Page 19 of Till Death Do Us Part

On that note, I finished the rest of my wine.

Mother went to the front doors, ready to greet our guests. While Dario and Catalina went with her, I stayed back in the parlor, regretting that I didn’t bring the wine bottle with me from the kitchen.

“Dario wouldn’t have agreed to this,” Dante said, “if he didn’t know you could handle Aléjandro.”

“I don’t hate you.”

Dante wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “I’m too personable to hate.”

I gave my brother a sideways grin. “I’m certain the enemies you interrogate feel otherwise.”

Dante shrugged. “Can’t win ’em all.” He reached for my shoulders and turned us face-to-face. “You look very pretty. It’s nice to see you not wearing black.”

“Thank you.”

“Six months ago, I would have gone to the mat with Dario on this.”

“But not now?” I asked.

Dante shook his head. “Maybe it’s Catalina. I don’t know. I just know that deep down, we aren’t that different. When I first met Aléjandro at Dario’s wedding, I was ready to take him down a few pegs. I did.” Dante flashed his grin. “Time has passed, and he’s proven himself in our alliance. I believe if Catalina can melt the heart of a man like Dario, there is probably hope for all of us.”

“When are you signing up to marry one of the cartel women?”

He opened his eyes wide. “Single for life.”

“Or until Dario decides otherwise?”

Dante released my shoulders as we both turned at the sound of voices. I sucked in a breath at the sight of the man in the foyer. I’d picked him out of the crowd during Dario’s wedding. And tonight he was here to choose me.

First, Dario shook hands with Andrés Ruiz, Catalina’s father, and then with Aléjandro, who was only slightly shorter than my brother. I tried to look at Aléjandro without my prior prejudices. There was no denying he was a handsome man. He carried himself in a way that said he had confidence. His complexion was the color of the desert sand, the same as his brother and lighter than his father. Probably it was more than his looks although he was kind on the eyes. Tonight, he wore black pants covering his long legs, coupled with a white button-down shirt. No tie or suitcoat like Dario was wearing. His shirt was crisp and bright, contrasting his tawny skin. His hair was dark and wavy, and his brown eyes were round as his gaze found mine. His self-assuredness no doubt had to do with what Dante and Catalina said about him being a good soldier for the cartel.

I knew from experience, confident made men had an air about them.

As if sensing our awkward stare-down, Dario patted Aléjandro on the shoulder and spoke to him. They both smiled as they turned and came my direction. Aléjandro’s gaze scanned me from head to toe in a way that made my stomach turn—as if he had won. Consolation prize or not, I was being handed to him on a silver platter.

Dario made the formal introductions, “Let me introduce my sister, Mia Luciano.”

It was curious that in Dario’s mind, I’d already given up my last name of Moretti.

“Mia.”

My name rolled off Aléjandro’s tongue with a hint of his accent as I caught a whiff of his sandalwood cologne, warm and woodsy with a hint of leather. I offered him my hand. Instead of shaking it, he turned it over in his grasp, bowed at the waist, and lightly brushed his lips over my knuckles.

The electricity surging through my circulation was inappropriately startling. While my mind was convinced that this marriage would never work, my body was a traitor to his obvious adoration.

How long had it been since Rocco had shown me even a fraction of this attention?

“Aléjandro,” I said, retrieving my hand. “It’s nice to formally meet you.”

A lopsided smile grew. “Formally, yes. I remember meeting you here. The first time was by the pool. No?”

Warmth came to my cheeks at the memory. “And again at the wedding and afterward.”

“Qué demonios?”

We all turned to Catalina’s brother’s remark, seconds before he and Catalina embraced.

“Any idea?” Aléjandro asked.

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