“Your father came to see him and suggested it would be a good time for me to marry Gio.”
“But why?”
She lifts her head to take a sip of her drink, and I wonder at her hesitation.
“Maybe he wants grandchildren. After all, that was why my father agreed. He thinks I’m past childbearing age.”
“What? You’re only thirty-two.”
“To my father, that is about five years too late.” She grimaces, staring into her glass. “And for some reason, he thinks marrying a Barbieri will be beneficial for the Romano family bloodline.”She’s trying to make a joke, but I’m too angry at her father’s behavior to find anything amusing.
“I know he’s always hated you having a career. But even for him, this arranged marriage is extreme.”
She remains statue still, and we both fall silent, each lost in our own thoughts. I check the time. Gio will be here soon.
“Do you mind if I grab a quick shower before Gio arrives?”
“While you’re doing that, I’ll run down and grab my bag.”
“The spare key card is on the hall table,” I say on my way to my bedroom.
Everything Lucia just revealed replays through my mind as the warm water cascades over my body. The sooner I can support her stance against her father as her husband, the better.
The murmur of voices in the living room tells me Gio has already arrived, and I quickly throw on sweats and a T-shirt.
“Hey, bro,” I say, walking toward Lucia. She’s in the kitchen placing cheese and olives on a board, and Gio already has a glass of wine in his hand. “Do you need help, Luce?”
She leans into me like she’s sharing a secret. “You know you’re hopeless in the kitchen.”
“Even I could put some cheese on a board.” I scoff softly.
It earns me a slap to the chest and a cute giggle. “No, it’s fine. Please sit with your brother.”
It’s a lighthearted moment that has been missing between us lately. And it gives me hope that our relationship is back on track.
I join my brother, picking up my refilled glass. Luce joins us, placing the platter on the coffee table between us. The whole dynamic between the three of us is more comfortable, and with the tension easing in Gio’s shoulders, I can tell he’s noticed it too.
“Luce, tell Gio what you learned from your father about the marriage agreement.”
She takes a sip of wine, then proceeds to tell Gio what she told me earlier.
“Do you know how much the loan was for?” he asks.
“No, sorry. He didn’t say. But the marriage agreement was his idea to ensure that if the money wasn’t repaid, he had a way to get retribution.” She takes another sip of her wine. “My father was being deliberately vague about the details, and as you can imagine, I wasn’t very happy to learn that he used me, his only daughter, as some type of loan guarantee.”
“Why now?” he asks, sounding more like he’s posing the question to himself, not us.
“That, I don’t know, and neither does my father. It was your father who set the wheels in motion.”
“It’s a shame we won’t get to see our father’s face when he realizes that we’ve played him at his own game,” I add with a smirk.
“Speaking of the wedding. Have we got a date?” Gio asks, looking between us.
We all pull out our calendars and start calling out dates until we land on one we can all do.
Gio stays only long enough to finish his wine and confirm that he’ll reach out to our brothers.
The door bangs closed behind him, and Lucia turns to face me, tucking her bare feet underneath her again. We’re back on the sofa in the same position as earlier this evening.
