by Piper Rayne
When I drop in the noodles, hot water splashes on me, and I draw back my hand.
“Be careful.” He takes my hand and inspects to make sure I’m not hurt.
Our eyes catch for a moment. I want to kiss him. Tell him thank you for taking over. That cooking with him is ten times better than with our mas.
“They’re ready,” he whispers, interrupting my little bubble of thoughts that are a jumbled mess.
He uses a shallow strainer to remove the pasta from the water. Then he pours the sauce and forks a gnocchi before putting it in front of my mouth. As I slide the pasta off the fork, our mas sigh. It’s not the pasta I have an appetite for right now though—it’s my husband.
Who knew that could be such a problem?
Chapter Sixteen
Dominic
* * *
Where one Mancini goes, they all go.
All three women are across from our gate at the airport, scouring the shelves for magazines to take on a two-hour flight to Chicago for my cousin’s wedding. If I was actually with Val, I might suggest we use the first class bathroom ourselves, which my two dickhead brothers are playing rock, paper, scissors for right now.
“I win, and Bella and I get the bathroom.” Carm’s hand is on his palm, ready to play.
“Why do we have to resort to this childish game? I say whoever gets there first wins,” Enzo says.
“You’re in the first row. How’s that fair?”
“I have an idea,” I say. “Try going two hours without fucking your girlfriends.”
They both crinkle their brows as if they don’t understand how my last name is Mancini.
I sip my coffee, watching the stock market results scroll across my phone screen. Two days off work for a wedding seems absurd. Originally, I was going to fly in late on Friday, but with Val and I having to put on a good show, it felt unfair to rush her.
“One.” Carm interrupts my thoughts, smacking his fist against his open palm.
I’m surprised Enzo agreed to this.
“Two.”
“Three.”
Carm shoots paper.
Enzo shoots rock.
The bastard can’t win to save his life.
“Woo hoo!” Carm places his hand in front of me for a fist bump.
I ignore his outstretched hand because the mile-high thing is stupid. You can’t get a woman off in a restroom outside the cockpit. Carm will give it his best shot though.
“Nice. Ma and Pa will be two rows back. Look forward to answering those questions.” I roll my eyes.
Carm tosses me one of the napkins he picked up at Starbucks. “You’re just jealous. Just have sex already. You’re an even bigger dick when you’re abstinent.”
I grab the napkin before it flutters to the floor. “I’m not jealous. I’m saying it’s a bit juvenile to join the mile high club.”
“Seriously though, why are you not having sex right now?” Enzo asks.
“Because it’s disrespectful. If people think we’re together, how will it look if either of us is seen with someone else?”
Enzo nods in understanding.
“Well then, why not have sex with each other? I mean, you’ve had sex with her before, right?” Carm asks.
I’ve never been completely honest with my brothers. They know about high school of course, but they have no idea that the girl I was seeing last year was Val. Maybe it’s about time it comes out. “Yeah. Remember the woman I was sleeping with who didn’t want anything serious?”
Carm’s eyes widen to the point that I fear they’ll pop right out of his head if he opens them any wider. “Shut up! You and Valentina? She was your hook-up?”
Enzo leans back in his chair with a smirk. Maybe he’s smarter than I give him credit for.
“You knew?” I ask Enzo.
His facial expression says he did. “Annie and I ran into Valentina in the Hamptons last summer, and I wondered at the time if she was the woman you were hooking up with.”
“Why? There’s a zillion women crawling around there in the summer.”
“Yeah, but the way you were so hot and cold, I knew whoever she was, she was more than just a hook-up. Val seemed to fit. I thought it was a far-off idea, but then the rumors about her and Max reconciling—”
“Wait!” Carm leans over the table. “You said that you and your hook-up broke up before we started going to the Hamptons last summer.”
This is why I didn’t mention it to my brothers. I knew it would turn into a thing.
“She called it off last spring. Said she was confused and needed more than I could give her. But when we ran into each other in the Hamptons that summer…” I shrug. “You know how it is.”
Enzo glances behind me, presumably to make sure the girls aren’t in earshot, then he leans in. “Did you know she and Max were getting back together?”
“She told me.” I clench my fist in my lap. Just the sound of her ex-husband’s name grinds on me.
“Dom?”
Enzo’s eyes are asking me to give him more information, but I’m the oldest. I don’t show vulnerability or weakness. “It wasn’t a big deal. I pushed her toward him. They share a son.”
“But?” Carm asks.
I put up my hand. “It’s over. Or at least it was over until I ran into her in Vegas and ended up in this mess.”
My brothers look at one another.
Carm clears his throat before speaking. “Are you sure there’s not more between you guys? She’s not with Max anymore and you guys ended up married, drunk or not.”
“Exactly.” I point at him. “We were drunk.” I look back over my shoulder and seek her out in the store. She’s laughing while they all flip through the magazines.
“When I’m drunk, I’m honest,” Carm chimes in beside me.
Enzo is surprisingly quiet as he sits across from me.
“You also do stupid shit when you’re drunk,” I say.
Carm shrugs. “True. But if I married someone, I think I’d wonder if it meant something more or not.”
“Did you think it meant something more when you pissed on April Wilson’s front door because she refused your advances? Or how about the time you let April Wilson spend the night after she forgave you for pissing on her door? You broke your spend-the-night rule for her. Was that a sign?”
He looks at the ceiling as though he doesn’t remember any of it, including April Wilson. “I was passed out. That’s the only reason she spent the night.”
“You took her to breakfast the next day,” I deadpan.
“For the pissing on the door thing.” He grows more agitated the longer this line of conversation continues.
“But that wasn’t a sign?”
“No. Whatever, man. We’re talking about you.” He points at me.
“What about Dom?” Val asks as the girls join us, each of them saddling up next to their Mancini brother.
Poor Blanca heads toward my parents where they wait closer to the gate.
“Nothing. What magazines did you get?” Enzo puts his arm around Annie’s waist and guides her to sit on his lap.
Bella sits on Carm’s lap, and I look at Val. No way can she sit on my lap unless she wants to feel the half chub that hasn’t gone away since I walked into her room this morning without knocking and found her wearing only a lacy bra and panties. The image has been flashing in my mind all day.
“Let’s go join my parents.” I stand, grab her hand, and lead her away from the lovebirds.
I don’t want her getting any ideas.
Chapter Seventeen
Valentina
* * *
“Would you mind zipping me up?” I turn my back to Dom and I hold my hair up off my neck.
His fingers, which were busy fixing his cufflinks, grab my zipper and pull it up so fast that I don’t feel any goose bumps or shivers like in the movies where it’s an intimate moment between two people. I let go of my hair, and it cascades over the open back of my fitted black dress. I put my foot
into my high heel, then the other one.
“So…” Dom clears his throat behind me.
I’m afraid to look at him because I know he’s going to look hot as hell and my body doesn’t need another reason to want to be closer to him. The act so far with his parents here is painfully pleasant. I get to be close to him, smell his cologne, and feel his body next to mine. But there’s still a wall between us. We hold hands, but he doesn’t rub his thumb along my pointer finger like he used to. He wraps his arm around my waist, but he doesn’t squeeze my hip. He looks at me when I speak, but the hunger that used to be present isn’t there any longer. It makes me yearn for him all the more.
I have no choice though, so I circle around to face him. My jaw drops when I see him holding a jewelry box with a ring inside. “Dom?”
“I figure my family will wonder, so I got you a ring.” He takes it out of the box and holds it out.
I’m so busy gawking at the huge oval diamond on a silver band encrusted with diamonds that I don’t feel him grab my left hand and hold the ring over my first knuckle. He waits a second and nods toward my hand, silently asking if it’s okay.
“Yeah, probably.” I choke on my words because this is too much.
He slides on the ring. “You’re officially Valentina Mancini, ring and all.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll say I don’t like wearing jewelry. Lots of men don’t wear wedding bands.” He drops the ring box on the desk and turns his back to me.
I thought for sure he’d make a joke about this, some kind of witty comment about owning me or something. Stepping toward him, I put my hand on his back. “Thank you.”
He nods. “Don’t get attached. It’s a loaner.”
My heart plummets into my stomach. Of course it’s a loaner. How could I be so stupid to think he’d lay down this kind of cash for a fake marriage? His words serve as the reminder I need to remember that all of this is a charade. “Yeah. I didn’t think…”
He turns around, never even glancing at my hand. “Ready?”
I nod so fast I fear I look like a bobblehead, but I’m about five seconds from tears. The truth is, I’ve imagined Dom giving me a ring many times. When I turned and saw him holding one, I was swept away by the moment—fake or not.
Get ahold of yourself.
“I’ll just grab my clutch.” I scramble to my suitcase and shove the contents of my purse into the clutch.
Dom waits by the door, holding it open as though I’m making him late.
I rush over. “Thanks.”
“You can stop thanking me. I’m benefiting from all this too,” he murmurs.
The slam of the hotel room door behind us startles me. Where did the Dom who cracks jokes and enjoys sexual innuendos go?
We make our way to the hotel down the street for the rehearsal dinner, and we’re not there more than a few minutes before we’re put on the spot about our marriage.
“Congratulations!” Mauro’s wife, Maddie, approaches after spotting us from across the room. “Anna told me about the impromptu wedding.” She looks at Dom, but he grunts.
“Thanks.” I glance at Dom to see if he wants to add anything.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Dom says. He leaves me with Maddie, and his cousin Mauro quickly kisses my cheek before following Dom.
“Let me see.” Maddie reaches for my hand, excited because she thinks it’s real. She inspects the ring, the overhead lights in the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner is being held making it glimmer and shine. “It’s gorgeous! Of course Dom would spend a small fortune on your ring.”
I glance at her ring and see that it’s classic and simple. Though I don’t know her well, it seems to fit her and Mauro perfectly. “Thanks.”
“Did someone say ring?” Bella comes over with a glass of champagne. “Hey, Maddie.”
The two hug.
“You haven’t seen Valentina’s ring yet?” Maddie asks Bella, her forehead scrunched.
Bella eyes me for a second, then her gaze falls to my left hand. “Oh, yeah… of course. That ring.”
Maddie picks up my hand to look at it again.
“Wow, I keep forgetting how big it is.” Bella covers her eyes. “I think I should razz Dom and ask if the diamond is the same size as his heart.”
We all laugh. They don’t know Dom like I do, but I kind of like that. I get the homebody side of him. The one who walks around barefoot and loves thunderstorms. Who spends a whole night perfecting a dish. The man who will binge-watch a television show with me while pigging out on junk food.
“Congratulations, I just heard.” Cristian’s girlfriend, Vanessa, saunters over in an elegant, form-fitting dress with an off-color heel. She hugs me, her perfume crisp and light. I swear she could be a supermodel.
“Thank you.”
“How is married life, Maddie?” Bella moves the conversation away from Dom and me. Thank God. But she purses her lips, sneaking looks at me. I haven’t really talked to her or Annie about the marriage being fake, but from the way she’s acting, the boys know, which means they do.
“It’s good,” Maddie says. “Not much different than pre-married life, but—”
“She’s already knocked up,” Vanessa spills the gossip.
“Wow, congratulations!” I say.
Maddie runs her over her stomach. “It’s early, so…” She shoots Vanessa the evil eye.
“What? Maria knows, so everyone will know by the end of the weekend, and you’re four months along.”
Maddie smiles and shakes her head. “If anyone has any questions, I’ll be sure to send them your way. Thanks for telling everyone my news.”
Vanessa grabs a champagne glass off a passing server’s tray. “Welcome,” she says without an ounce of regret.
“How are the happy couple?” Bella asks, staring ahead at where Luca and Lauren are talking with a priest.
“Let’s see, the wedding has been pure drama so far. Those two fight like two heavyweights, but one minute they’re disagreeing on who sits where and the next we find them in the closet, half undressed.” Maddie rolls her eyes then shrugs. “That’s just them.”
“Zia looks very happy,” Vanessa says.
All of our eyes shoot to Anna escorting Annie around the room, introducing her to everyone.
“Annie’s her favorite,” Bella says.
I glance at Bella, hoping she doesn’t really think that. “She’s been in the family longer.” I knock my elbow against hers. “I’m the newbie.”
“You have a ring. You’re the Mancini daughter-in-law,” Maddie says.
Bella chokes on her champagne.
“Are you okay?” Maddie asks.
Bella nods, trying to swallow. “I’m just so excited for Val and Dom.” Bella places her hand on my arm. “Vanessa, did you see the ring?” She pulls up my arm.
“Sweet Jesus!” Vanessa’s mouth hangs open. “That’s huge.”
“That’s Dom.” Cristian steps into our circle. “Ladies.” He goes around and hugs us and kisses our cheeks. “Always such a show-off.” Once he’s at Vanessa’s side, he stares at her.
She blushes as if they’re having their own conversation. With a small shake of her head, they both concentrate back on us.
“Dom!” Vanessa hollers, seeing him approach. “You outdid yourself.”
He looks confused for a moment before Vanessa signals to the ring. Then his eyes, cold and hard, turn to mine as though he’s reminding me that it’s nothing. He didn’t buy it. It’s a loaner he probably borrowed from one of his hot-shot clients.
“Thanks.” He sips his scotch neat, looking anywhere but at me.
The lights dim and go back on.
“Dinner’s ready. Thank goodness, I’m starved,” Maddie says. “Afterward, the guys are taking Luca out and the girls are heading to a suite. You should all come. Grab Annie too.”
Dom never said anything about that to me.
“We’ll see. Thanks.” I smile so Maddie knows I app
reciate the invitation.
Maddie spots Mauro coming to find her, and she makes her way over to him. He leads her by the small of her back into the banquet area where dinner will be served. What that must be like? I find myself jealous of all the relationships in this room.
“Come on, we’re over here.” Bella signals us to our table, though Carm’s voice could be our navigation. She must notice too because she says, “He’s so damn loud.”
Dom stays two paces back. His hand doesn’t guide me, and when we get to the table, I’m surprised he picks the chair next to mine.
Luca and Lauren stand and grab the microphone that’s been set up at the front of the room. “We just wanted to thank everyone for coming…”
They continue thanking everyone, and my mind wanders, the metal on my finger cold and unwelcoming because it’s not real. All of this is fake. Why did I ever sign up for this? What am I, thirteen years old? Mama guilt shouldn’t still force me to do something I don’t want to do. We’re both thirty-six.
My gaze slides over everyone in the room and stops on Anna. She smiles wide and bright. Because she believes that I love Dom. She’s always watching us, always dissecting what we’re doing. With Dom’s arm over the back of my chair and me slightly swayed toward him, we look like a couple. He’s really good at pretending when he needs to, which frightens me.
“We also want to offer our congratulations to our cousin Dominic, who just got married.”
Everyone claps, and Anna signals for us to stand. Dom slides his chair back and lightly grasps my elbow, helping me up. I feel my cheeks heating as everyone looks expectantly at us.
“Thanks, Luc,” Dom says.
Then Carm taps his glass with a utensil and Bella joins in. Soon the entire room is clinking their glasses with their silverware.
Someone should tell them to stop. Please stop. I’m hanging on the last inch of a very thin thread.
But no one stops. The clinking and calls for us to kiss only become louder.
