Page 59 of His to Honor

“Because I was thinking,” Antonio continues, “that there must be some issue, something that made you run from him. Something serious enough for you to turn to the fucking Bratva for help.”

Isabella puts a restraining hand on his arm. “Antonio?”

“No, Bella,” he says firmly, “if this hasty marriage is going to fuck us all in the ass, I want to know now.”

Does he think Matteo’s done something that would cause me to turn on the family?

“I would never betray Matteo.” Even if he’s being an asshole, I couldn’t bring myself to harm him. “No matter what.”

“So he has done something?” Isabella knows me too well. She can no doubt hear the quiver in my voice as I hold back tears.

“I… eh…”

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, I can’t find the words to respond to her. A tear rolls down my cheek, followed by another. Then the floodgates open. This has been a long time coming. I’ve been holding myself in check forever, since my dad first told me he’d arranged my marriage to Johnny, in fact. That hit me hard, as did losing my husband on our wedding night. I might not have wanted to be Johnny Lombardi’s wife, but it was still a shock to be widowed like that.

Matteo made the whole thing worse with his cruel comment after the funeral and then when I finally forgave him for that, he let me down again with his threats. It’s too much. I don’t have the energy to pretend everything is okay anymore.

Isabella wraps her arms around me as Antonio makes a discreet exit. I guess the sight of a woman crying is too much for the big bad mafia boss to deal with. She lets me sob on her shoulder for a minute and then leads me into the nearest room, which luckily has a comfy sofa for us to sit on.

“How about I make us a coffee?” Isabella asks.

“Uh, yeah.” I wipe away my tears. “There’s a machine in the kitchen, but it’s pretty fancy. I don’t know how to use it.”

“That’s a present from Emilia,” she says. “The café at the Vicente Hotel has one that’s the same.”

“She gave me that?” I’ve never even met Alessandro’s wife. “Why?”

“When I heard Antonio blackmailed you into going to Italy, I told the girls and we decided to do something nice for you. Vinnie and I finished the playroom and bought some toys. Emilia didn’t really have time to pitch in because she’s so busy at the hotel, so she sent the coffee machine over.”

“Wow, it’s really sweet of you all to help.”

“We Volante women need to stick together.”

“But I wasn’t a Volante when I left.”

Isabella smiles. “It was always going to happen. Antonio knew if he sent you to Matteo, his brother would finally get his head out of his ass and realize he had someone worth coming home for.”

My mouth drops open. She can’t be saying what I think she is. “You’re telling me the head of the biggest mafia organization on the East Coast was playing matchmaker?”

Isabella nods. “In his way. It worked, though. You married Matteo, didn’t you?”

“Not willingly.”

“Shit, Giulia.” She grabs my hand and squeezes it as she scans me from head to foot. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” I can’t help scowling. Isabella should know Matteo better than that. He’d never physically harm me. “He was just an asshole about it.”

Isabella flashes me a sympathetic look. “Do you want out of the marriage?”

We both know that’s an impossibility in our world. “That’s not really an option.”

“I could talk to Antonio.”

I appreciate her offer, but she’s only been back with Antonio for a few weeks after her yearlong exile and I don’t want to be the cause of an argument between them. I shake my head.

“It will work out okay.” I try to sound certain about that, but Isabella’s frown tells me she’s not convinced. “Why don’t we go grab a coffee and you can tell me how things are going with Antonio?”

It’s an obvious deflection, but Isabella allows it. I’m relieved when she nods and gets to her feet. As I follow her to the kitchen, I can’t help asking, “How did you reconcile with Antonio after he exiled you like that?”

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