Page 61 of The Last Vendetta

“But she said it. She wanted me to marry Nickolas before you could marry Cecilia. And in that case, you’d win.”

His scowl preceded his heated argument. “Win?”

“The Romanos. This… competition to marry into their Family.”

He exhaled long and hard. “I won’t,” he swore. “I don’t want Cecilia, Giulia. I want you. I don’t want to win the Romanos over. I don’t fucking care what it could mean. I want you.”

“That will never happen. Too many people would stop us from forming an alliance.”

“Too late.” He squeezed my fingers and leaned in closer. “We are allies. We’re working together already.”

I blinked, overwhelmed with this familiar warmth of desire that he stoked whenever he neared me.

“I want you.” He sealed it with a tender kiss.

My heart sang with joy at his promise and sweet touch, but I couldn’t lower my defenses.

“We’ll go speak with Cecilia,” he said. “I’ll tell her that we won’t marry. Ever. And if she doesn’t have any information for us that will enable us to figure out who could’ve killed my brother or your father, then we will continue to work together—however we can—until a future that unites us is more possible.”

I nodded then sighed, praying that he could be right.

20

RENZO

Renzo

What the fuck am I saying?

Two weeks ago, I could’ve promised Giulia the world. Back then, when I was still the spare brother, the useless one, I could’ve planned to fuck and marry whoever I wanted. Giulia still would’ve been a hard one to win over because we were enemies, but I wouldn’t have been confined to these new duties as the second in command of the Bernardi name.

I was acting like I still had any say in my future. In my life.

But the hell with these rules.

If I wanted Giulia, I’d convince Gio to get over his goddamn rivalry with the Acardis.

She favored me, not Isabella.

She was running to me with information, not her mother.

She was choosing me in everything she did, and that led me to believe that if I fought for her, if I told Gio that she would be my bride, I had to have a better outcome and more hope than her telling Isabella that she wouldn’t marry Nickolas.

As a man, I would have more power.

So it was with great impatience that I sped the rest of the way to the vacation villa where Cecilia was staying.

I wanted to see the damn woman in person and flat-out tell her that we would never be arranged to marry. Period. Full stop.

And the sooner I could personally deliver a hard rejection to Cecilia—and also show Giulia how committed I was becoming to her—the sooner we could start a plan for being together for real, for good.

I parked at the Romano property and immediately grew suspicious.

Giulia was as well, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the long drive empty of cars. “Where are all the guards?”

I shrugged. Of course, she’d noticed. This brilliant, beautiful woman was observant to a fault. She likely always had been because like all the women in our circle, she was dismissed to the background in our world. Unlike the others, though, she wanted to do something about her fate.

“Maybe Marcus decided not to have many guards here,” she guessed as she reached for the door handle.

---