Page 118 of Till Death Do Us Part

“Nothing.” I held my hands up. “I only repeated what you said.”

“Yeah, but the tone. The look. Put together, it’s implying.” He grabbed me again and we floated. “Out of all the women in the world, Adelasia would become obsessed with her. Everything she does, she does to punish me. And I can’t fucking say no because my kid loves her, and Adelasia’s been through a lot.”

A woman came up behind Cassio and tapped him on the shoulder.

“What?” He turned.

“Remember me?” She snapped her fingers. “Your date.”

He looked between us as she folded her arms and tapped her foot.

“Dance with your date, Cassio,” Tommaso said, interrupting. “I’d like to dance with this one.” He nodded at me.

I was close to saying,this one doesn’t want to dance with you, but I didn’t want to cause a scene. I’d said enough earlier.

Felice had taken a seat at the table and was watching. Cassio bowed out and danced with his date.

The song that played was older, and we foxtrotted to it.

“You look a lot like Mariella.”

“Thank you,” I said, because I always took it as a compliment. Mamma was beautiful.

He nodded. “I always thought Mariella bewitched Emanuele. I met him a few years before he met her. He was never the same after.”

“You were invited past the office before Mamma,” I guessed.

He didn’t respond, and I let the music come between us. It was probably best if I stopped talking.

“You seemed to have done the same to John.” He skipped right over what I’d said and continued his thought. “I’m indebted to Emanuele, but John is the future of my business. If everyone is in harmony with this new arrangement, I’m not bothered by it.” He squeezed my hand. “But if I need to, I will move pieces around. Understood?”

“Understood,” I said, trying not to yank my hand out of his grip. He wasn’t hurting me but sending a message.

“I’m stealing my wife back,” Felice said, squeezing Tommaso’s shoulder.

“She is a treasure,” Tommaso said, kissing my hand.

I nodded, faking politeness like he was. Without him noticing, I wiped my hand on my dress.

Felice took me in his arms, keeping the hand his boss had kissed against his chest. But I could still feel Tommaso’s eyes on me until Felice led us deeper into the dancing crowd, turning his back on his boss and shielding me from him.

* * *

Wind whipped against us as we stepped off the yacht and started toward the car. The smell of the lake, Felice’s cologne, my perfume, and alcohol fumes seemed to cling to the air, even though the gusts constantly swirled them around. We hadn’t had much to drink, but it seemed like we were the only ones. Some men were still singing.

Even though Tommaso’s warning was still fresh in my mind, I had a decent time.

Another big wind kicked up, plastering my coat to me, and I tucked myself closer to Felice. I wondered how brutal winter was going to be if fall was this crisp.

My eyes narrowed when I noticed a cluster of people up ahead. Judging by their evening attire, they were on the yacht and had left before us. Police stood around cruisers, turret lights spinning, stopping them from leaving. They almost seemed boxed in by law enforcement.

“I wonder what’s going on?”

Felice said nothing.

We kept moving forward until a detective held up his badge.

“Felice Maggio?” he asked.

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