Page 11 of Now and Forever

The afternoon of the Lucianos’ visit, my little sister, Camila, sat on my bed, legs crossed, watching me as I tried on my dress for the big night. While I referred to her as my little sister, Camila was eighteen, and if Dario had preferred a younger wife, I have no doubt Patron would have willingly offered her in my stead.

“What if you don’t like him?” she asked.

“I don’t think that matters.” I gave her a sad look. “This isn’t about like or love.”

“I’m not marrying anyone unless I’m in love.”

Her conviction made me grin. “If Em and I have anything to say about it, you can do that.”

“But if it’s Papá…?” She looked up at me with round emerald eyes the color of mine.

“Papá does what he has to do. I’m not sure he’s happy about my engagement, but he didn’t have a choice.”

“If I would have known, I would have walked into Papá’s office the night of your party and told Patron no.”

I shook my head. “You can’t do that. It reflects badly on Papá.”

Camila got off the bed and walked toward the windows. “Patron won’t be here tonight.” She turned to me with a sliver of hope in her expression. “Maybe you can talk to Dario and tell him you really don’t want to marry him.”

“Patron would be furious and take it out on Papá.” I spun toward the full-length mirror. Mama and I shopped for this dress together. While it was technically longer than the dress for my party, the last five inches were a sheer trumpet skirt with the same mesh panels for my neckline and back. Despite it being a bit more modest, the curve-skimming cut showed that I was a woman with the accompanying shape. With my five-foot-six height, the dress also showed enough leg.

“You look pretty,” Camila said, tilting her head. “Just think, next year at this time, you won’t be able to wear a dress like that.”

“Why?”

“Kansas City in December. You’ll be dressed like an Eskimo.”

Picking up a toss pillow, I threw it her direction. “Stop it. I would just need a coat to wear over it.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I shook my head. “Not yet. I’m not leaving here until it’s the last minute. Maybe I’ll catch a plane to the Ozarks a few hours before the wedding.”

Camila laughed as the bedroom door opened and Mama came in. Her gaze was completely on me. “Oh, Cat, you’re stunning.”

“Are they here?” I asked nervously.

“Luis received word from their security team that they’d landed.”

Luis was Papá’s head of security. I took a deep breath. “How does Papá feel about Italian Mafia in our home?”

Mama turned toward Camila.

“She’s eighteen,” I said. “She knows what’s happening.”

“He hasn’t said,” Mama replied before lowering her voice. “Your brother, on the other hand, isn’t happy. He’s had Luis and Miguel double the guards on the outside. Em’s concerned about how many men they’ll bring.”

Why does every encounter have to be a game of chess?

“Of course, the capo and his eldest son couldn’t travel without bodyguards.” Miguel had been my and Camila’s bodyguard since we were children. Originally, he’d also watched Em. Now he answered to him.

Times changed.

“Your father wants you to meet Dario before meeting the rest of his family; however, Patron said it wasn’t right to exclude Vincent.”

Even from a thousand miles away, Patron was running our evening.

“Does that mean Papá wants me to be downstairs when they arrive?”

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