Page 15 of The One Night Match
Maybe I should have run when I had the chance.
Ari wraps her arms around me, the soft satin of her baby blue dress brushing over my arms as she pushes the tulle out of the way. “I can’t believe you’re marrying Cruz De Luca,” she gushes. “He’s so fucking hot.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I tell her as I drain my glass of champagne.
Thankfully, my late-night romp in a strange man’s office burned off the alcohol from last night, so there were no lingering symptoms of my night out. Other than the ache between my thighs and the bruises all over my body, at least.
I don’t know how I’m going to explain them if my new husband decides we’re consummating our marriage tonight, but that’s a bridge I’ll cross if we come to it.
“You didn’t read the file?” Cassidy gasps, her bright hazel eyes wide with surprise. My older sister is beautiful in a way that always made me feel inadequate. No matter whether she’s dressed in a classic suit for church on Sunday or in tactical gear for training with my father’s men, she looks flawless.
I shake my head. “I was going to last night, but I was too tired after the flight.”
“I’ve heard he’s nice to the people in his circle,” Mom says, her eyes bright with excitement.
“I’d hope you’re not marrying me off to someone you thought would be mean to me,” I say it as a joke, but it comes out sharper than I expect.
I don’t think there will ever be a time that I’m not hurt by the fact that I’m being used as a test case for the other women in our family.
No matter how much time I spend trying to convince myself otherwise, this is a betrayal I’m going to struggle with for the rest of my life, even if Cruz turns out not to be a terrible husband.
My mother’s face softens, and she sighs, taking both my hands in hers. “Honey, I know this isn’t what you wanted, but it will help the family.”
I try not to roll my eyes, really, I do, but I can’t help it. “For once, I’d like my life not to be controlled by a business I had no say in being a part of.”
I tug my hands back and cross to the full-length mirror, taking a few moments to myself to take stock of myself.
The bodice of my dress is delicate lace and boning, a combination I thought I would hate, but as I run my fingers over the material, I find I quite like the way it looks with my auburn hair curled over it. The skirt is long and thick, making me look more like a princess than a bride. It may not be the style I walked into the boutique hoping for, but I realize now this is the dress I was always meant to get married in.
My eyes fall closed as I drag in calming breaths.
You can do this,I tell myself.This isn’t the end. Your life will go on after today, just with a slightly different trajectory than you expected.
When I went away for college, I thought it was the opportunity I needed to get away from the Mafia, but somehow, I found myself right back in the orbit of the criminal world within a year of graduating.
Giving up my job at the University of San Francisco as the head librarian is perhaps the part of all this that stings the most, but if Cruz allows me to work, I have a stellar resume and references. Maybe the work I loved so much doesn’t have to be over forever.
Just the idea that my husband won’t let me have the autonomy of my own decisions makes my chest tighten with panic.
“Time to go,” my father says softly beside me.
I look up at him, his eyes the same shade of blue as mine, but his are surrounded by the evidence of the stress his job puts him under. His salt and pepper hair is far more salt than pepper at this point, but he’s still every bit the man I spent my childhood looking up to.
He holds up my veil, more tulle, and I sigh.
I turn, and he places the clip in place, his fingers gentle as he secures the white fabric and carefully guides it over my face.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way, Riles.”
“Me too,” I whisper, blinking back the tears that pool in my eyes. I can’t allow myself to cry because I doubt I’ll be able to stop if I let the tears start.
“Cruz is a good man. He takes care of his own.”
I nod. We’ve had this conversation over and over again, and this time it really is too late to change his mind.
“I’m going to miss having you nearby, though,” he continues, looping his arm through mine and guiding me toward the doors that lead to the aisle.
I don’t know how I didn’t notice everyone clearing out, but clearly, my own thoughts distracted me from everything that was going on around me.
