Page 101 of Sinful Sacrifice

“Is he still on his bullshit regarding marriage contracts?” she asks.

I nod as the server returns with water refills.

“You told him no, right?”

“I told him that’s your decision to make. Like you, I’m not a fan of arranged marriages.”

“Yet you were okay with having an arranged marriage with me?”

“Yes, because I’d marry you, contract or not, in a heartbeat.”

“Do the Lombardis have marriage contracts?”

“Arranged marriages are part of this life. My parents’. Antonio’s. All of ours.”

“Antonio’s? What happened to Amara’s mom?”

“Sienna overdosed.”

Pippa winces. “Wow. Poor Amara. Poor Sienna.”

Antonio wasn’t a bad husband to Sienna, but he was an absent one. He wasn’t cruel, but it was clear to everyone he didn’t want the marriage. Neither did she.

“Sometimes, when women aren’t happy in their marriages, they turn to things they shouldn’t,” I say. I was there during the aftermath of her death. I’m also around when Amara asks why she doesn’t have a mommy like other girls. “They find something to replace the love they don’t get from their husbands.”

It’s why I’ve always been against an arranged marriage. Vincent knows I’m loyal to the Lombardi family, but if there’s anything that’ll make me walk away, it’s them forcing me to commit to a woman I don’t want.

“Thank you for understanding me,” she says in a hushed voice, extending her arm across the table and taking my hand.

One thing Cernach’s dumbass doesn’t understand is that marrying Pippa wouldn’t guarantee a contract with the Lombardis. I’m not the don of the family. Hell, Lombardi blood doesn’t even flow through my veins.

The only way he’d score a guaranteed deal is with Vinny or Antonio.

I won’t tell him that, though, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep him from finding out.

Like a rodent that won’t go away, Cernach pays me another visit at the casino. It’s like I’m his goddamn caretaker at this point.

“Paul has been taken care of,” he says with pride, like I hired him to do the job.

I recline in my chair, crossing my arms behind my head. “What does that mean?” As soon as the question leaves my mouth, I regret asking it.

In a situation like this, I’d like to remain in the dark. That way, if Pippa mentions Paul, I won’t have to hide this from her.

He lifts his chin. “Consider this me doing you a favor.”

I jerk up in my chair and cock my head to the side. “Please tell me how Pippa’s father being taken care of is doing me a favor? I made it clear to you I didn’t give two fucks if the scumbag was dead or alive. He was your problem. Not mine.”

“He would’ve come to Pippa next, making her pay his debts. Did you want her in that situation?”

“And I told you, if that time came, I’d handle it then.”

Cernach snarls his lip at my lack of appreciation.

The fucker can suck my dick if he thinks I’d ever be grateful to him for shit.

He wiggles his finger in my direction. “Enya told me about your studio plan with Pippa,” he spits, his mood now the opposite of what it was when he entered my office. “Nice try, but no dice, Bellini.”

He leans back on his heels, and I mentally cross my fingers that he falls and cracks his head open.

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