen several celebrities on our way through the club earlier. “Sorry, Annie. I had to take care of something for Pop. I’m all yours now, baby.”

She glared up at him, her nose flaring in irritation. “If I see your phone out again, I’m taking it and you won’t ever see it again. If you want me to be here with you, then be present.”

He caught her hand and tugged her toward him, folding his arm around her as he tucked her close. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” He skimmed his lips over hers, but when he started to deepen the kiss, I cleared my throat loudly. His head snapped up, and it was like he had actually forgotten I was there for a moment. “Why are you here again?”

I shrugged. “Hell if I know. Dante made me come.”

“I want her here,” Anya told him. She turned in his arms so her back was cushioned against his chest and his arms were folded over her waist. She gave me a warm smile, which I knew she didn’t bestow on just anyone. “I’m glad you came, even if De Stefano had to drag your ass out of the house.”

I glanced over at the dance floor, my eyes easily finding Dante, who had Allegra molded against him like a second skin. My cousin was staring up at him with her heart in her eyes, but so was his. Seeing how happy she was with him right then was worth coming out, even if I hadn’t felt up to it.

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Me, too.”

 

 

 

***

After a few hours of dancing with my brother and friends, I was in desperate need of the bathroom. Since Allegra needed to go, as well, Dante walked with us. There was a long line for the stalls, and I nearly whimpered in pain at how full my bladder was.

I started bouncing from one foot to another. Fuck, I shouldn’t have had so many margaritas, but they had helped dull some of the crap swirling inside me, and I had even found myself laughing earlier. I hadn’t laughed in so long it was a wonder I still remembered how.

“I can clear out the men’s room, and you can use that while I stand guard,” Dante offered.

Allegra and I both gave him a grossed-out look. “No way. Men’s rooms are disgusting. I’m not even going to walk in there, let alone pee in one of their stalls.”

He lifted his hands in exasperation. “All right, just remember I offered.”

The woman in front of me turned to look at us and giggled drunkenly, pulling our attention to her. “You can go in front of me, hon, if you want.” There were only two more in front of the woman.

I smiled thankfully at her. “That’s so nice of you. Thanks.”

When I switched places with her, she instantly turned her eyes on Dante. Allegra shifted away from him when the woman touched her hand to his chest. With his dress shirt under his jacket only half buttoned, she could put her hand against his skin.

He stepped back and pulled Allegra in front of him, keeping one hand on her hip and the other over her waist, locking her in place against him.

Luckily three stalls opened right then, and I practically sprinted to the last one. I might have moaned as I was able to relieve myself, and I heard Dante chuckle, which made me grin. Once I was done, I left the small stall and went to wash my hands.

Allegra walked by me to the stall I had just opened up for her, her eyes full of concern. “You’re looking flushed. Check your blood sugar.”

I didn’t want to do it right there in a bathroom full of nosy eyes, but it would have been even worse if I had to do it on the couch in front of the full club. Sighing, I pulled out my meter and quickly checked my blood. Seeing the angry number that popped up, I filled a syringe with insulin and pulled up my skirt just enough so I could find a good place in my right thigh to give myself the shot since I didn’t want to pull my dress all the way up to put it in my belly.

As I was pulling the needle free, someone bumped into me, nearly causing me to drop the syringe.

My head snapped around when I didn’t hear an apology. “Watch it, bitch,” I called after the brunette on her way to a stall.

As she glanced at me from over her shoulder, the first thing I noticed was that her eyes were bloodshot, her pupils dilated to the point that there was only blackness in them. She was high as a kite. Then I took in the rest of her and froze with the used syringe still in my hand as realization hit me square in the face.

This was Klara. I was sure of it, even though I had only seen her once. There was no way I wouldn’t have recognized her again. She was so damn beautiful and that freaking rock on her hand was a dead giveaway, even if her face hadn’t been.

Allegra came out of the stall and eased past her, pulling my attention away from Adrian’s model beautiful wife. As she stopped beside me to wash her hands, she kept her gaze on me, concern darkening her eyes.

“Hey, are you okay? You need to go home?”

I opened my mouth, but the only thing that came out was a pitiful, “I … I …”

She took the used needle from my fingers and replaced the protective cap. Stuffing all my things back into my purse, she then took my hand and pulled me out of the bathroom.

Dante had stepped back outside the bathroom and was waiting for us to come out. The moment he saw Allegra pulling me behind her, he stepped forward.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” she told him. “She was looking flushed, so I suggested she check her blood sugar while I was using the bathroom. When I came out, she had already given herself a shot of insulin, but she looked like she had seen a ghost.”

Dante moved so he was standing right in front of me. He pressed his hand to my cheek, then checked my pulse. Bending his knees, he looked into my eyes, as if they could tell him what was wrong with me.

I still couldn’t find the words, couldn’t remember how to make my voice box work so I could tell him I only wanted to go home.

Then I felt someone purposely bump my shoulder as they walked past us and my eyes landed on Klara’s hate-filled eyes as she gave me a sneer before walking away.

Tears filled my eyes. She had every right to hate me.

Dante, having seen the exchange, quickly pulled my head against his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and silently let the tears fall.

“Let’s go home,” he murmured close to my ear. “Allegra, baby, you ready?”

Instead of making me walk through the packed crowd, he pulled me out a back exit then texted the driver to pick us up. While we waited, he called Cristiano to let him know we were leaving.

As we rode in the back of the limo through the busy city, my tears were still falling. I was a horrible person. I had gotten mixed up with a married man.

But the worst part was that I still loved him with every breath that I breathed.