Page 43 of Broken Vows

“Hi.” Gigi waves back, then folds her arms over her chest, protective, as her gaze jumps between us.

I get it, we’re intimidating, especially when we’re together—all of us built, tall, and tattooed. And there’s only three of ushere. We’re also fiercely loyal and protective of each other, and we’ve taken the Trapani women under our wing. Nothing and nobody will dare touch them here.

“Come.” I put my hand on the small of her back and guide her to the sofa where I make sure she’s comfortable. “We’re trying to find a long-term solution,” I say as I sit down next to her but giving her space. “I won’t—I mean,we won’t—send you back to Italy until things have settled in Europe.”

Benedict cocks his brow at me, and I curse the Freudian slip as he leans forward in his seat. “You all met in Cannes, right?”

“Yes,” Matteo says as he holds out an empty glass to Gigi, questioning if she’d like a drink. She nods, and he pours her a double whiskey and drops in a few ice cubes. “We met the night of the auction.”

“And you left with Tasha.” Benedict swings his whiskey glass in Matteo’s direction, then swings it back to me. Ice rattles as he indicates to me and Gigi. “And you two?—”

“Went our separate ways,” I cut in, irritation grating.

Who knows what Matteo told the others, but I got razzed for weeks about how grumpy I was after that night in Cannes when Matteo left me with a mystery woman in red who promised to make my life hell. And then Tatiana died.

She overdosed as predicted, and everybody steered clear of me for days, letting me mourn the woman she once was, a very long time ago. After the assault, she was so fucking broken that the news of her death came as a relief to me. I can’t watch a woman suffer like that, which makes this whole situation with Gigi even more intense. I’ve failed Tatiana. I’ve failed my mom. But fuck knows, I won’t fail Gigi Trapani.

With Tatiana, I got in too deep, and for me, it will never be about love again. I’ve learned the hard way that Scalera boys don’t get to love. We do, however, get to keep our vows.

I shift in my seat and inwardly groan as I watch Benedict put two and two together. That all-knowing brow cocks again.

“Sounds like unfinished business to me, Steph,” he teases, a twitch to his lips. “I’m not needed here. I’ll dig for you and see what I can find on Franco Fiore, but for the rest, I think you three can negotiate the next steps.” He stands, puts his glass down on the coffee table, and shoots Gigi a smile. “We’ll see each other around,angel.”

My youngest brother is playing with fucking fire. “Watch your fucking tongue, Benny.”

“Uh huh.” Benedict chuckles as he walks to the office’s door. “We all now know where yours has been, Fanny.”

His sly laugh still echoes with his footsteps as he walks through the double-volume space of the adjacent living room. I glance at Gigi. Luckily, the whole interchange seems to have gone over her head.

Matteo’s gaze volleys between the two of us. “Right,” he says with an unnecessary twinkle in his eye. “Where were we?”

“Something about how we’re going to stay here long term, and legally?” Gigi says. “I never intended for this to happen or to impose on you for longer than a few weeks.”

“It’s no imposition,” he says. “We honor our debts. From what Stephano told us, there’s no way you’re going back to Italy until the dust has settled in Europe.”

“He did? Tell you everything?” she asks then, her eyes on me.

There’s trust in her gaze, but it seems to hover on a precipice.

“I drew a rough sketch of Friday night’s events,” I say, wanting to lean in and squeeze her hand to make her understand her secret is safe with me.

She swallows, clutching the glass of whiskey so hard, her fingertips are turning white. “Okay. What solutions did you come up with?”

“Carla is easy,” Matteo says. “We have connections and can get her into any course she wants. Harvard, MIT, Emerson, whatever she wants to do, we’ll make it happen.”

“You can? Just like that?” Gigi’s tone says it all. She doubts we have this level of influence in this city. “I honestly don’t want a deal that’s going to draw attention.”

“We don’t draw attention,” I say. “It will all be above board.”

She stares at me, incredulous. “Well. That’s my sister sorted.”

“As for you,” Matteo says as he leans with his elbows on his knees, studying her closely. “Marriage is the easiest and quickest option to staying here long term.”

“Marriage?” She chokes on the word. “To whom?”

I hate to admit the idea has grown on me since Benedict put it on the table. It’s grown so much on me, there isn’t an ounce of rebellion in me now.

“To me,” I say with a smirk.Because fucking karma.

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