Page 1 of Say I Do

I staredat the computer screen. The little black cursor blinked, but I had no idea what I was doing. My head was too mixed up to focus.

Today is my wedding day.

No one knew except for my father. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it; after all, it wasn’t as if I was doing this because I wanted to. No, it was to help secure the Vitale name, tie us to more legitimate businesses, and increase our wealth and viability. All in all, my father was right; it was a good move. The cherry on top was that it would keep the peace between two families. I’d take peace over war any day.

I picked up my phone as it rang. “Yes.”

“You’re getting married tonight,” my father’s rich timbre made me sit up a little taller. “Is everything arranged?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, good,” he exhaled, and I imagined one of his cigars perched between his fingers. “Your mother can’t know about this. We’ll have the real wedding in a few weeks, but Denji insisted we do this now.”

I was aware, but I had no idea why. Pulling up a picture of Lorelei, I stared at her. She was pretty with big, gray eyes, a petite figure, and a graceful smile. Her jet-black hair was pulled up into a bun, and pearl earrings adorned her ears. All in all, she was a beautiful woman, one who had clearly been brought up in the spotlight and knew how to act accordingly. She was perfect for my image and that of my family.

“I have to admit this is a little odd,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

“Yes, I know. We’ve never made this kind of connection before.”

I knew exactly what he meant without him saying it. We were doing something unprecedented; going outside of the family or those close to us to marry and unite with people we knew loosely but were not close to. Yakuza. They were so different from us. Hell, they didn’t even dabble in the drug trade. Our families were day and night; ours wild and there’s disciplined.

“Are you sure?” I asked my father, my stomach tightening as I glanced at the photo of Lorelei again.

“It was your idea,” he pointed out, a grumble to his tone that said he was bordering on unpleased. “Remember?”

I nodded, but was it really? Yes, I was sure it was the right thing to do. Anything to advance my family was well worth it. However, my father was the one who put it all in motion. He’d set up the appointments, the meetings and oversaw it all. In some ways, it felt as if he’d leashed my throat and dragged me around, all while making me think it wasmyidea.

“Benito. I don’t need to explain to you how important this is. The tension between our families has been growing stronger lately. We don’t want to screw this up. I’m almost done getting things established here. When I return, I expect you to have moved forward. Make something of yourself.”

“Yes, sir,” I said right away, swallowing thickly. “Of course. Ci penserò io, padre.”

“That’s my boy.” He chuckled. “I’ll let your mother know to get planning the real wedding for about a month or so out. That’ll give her something to do.”

I agreed, but inside, I groaned. My mother would have a field day preparing my wedding, but only so she could be the center of attention. I didn’t want to deal with her as much as I didn’t want to get married.

“Benito.”

“Yes,” I said, tuning back in once more.

“Get this girl, keep her close, put a baby in her. Okay? That’s all you have to do. Lorelei is a great addition to any household. You won’t have any trouble out of her as long as you buy her pretty things and smile every once in a while. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I gotta go.”

We hung up after saying our goodbyes. I sank even deeper into the crackling leather of my seat as I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers. Get married, knock her up, and go about business as usual while doing the bare minimum to keep her happy. Easy, right?

It didn’t feel like it.

My phone buzzed on the desk. Sighing, I picked it up after seeing Enzo’s name.

“Yeah?”

“Small problem,” my brother started, not even with a hello. “I was taking care of the latest batch of invoices and ran into a problem. Might have made a mess.”

Shit.Who the fuck did he kill now?I’d given him a list of names to collect on, the higher ones that weren’t easily persuaded by the lower-level guys that worked for our family. Clearly, he’d run into trouble.

“I’ll come over in a bit. You at home?”

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