Page 26 of Marry Me Not
“After I found out you lied to me about your reason for leaving your job, I wanted to be sure you weren’t lying to me about anything else.”
Indignation flashed in her gaze. “I’m not.”
“Actually, you were.” I leaned forward, bringing myself within only a few inches of her. “You were hiding the full extent of your naivete.”
I paused, letting the words land, waiting to see their effect begin to take shape in her emerald gaze.
“It’s a fucking liability. I’m going to be don one day. Do you think a don’s wife can afford to be this gullible?”
She flinched as if I’d hit her.
“Cosimo—”
“No. Answer my question. Do you think a don’s wife can afford to be this gullible?”
Her bottom lip wavered.
The light behind her eyes—that stubborn, infuriating light I’d never managed to affect with my cruel barbs before—flickered.
Then dimmed.
There it was.
I was close. So close. I just needed to keep going.
And so I did, despite the guilt twisting through my gut, despite the shame wrapping its cold hands around my throat.
“It’s not too late to admit it to yourself, Fabiana. You can’t do this. You aren’t made for this world. Tell your brother that and ask him to call off the wedding.”
Her lips parted on a harsh inhale.
“Your brother and my father made the wrong choice. Help me save them from the consequences of that poor decision.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek. She swept it away before it reached her jaw, but I saw it. And I’d remember it.
“Cosimo, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” I ground out. I was only half aware of the fact that I was being way too fucking upfront with her, that at some point I’d abandoned my plan to do this subtly. But I was too far gone now. I just needed this to end.
“It’s not a question of whether or not you’ll disappoint your brother, Fabiana. It’s only a question of when. If you marry me, you’re going to make a mistake somewhere along the way, just the way you did at work. Just the way you did now. You’ll trust the wrong person. You won’t think about the consequences. Only by that time, it won’t be just your coworker’s job at stake. It’ll be people’s lives.”
Her shoulders shook. I’d taken a knife, slid it into her, and twisted it.
For a moment, there was only silence between us. It hung like some dead, ugly thing amid the cheerful chatter and buzz around us.
Slowly, so very slowly, her gaze lifted to mine. “You’re an asshole.” She grabbed the napkin from her lap, dabbed angrily beneath her eyes, tossed it back down on the table, and stood, slinging her purse over her arm. “I’m done. You’re completely right. I can’t marry you. I’d be insane to tie myself to someone as distrustful, cynical, and mean as you.”
Her lips pursed, and she looked down at me like I was a goddamn cockroach.
“Rafe and Cleo left for a vacation this morning. I will not ruin their trip for your sake. But I will talk to my brother once they return. I will beg Rafe to let me out of this if I have to.”
I sat back and cracked my neck. “Good.”
Her eyes blazed with fire. “Say a prayer for me, would you?”
I waited for the rush of triumph to hit me, but there was no satisfaction at having gotten what I wanted.
Only a nauseating, hollow pit in my stomach as I watched her turn and walk out the door.
