Page 25 of A Sinner's Truth

I feel extreme guilt when my eyes connect with my dad’s. “You are?”

“Y… yes,” he says.

“I think we should go, darling. We have lunch with my family,” Santo tells me.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” I say to my dad before I turn around and walk out with my new husband close behind me. As soon aswe’re back in the car and pulling away from my father’s estate, I turn to Santo. “What did you say to him?”

“I just made him see things our way,” he answers without actually answering anything at all. “When we get to my house, there’s going to be a lot of questions. And if anyone says anything to you… about me, don’t believe them.” He sounds a little stressed.

“What would they say about you?” I ask.

“God only knows. I have four brothers and four sisters-in-law. They’re great, but a little intense,” he says. “And then there’s Gio, the oldest of us. He’s the… ah… head of the family. If he says jump, you jump.”

I cross my arms over my chest in outward defiance. “I’m not a clown.”

“Gio is married to Eloise. They have a son, Aurelio. There’s Gabe and Daisy and their son Luciano. Plus Marcel and Zoe. And then Vin and Cammi, who just got married a few weeks ago,” Santo says.

“Okay. I’m probably not going to remember them all.”

“It’s okay. Marcel and Gabe have moved out anyway. Vin and I are still there—Gio hates that we’re not all under one roof.”

“You live with your brothers?” I gasp.

“Yes. It’s safer,” he says.

“You want me to move in with you and your brothers?” I don’t know how to deal with this. It’s a lot.

“We won’t be there long. Just until I find us a place of our own.”

“How are we going to fake being in a relationship if we have to be around people all the time?”This is not going to work.

“It’ll be fine. We like each other plenty enough to fake it. Besides, the only time we really are all together is breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” I parrot.

“It’s the most important meal of the day.” Santo smiles at me as those damn butterflies flutter in my stomach again. I’m going to have to Google how to exterminate them. There has to be a drink or potion or something that will snuff them out.

I look out the window and sit on my hands to stop them from shaking. I’m about to walk into a mob house. I mean, anallegedmob house. It’s not confirmed, but I am well aware of who I married.

“What if they don’t like me?” I ask Santo, breaking the silence that fell over us.

“They will. And if they don’t, they’ll pretend for me,” he says.

“They’ll pretend to like me? How will I know if they really like me, then?”

“Aria, relax. This is going to work.” Santo pulls into a driveway and the two large gates open for him. “Oh, and try to ignore all the security.”

“How much danger am I really in?” I ask when I look around and see a few dozen armed men walking the grounds.

Chapter Thirteen

My heart rate increases. I can feel it beating rapidly in my chest. I fucked up, bringing her into my world. This woman reeks of innocence, and I’ve just tied her to me, put a huge fucking target on her back, and she doesn’t even know it.

“I will do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to you. I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep, though. Youneed to be smart. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t go out alone. Be observant of your surroundings. We have enemies, and right now, those enemies see you as my weakness and won’t think twice before trying to use that fact against me. But like I said, I’ll do everything to make sure you are safe,” I tell her.

Aria’s face pales a little. “Right. Don’t talk to strangers. But if I followed that rule, I wouldn’t have met you and you wouldn’t have ridden in on your white horse and saved me from a fate far worse than being married to you.”

“I’m no Prince Charming, sweetheart. Get that idea right out of that pretty little head of yours,” I’m quick to warn her.

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