“Okay.”
“You nervous?” Louie asks.
I look around the event space. The engagement party is being held here at Aces High.Myengagement party. Everything is perfect. I made sure to have it decked out in lilac and white. Because I happen to know that lilac is my fiancée’s favorite color.
“Not in the slightest,” I reply.
“Why? You’re about to marry a stranger.”
“Yeah, about that… She’s not,” I say. I’ve never told a single soul about Antonia. Some things are not worth risking and she’s one of them.
Louie lifts a questioning eyebrow. “She’s notwhat?”
“A stranger,” I say.
“You know her? How?”
“We had a thing a few years ago.” I lift a shoulder. “Let’s just say she’s the one I let get away, and when she finds out it’s me her father signed her over to, well, she’s probably going to want to kill me.”
“You couldn’t have given me a heads-up before now?” Louie grunts.
“Sorry, boss, been a tad busy,” I remind him. “Also, I found out something that might help us track down Jazzy’s mother.She was enrolled at Henry Walker Elementary. The school would have to have records.”
“They would,” he says. “Wait… Shouldn’t she be in school? She’s been hanging out with us for weeks.”
“Yeah, another thing. Are we still above offing kids? Some little shit was bullying her at school. She doesn’t want to go back.”
“We can’t kill kids,” Louie says. “But she’s also not going back somewhere that isn’t safe.”
“I know,” I tell him. “I’ll find an alternative.” I nod my head towards the entrance, where I finally spot my bride-to-be. “There she is.”
“Huh,” Louie says.
“What do you meanhuh?” I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s fucking stunning. She’s wearing a floor-length black dress that hugs all her curves. Her dark hair hangs in loose waves over one shoulder and her lips are painted a bright red.
“Good luck. I’ll be over at the bar.” Louie slaps a hand against my back before walking off.
I don’t move. I wait. It only takes a minute for Antonia to notice me and then she’s storming over. “Why are you here? You can’t be here,” she whispers but her expression tells me she wants to yell.
“Actually, I can be. I own the place, remember?” I reply.
“That’s not… Carlo, whatever you’re doing here, leave,” she hisses.
“You don’t know, do you?” I crane my neck to the side.
“Know what?”
I point to the sign on the wall beside us. It reads:Congratulations, Carlo and Antonia.“We’re getting married, babe.” I smile.
“No.” Antonia shakes her head.
“You did know this was your engagement party, right?”
“I knew that, but you? Why you? Anyone but you,” she stutters out.
“Ouch.” My hand rubs over my heart.
“This cannot be happening,” she says.
