Page 43 of Scandalous Kingpin
“Let them be,” Dante scolded softly. “It’s their day, and if they demand we stand on our heads, we will do that.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t ask that of you,” Ivy assured them, while I was certainly tempted. It didn’t escape me that my wife threw curious glances Juliette’s way. “You’ve been kind of anxious lately, Jules. Are you okay?”
I watched my sister-in-law grab her glass of wine and gulp it down in one go. “Of course, I’m always great.”
Ivy raised her brow. “You always say that. Even as you set the house on fire, you tried to convince us all you’re great.”
Juliette grimaced. “Fake it till you make it. Isn’t that our motto?”
I’d have to have a talk with Dante about her. If we were to keep her secret, she’d have to stop acting so suspicious.
My brother took a large sip of wine before he leaned over to me. “Are you okay?”
“Perfect.”
“Don’t tell me you’re nervous about your wedding night?” he teased.
Fuck, maybe I should admit to my big brother I’d never kissed a woman. Or maybe better not. He might die from laughter. Goddammit, I should have stopped at a brothel and practiced some kissing with a random woman before my wedding day, but the thought had me breaking out in hives.
I decided to change subjects, speaking in an Italian dialect that was usually difficult to understand for anyone who wasn’t native to it. “You’ll have to calm Juliette down. She’s acting suspicious.”
He nodded, understanding where I was going with this. “It’s almost worse that they’re best friends.”
My eyes found Ivy, who was listening to something Wynter whispered in her ear, and the two chuckled. Basilio stared at his wife, as if willing her to look at him. He just couldn’t live without her, and considering what Wynter and Basilio had gone through, it wasn’t exactly a surprise. My cousin only had eyes for Wynter.
Kind of like you with your wife, my mind mocked.
My wife.Fuck. Ivy was all fucking mine now, and I’d be damned if I let anyone hurt her. Except, how in the fuck wasI supposed to explain that I hadn’t kissed a woman and I was almost twenty-seven?
“You got a strange look on your face, Christian.” Dante tilted his head toward Ivy. “Just follow your intuition. Or maybe her lead.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you insinuating?”
“The girls are… were… a bit wild.” He grinned.
“Best if you stop talking right now,” I remarked coldly. I had no intention of having this conversation with him. Some things were sacred.
“All I’m saying is don’t overthink it.”
I raised a skeptical brow. “Really?”
He nodded, then was jostled in his seat as Basilio appeared out of nowhere, smirking like the jerk he could sometimes be.
“Apparently all the girls are singing your praises,” he drawled, clapping a palm on the back of Dante’s head. “Because Ivy told them you actuallyaskedher to marry you.”
“Unlike the rest of y’all,” Emory chimed in. “Oh wait, my bad. Christian did drug her and then kidnap her, so… more or less like you, Basilio.” My cousin’s dark eyes met mine. “The question is… how in the fuck did you manage to keep her after that?”
“It’s a secret,” I answered, then chose to skirt as close as possible to the truth. “And sort of an alliance.”
“Alliance?” Emory questioned. “What kind?”
I shrugged. “The kind involving Sofia Volkov.”
My cousins shared a glance, before Basilio asked, “You know anything involving Sofia turns into disaster. Nothing but death and heartbreak follows that woman.”
“I know, but this kind of alliance with my wife will end Sofia’s life,” I said. “I’ll update you via the Syndicate.”
They all nodded, understanding my unspoken meaning. We couldn’t discuss this in the open.
