Page 9 of Illicit Throne

Adriana eyed the bottle with interest before nodding in acceptance.

“Do you still have your champagne flute?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s empty.”

I poured a generous amount of whiskey into her flute, then into mine. I handed hers back to her and then raised my own.

“Well then, here’s to us,” I said, clinking my glass against hers. Adriana looked at me, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

“You know this isn’t a real toast, right?” she said, taking a small sip of her drink.

“I know,” I replied. “But it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Adriana chuckled softly, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Despite the circumstances that had brought us here tonight, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of ease around her.

We sipped our drinks in silence for a few moments before Adriana spoke up again. “What do you think would happen if we said no?”

“I have no idea,” I replied. “But it’s probably better if we don’t find out. I don’t like pissing my dad off, and I have a feeling I wouldn’t like pissing Silvio Orsini off any more than that.”

Adriana nodded thoughtfully. “I know what you mean. But it’s hard to imagine marrying someone I barely know, let alone someone who is supposed to be my enemy.”

“I understand,” I said, taking another sip of whiskey. “But we have to think beyond ourselves here. Our families are counting on us to make this work, and if we don’t, there could be consequences.”

“You’re really thoughtful for a capo.”

“A capo? I’m not a capo.” I said. “No. Heir apparent.”

Adriana raised an eyebrow, impressed. Okay, probably not impressed. The capo thing was definitely her teasing me. She wasn’t stupid. “Heir apparent? That’s quite the responsibility.”

I shrugged, taking another sip of whiskey. “It comes with the territory.”

There was a moment of silence as we both contemplated our futures, and what this arrangement would mean for us. But then Adriana spoke up again, her voice soft.

“You know, I never thought I would find myself in this position. Marrying for political gain...it’s not exactly what I had in mind for my future.”

I turned to face her, studying the way her features were softened by the moonlight. “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Someone kind. European, maybe.”

I laughed. “We’re Irish!” I said. “We’re European.”

“Yeah, like, with an accent, though,” she said, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

“Hey, I have an accent.”

“Yeah, when you go to Ireland,” she said. “Then you’re here for three weeks and you lose it.”

“That’s not true. The more I’m around my friends, the more the accent comes out.”

“That isn’t nearly as appealing as you think it is. Those guys are assholes. And you are…”

I raised my eyebrows when she trailed off. “What? Charming?”

“I was going to say one of them.”

I chuckled at her response and took another sip of whiskey. “Well, I can’t offer you an accent, not really, but I can offer you a good time,” I said, grinning at her. “When you’re with me, you’ll think you’re in Europe.”

Adriana laughed, the sound light and carefree. “Is that so?”

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