Page 9 of Say I Do

“You mean he thought it up and forced you into it,” Gin said as he raised a brow. “That’s what he always does.”

I didn’t nod or agree with Giancarlo. Part of me liked to think that the days of my father manipulating me were long dead, but the truth was that the man still had a way of worming his way into my head. He knew just what to do and say to make me agree. The uneasy feeling that twisted in the pit of my gut made me squirm.

No, I made this decision on my own. It was the best thing for the family.

“It was complicated,” I said. “Denji is intent on carving out a niche for himself and his family in New York. Going against him would only cause problems. He realized the same thing and decided it would be best to unite our families in a way that would bring peace instead of problems.”

“So he gave you a…” Giancarlo waved a hand. “Damn, I don’t even know what to call that thing. Cause he definitely ain’t human!”

I shifted uneasily. “No, Harlow was not the plan,” I said slowly. “His sister, Lorelei, was who I was supposed to be marrying and, by tonight, impregnating.”

“Fuck!” Gin blurted out.

Enzo frowned. “Denji switched the two of them on you? Why?”

I shrugged. “Do you think I have any fucking idea? As far as I knew, the deal was agreed upon, I was expecting a sweet little thing, and I get… him.” I groaned as I let down the mask I usually kept in place. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! This changes shit. Dad’s going to be pissed, and now I’m married to a wild man. I can’t divorce him either, or it voids the contracts.”

“Then let it void the fucking contracts,” Gin said as he tossed back the rest of his glass. “Hey, more!” He shouted to the bartender. Once the man nodded, he leveled his gaze at me. “I say let it burn. What are you going to do with him? I wouldn’t let that man anywhere near my dick.”

I glared. “I don’t want to fuck him.”

“Now,” Enzo muttered.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Enzo shrugged, sipping at his drink as he kept his gaze on me. I stared at him until he broke eye contact to look anywhere else in the bar but at me.

“Hey.” Giancarlo dragged my attention back to him. “It’s fine if you want to fuck him. Come on. He’s hot.”

“I don’t care about hot,” I said evenly. “What I wanted was a quiet, calm housewife who wouldn’t interfere with my shit,” I snapped. I tossed back the rest of my drink. “Fuck! Instead, I get Giancarlo. On steroids.”

As the bartender dropped off another round of drinks, Enzo slipped him a tip. We’d told him to leave the tab running. I had a feeling I would need it tonight.

“Hey! Come on!” Gin reached over and slammed his hand against my arm. “Calm down. It’s all right. I mean, would I have done it? No. Do I think it’s a little fucked up you jumped in front of me and Ash getting married? Yeah.”

“You got a point?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“My point is, what are you gonna do?” He asked with a shrug. “It’s already in place now.”

“Besides, if you’d said no, I have a feeling we would have been leaving that church with a few bullet holes,” Enzo said.

“Or in body bags,” I said, agreeing with him.

In the end, I hadn’t had a choice. Shoving my spent drink to the side, I dragged another one over to me and started in on it. I chugged it like Gin, downing the entire thing before it slammed onto the table. I twirled a finger.

“Another, Grant,” I called.

Grant wandered over and plopped the entire bottle in front of me. “Looks like it’s going to be a long night. I’ll have Emma bring over a pitcher of ice for you.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“Shit,” Gin whispered. “I don’t think I’ve seen you sulk in years.”

I sagged in my seat as I fixed another drink. The pleasant buzz of scotch dulled the edge of my emotions. Thank god for that. Anger, irritation, worry; it all dulled into a quiet background hum as I sucked down half of my next drink.

“I’m not driving him home,” Gin said.

Enzo groaned. “You’re not the only one that has someone to get back to, you know?”

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