Page 101 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

I didn’t realize thatevery fucking woman at the lunch partyexcept for the great-grandmotherwould walk along behind us.

Probably the only reason the great-grandmother didn’t go was because she was too slow.

Not only that, but four foot soldiers with shotguns accompanied the group.

I couldn’t fuckin’ believe it.

There I was, walking through the gardens behind the house with my future wife…

While 15 relatives and female servants chatted with each other about 20 feet behind us…

And four dudes with shotguns came along, too.

Fuckin’weird.

“Is this normal?” I asked Isabella in a low voice as we started the walk.

“What – being chaperoned?” she asked in surprise.

I looked over my shoulder. “If that’s what you callthis– yeah.”

“It’s normal if boys visit, yes.”

“I’m not a boy,” I said humorously.

I thought it was funny –

But Isabella’s face immediately clouded over, and she stared down at the ground in embarrassment. “Of course not – I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” I said, alarmed that she was acting like I’d yelled at her. “I’m a boy. It’s cool.”

She looked over at me and forced a halfhearted smile, then looked down at the ground again.

Jesus…

I guess that’s what having Don Vicari for a father will do to you.

“So… uh… havemanyboys come to visit?” I asked.

“No. Just a couple of times.”

“And did you go out on chaperoned walks?”

“Yes.”

“What happened after that?”

“We didn’t have much to talk about, and they never came back.”

Lucky them.

Apparently, they weren’t locked into an arranged marriage.

“Well, since I’ll be sticking around,” I said, only half-joking, “what do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know,” she said quietly.

This was like pulling teeth.

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