Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Sofie: My god, she went analog and it actually worked.
Gia: Frannie-panties, I take back every mean thing I’ve ever said about you.
Gia: Mostly, at least.
Frannie: SIRI TEXT MOB GIRLIES BASK IN MY GLORY FOR I AM THE SMARTEST IN THE GROUP.
Sofie: She’s going to be a monster for week after this…
My hands are shaking as I put down the phone. I stare at the ceiling and sweat prickles my skin.
This can’t be happening.
This can’t be real.
There’s no way in hell.
I feel sick. I feel like I might puke all over my flower comforter.
But when I look back at the picture Frannie sent, it’s still him.
It’s the man that took my virginity. The man that told me his name was Step. The beautiful, gorgeous stranger that I stabbed with a vibrator and proceeded to have insane sex with for one perfect night.
My future husband.
That bastard lied, and the next time I stab him, it won’t be with a sex toy.
Chapter 6
Carmie
I’m shaking on the drive over to the Federov house.
Dad’s behind the wheel, not speaking. Daniel’s up front with him, and Luca’s in the back with me. Nobody’s talking, and the tension is high. I’ve been told a dozen times how important this marriage is, but it never felt real until right now. The Don himself wants this to happen, and Dad knows his brother’s temper can be very dangerous when things don’t go his way.
Which means I’ve been told a dozen times I better not fuck this up.
But how the hell am I going to keep it together?
It’s him. The man from my one night of rebellion. I looked at that high school yearbook photo fifty times leading up to this car ride, and I’m absolutely sure it matches the man in my memory. He’s older now, somehow even more handsome, but it’s definitely him.
I don’t know why he lied about his name. I don’t know what he was doing at that club that night or why he followed me out into the street.
I don’t know why he took me home and fucked me.
But it happened, and I feel like my world’s falling apart around me.
He wasn’t supposed to have this. That’s all I keep thinking. He wasn’t supposed to have me. My virginity was meant to go to the man of my choosing, and I definitely did not want it to be my future husband.
And he still somehow took it from me.
I’m pissed. I’m sick. A million emotions rush through my body all at once, and I feel trapped, because I can’t tell a soul.
I trust the Mob Girlies with almost anything, but I can’t trust them with this. It’s just too big. If anyone found out what I did that night, it’d ruin my life.
Dad would kill me himself.
But as the car parks and Luca grumbles at me to hurry up and get out, I realize something.
Lev’s going to recognize me, too. He’s going to know that I was out trying to sleep with some random guy.
How’s he going to react? Is he going to lose his mind and refuse the marriage? If that happens, I’m dead.
Literally, not figuratively.
Dad will shoot me in the head.
I feel like I’m marching through waist-deep running water as I follow my family up the steps of a very nice Old City row home. It’s an expensive house, and I’d probably feel a little impressed if I weren’t too busy freaking out.
Maybe I can run. If I break to the left and keep going, maybe I can get away. I’ll live out my final days somewhere out west and change my name to Serena Rose.
“I’m glad you made it, Mr. Marino.” A man’s voice. He’s older, around my father’s age.
“Call me Bruno. You must be Oleg.” The men shake hands and exchange pleasantries as we’re led into a formal sitting room.
Lev’s father is a burly Russian man with a loud laugh and sharp eyes. I can see some of Lev in him, the same brows, the same hair, though Oleg’s is graying and thinning slightly. He’s in expensive but understated clothing, just like my father. Both have on glittering gold watches.
Daniel and Luca join the conversation, and I’m left at the end of the couch, losing my mind. Oleg seems completely uninterested in me and instead focuses on my father and my brothers, asking them questions about business and family like he’s trying to dig for information. Which is fine because my brothers are doing the exact same thing.
Everyone’s feeling each other out.
“My apologies, it seems like my son’s running late.” Oleg gets to his feet, a flash of annoyance on his face. “If you’ll excuse me—”
But he doesn’t get far. The door opens, and there he is on the threshold wearing a slim-fitting suit that shows off his muscular torso and makes him look like a capitalistic kingpin surveying his corporate holdings.