Page 17 of Prideful Union
“No. Need I remind you I don’t dance.”
“And need I remind you this is our wedding day. It’s expected we’ll have a first dance.”
“No. Not this time.” I take my seat at the head of the table, leaving Lucia to stand alone, looking like a fool.
She huffs and joins me at the table. “I can’t believe you. We should have our first dance.”
“I said no, Lucia. End of discussion.” The caterer brings out our food at that moment. “Now, eat your steak.”
“I don’t like beef,” she shoots back. “And you would know that if you’d asked me.”
“Well, eat something. Don’t starve yourself. I don’t like women with eating disorders.”
Her jaw drops. “You’re ridiculous, you know that.”
“And yet you’re the first person to ever tell me that. I think that makes you the outlier.”
“This is stupid. I’m going to dance.” She leaves me and gets on the dance floor. I watch her shake and shimmy, looking completely unrefined. She’s joined by her sisters, and they all dance together. Their laughter carries over to me.
Giulia sits down beside me. “Why didn’t you have a first dance? Lucia loves to dance.”
“It’s not for me. And I’ll kindly ask, Giulia, for you to not interfere in my marriage again.”
“I’m not interfering.”
“By asking questions, you are.”
She stares at me for a long time before silently standing and leaving. I watch as she joins her daughters on the dance floor.
They look like one big, happy family. I’m not jealous. My parents were barely parents to me before they died. My nanny mostly raised me. Family doesn’t mean anything to me. Reputation does. Power is the most important thing in this world.
Luciaand I go to our hotel suite for the night. We’re heading to Italy tomorrow.
As we enter the room I feel the bubbling tension between us.
Lucia may annoy me and drive me crazy, but I still want to fuck her. I plan on it.
“So,” she says, scanning the room. “What’s next?”
“Now, we fuck.” I start taking off my cufflinks.
She snorts. I don’t comment on how un-lady-like that is. “Just like that? No warm-up? No romance?”
“Not my style. We either fuck, or we don’t.”
She looks taken aback. “I mean … I’ve never had sex before.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“You’re a Catholic Mafia girl. And Antonio told me you were waiting for your wedding night.”
“Eww. My brother should not be talking about my sex life.”
I slip my jacket off. “So, what will it be, Lucia? Are we fucking or not?”
“Why aren’t you just taking me without my consent? You’ve had no issues making decisions for me on everything else.”
