Page 1 of Innocent Union
CHAPTER 1
Mia
Today, my mom tells me I need to make a good marriage match.
“Today?” I say around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
My mom, a very Italian woman named Giulia Moretti, cuts me a look that says she’s not messing around. “Yes, today. I’ve worked with your brother to find you potential suitors. A couple of them are coming over today. I’m going to find you a good husband, Mia. Make no mistake about it.”
Giulia Moretti is a fierce woman. Her personality is at odds with her delicate features, from her small nose to her blonde hair that’s starting to go gray. Though I’m proud to call her my mother, she can be incredibly overbearing.
“I can’t imagine any guy being into you,” Lucia, my younger sister says from across the breakfast table. At eleven, she thinks she’s hot shit. With long dark hair and striking eyes, she’ll be a force to reckon with when she’s older. But right now, she’s only a kid, and she constantly gets on my nerves.
Her twin brother, Luca, also annoys me most days, but today, he seems more withdrawn than usual. I ignore Lucia’s comment and look at Luca. “You ok?”
He picks at his eggs but doesn’t eat them. “Did you know it’s the anniversary of Uncle Franco’s death last year?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch my mom tense. Uncle freaking Franco. After my father passed away when I was eight, Uncle Franco moved in. He took over as boss of the Moretti Mafia and ruled our household with an iron fist. That is, until my older brother Antonio killed him and became boss last year.
Lucia and Luca were born after our father died, so Franco was the only father figure they ever knew. But I’ve heard the rumors my older siblings refuse to talk about—our father, Riccardo Moretti, isn’t Lucia and Luca’s real father. Franco is.
I haven’t had the courage to ask my mom or siblings about it. Franco scared me a lot when I was kid, and even now at twenty, his memory still haunts me, even though he never did anything to me personally. But I know he tried to kill Antonio, and I know he hurt my mom in ways I don’t even want to ask about because then they would become real.
I was the baby in my family until the twins came along, which meant I was coddled a lot. A part of me wishes I could go back to that and not have to face the harsh realities of adulthood.
Mom takes Luca’s hand and squeezes. “I know you miss Franco, honey. But he’s gone now. Let’s focus on the here and now.”
“What?” Lucia says, “Like Mia getting married? I doubt any guy would want her.”
I can’t help myself this time. I stick my tongue out at Lucia, who does the same in return. Normally, Luca would be joining in, but he’s lost in thought.
“Enough, Lucia,” Mom says with a sigh. “A lot of men will want Mia. I’m sure of it.” But her tone doesn’t sound sure.
And I know exactly why.
One of my older sisters, Cecilia, ran off with her bodyguard, Theo, last year. She was supposed to marry this really old guy,Salvatore Fontana, but Theo ended up killing him before they ran away together. Antonio was pissed, but he eventually came around and let Cecilia and Theo get married.
The problem, though, is that Cecilia’s marriage left a stain on me. The Moretti girls were seen as good. But Cecilia changed that when she fell in love with Theo, a man she wasn’t supposed to love.
I know my mom and Antonio are worried no man will want me because of what Cecilia did. It’s not fair, but that’s how Mafia men are. They’re all hypocrites who get to sleep around, but the minute a girl in the family messes up, all the younger women are seen as tainted goods.
My older siblings didn’t have to face what I do. My oldest sister, Emilia, married well when she entered into a marriage alliance with Marco Aldi, a Mafia boss in LA. Gemma, my next sister, was kidnapped by Viktor Levin, leader of the Russian Mafia in New York. Despite how their relationship started, they fell in love. My other sister Francesca married Leo Benetti, Marco’s second-in-command. I rarely see Emilia and Francesca because they live in LA and are busy with their children, but Gemma comes by often; though I think it’s just because she revels in this family’s drama.
Antonio was the only boy until Luca came around. He married Nina Petrov when he was in hiding from Franco and before he killed our uncle.
And lastly, there’s Cecilia, who’s closest in age to me. And the reason why I might not find a husband.
“All I’m saying,” Lucia says, “is that Mia is going to have a hard time finding men who will find her pretty. I mean, look at her.”
I slam my fork down. “You want to go, Lucia? We can go.” I’ve always been a little insecure about how I look. I don’t have striking blonde hair like Emilia, Gemma, or Cecilia. I havebrown hair like Francesca, but at least Francesca’s hair is a luscious dark brown that just makes her even prettier. My hair has always been so mousey. My older sisters all have something so … special about them. None of my features are striking. Typical nose. Not large, pouty lips. Simple brown eyes.
I know Lucia is only eleven and baiting me because she can, but she’s getting at my biggest insecurity—feeling inadequate compared to my sisters.
Lucia’s expression turns haughty. “I can take you any day, Mia.”
“No, you couldn’t. I’m bigger than you. And older.”
She makes a show of looking me over with a critical eye. “I can see that.”
