Page 45 of His to Honor

He doesn’t waste time with pleasantries. “I just spoke to Phil de Soto.”

That’s not what I expected. I didn’t realize he even knew Giulia’s younger brother. Though Phil was inducted into our organization a couple of months ago, Alessandro is moreconcerned with legitimate ventures these days. He doesn’t spend a lot of time getting down and dirty with our soldiers.

“And?”

“He was pissed. He just found out his sister’s in Italy with you.”

It hadn’t occurred to me until now that Giulia might not have told her family she was coming here. I guess it makes sense, though. She won’t have wanted them to worry about her being alone here with me.

“How?”

“What the fuck does it matter?” Alessandro demands. “Is it true? Is Giulia Costanza there with you?”

It would be disingenuous to deny it just because she isn’t by my side right now. “Yes, it’s true.”

“Fuck, Matteo!”

“What’s the big deal?” Considering Alessandro dragged his bride onto a plane just days after setting eyes on her for the first time, he’s got a nerve giving me a hard time about Giulia.

“She’s Ritchie Costanza’s daughter.”

I know exactly who Giulia is. It hasn’t slipped my mind that her father is one of our most loyal and respected soldiers. He hasn’t risen high in the ranks of our organization, but that isn’t because my family doesn’t value him. It’s just that when a position has become vacant, there’s always been someone more suitable for promotion.

Personally I like Ritchie. Aside from marrying Giulia off to Johnny Lombardi, he’s been a good father to her. I assume he thought he was doing the right thing. He’s the type of manwho lives up to his responsibilities and he’s got a great sense of humor. He never stood in the way of my friendship with his daughter, even when I started to gain a reputation for fucking around. I know I’ll have to appease him when he finds out about Giulia and me, but right now I don’t want to think about that.

“Yeah, I know. She’s my oldest friend.”

“So, what, she just flew over there to braid your hair after ignoring your stupid ass for six months?”

“No, she came to persuade me to come home. Our beloved brother sent her.”

“Antonio?”

“Who else?”

“Has he gone fucking nuts?” Alessandro growls. “What about Giulia’s honor?”

I’m surprised Alessandro’s concerned about her honor. He was with me that day at Johnny’s wake when we both made crass remarks about Giulia. He was trying to make Marissa Locatelli laugh because he wanted to get into her panties.

“Honor?” In our fucked-up, out-of-touch world, she’s a widow and shouldn’t be bound by the same restrictions as a young, unmarried woman would be. Of course if people knew she’d been a virgin before she came to Italy, the situation would be very different. “Since when do you give a fuck about honor?”

“Since I married a good woman, but it’s not my opinion that matters. It’s Ritchie’s.”

I sigh heavily because I know Ritchie will want to protect her reputation after the debacle with her short-lived marriage. Thereare still assholes whispering that she killed Johnny on their wedding night. If people find out she’s here with me, it’ll be another excuse to talk shit about her. Giulia doesn’t deserve that.

“He’s got nothing to worry about.”

“So you’re not fucking her?”

“It’s not fucking.” My tone is defensive.

“Shit. You love her?”

“I always have.”

There’s a long silence and I visualize Alessandro shaking his head in disbelief. Then he chuckles. “Okay, kid. Should I tell Mamma to book the church?”

“Leave that to me.”

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