Page 59 of Unholy Union

Even though he shouldn’t be, Antonio is the enemy.

“There’s nothing going on between Cecilia and me,” I say, lying through my teeth. “Salvatore doesn’t need to worry. Cecilia just has a school-girl crush on me is all. I don’t feel the same way.”

Antonio nods once. “That’s all I needed to know.” He starts to walk toward the door and then stops. “Theo, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Cecilia what I said today. No use in giving her false hope.”

“I will. But, Antonio, you really should work on mending your relationship with her. Not just for her benefit but for yours.”

He doesn’t look back as he walks out of the house.

Giulia enters the foyer, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “I overheard,” she admits. “You didn’t just lie to Antonio right now, did you?”

I only stare at her. I can’t completely lie to Giulia.

She nods with understanding in her eyes. “I hope you and Cecilia know what you’re doing.” With those words, she leaves the room.

I’m puttingthe trash away in the backyard when the door opens, and Cecilia comes out. “Dinner’s almost ready. I thought I could sneak a moment with you before.” She rushes over to me, plants her hands on my chest, and kisses me.

I respond before pulling away and nodding at the glass doors. “Someone could see us.”

“How’s the plan coming along?” she asks, ignoring my comment.

“It’s coming. We’ll be able to leave a few days before the wedding. Salvatore won’t even know.”

“Good. Gemma and Viktor were coming over for dinner tonight, so I thought it would be a good time to say goodbye to them without saying goodbye, you know? And Emilia and Francesca are coming to New York this weekend for the wedding, so I’ll get to say goodbye to them then. I doubt Mia will miss me. She’s always caught up in her own world. The twins are so young, and they have each other. But my mom …” She bites her lip. “I know it’s going to be hard on her when I’m gone, judging by how she acted when her other kids moved out. She was a mess every time.”

I pull her closer, resting my hands on her waist. “Your mom is a strong woman. She’ll be okay. And I think she’ll be okay knowing you’re happy and not married to a man you hate.”

“Maybe. But reputation is important to my mom. Us running away will reflect badly on the family. Mia will probably be the most affected by it because she’s the next one to get married. But I can’t live my life married to Salvatore. I’d rather die. So, if hurting my family’s reputation means saving my own life, then I’m going to do it. I don’t care if it’s selfish.”

“I’ll make this work,” I tell her. Somehow. “And Antonio?” I ask slowly, being careful.

She tenses. “What about Antonio?”

“Are you going to say goodbye to him?”

“No. He chose his side, and it’s definitely not mine.” She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me again. “Now, I don’t want to talk about my brother.”

We get lost in our kiss, and I lean Cecilia up against the fence and deepen our kiss. It’s risky to be doing this outside where anyone could see us, but I think we’re both past caring. Our plan is in place to run away together, and that’s all we care about.

Until the backdoor opens.

We wrench apart. I turn to see who it is.

It’s … Gemma.

Her eyes are wide as she looks between Cecilia and me. “Oh, man. I just got caught up in some drama, didn’t I?” She smiles wickedly. “Good thing I love drama.”

“Gemma,” Cecilia says, walking over to her. “I didn’t think you’d be coming for a little while.”

She shrugs. “Traffic was surprisingly good today. Viktor and I managed to get here a little earlier, I came out here because I needed to throw this away”—she holds up an empty coffee cup— “and Mom told me Theo was throwing away the trash, so I should use the outside bin. Little did I know I’d stumble upon something interesting.”

“You can’t say anything,” Cecilia hisses. “Can I trust you?”

“Me? You know I was always the rebellious one in the family.” Her eyes flick to me and back to Cecilia. “I take it you’re not marrying Salvatore.”

“No. Theo and I have a plan. We’re going to run away together.”

Gemma whistles. “Cool. Well, if you need any help, Viktor and I will gladly offer it. As you know, he also loves some good drama and a rebellious spirit.”

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