“I’ll go up to Aria and talk to her about going shopping. I need to be a good wife after all,” I said mockingly but somehow it felt wrong. My emotions were confusing me, everything about my new situation did.

“You should probably buy some new clothes for you,” Matteo said as he put his gun holster on.

“Is that an order?”

“I didn’t know it was necessary to order a woman to buy clothes. Isn’t that your favorite hobby?”

“Really?” I almost laughed. “Not all women are the same.”

“Oh I know.” There was that smile again.

My eyes lingered on his gun, trying to remind myself that this was who he really was. The smile that made my stomach do flips was only a mask.

I stood abruptly. “You and Luca will be gone all day again?”

“Why? Do you and Aria have another escape planned?”

“Haha,” I muttered, then raised the leg of my jeans, revealing the black ankle bracelet. “I can’t, remember?”

“It doesn’t stop you from making plans. Don’t tell me you’re not still thinking about escaping?”

I considered lying but instead opted for the truth. “Of course I am thinking about it. Did you think good sex and a ring around my finger would suddenly make me change my mind?”

“Only good, hm?”

I snorted and headed toward the elevator. Matteo joined me inside, his eyes resting on my hand.

“You are wearing your ring. I thought you’d throw it away the first chance you got.”

I peered down at the gold band with the fine line of diamonds. “Did you carry it the entire time you were hunting me?”

Matteo smirked as if he knew I was avoiding his question, and I was. I hadn’t even considered throwing the ring away. It seemed like such a waste. At least I hoped that was the only reason.

“Of course,” he said. “I always knew I’d catch you eventually and I knew I would have to make you my wife before you ran off again.”

His confidence was exasperating. It was also incredibly sexy. I was glad when the elevator doors slid open and I could walk away from Matteo’s smile and my own unwanted thoughts. Luca passed me with barely a nod and joined his brother in the elevator.

Aria’s welcome was much warmer. She was beaming all over her face as she headed my way and hugged me. “I still can’t believe that you’re living so close to me. I really missed having you as my confidante.”

“I suppose there aren’t many trustworthy women around here,” I said, my blood boiling when I remembered how Luca’s cousin Cosima had tricked Aria into walking in on Grace and Luca.

“Now that you are here, I don’t care.” Aria peered down at her elegant gold watch. “How about we head out for coffee now and then go shopping. Luca said we were all invited to the Bardoni’s Christmas party.”

I sighed. “Yeah. Matteo told me I had to attend.”

“At least we can suffer together. Believe me, Luca isn’t too excited about that invitation either. Bardoni wants his son to become Luca’s Consigliere because in the past the Consigliere has always been one on the Bardonis, but Luca wants Matteo and nobody else.”

“So this party is going to be even more awkward than I thought. Everyone is going to scheme against Matteo and me. Oh, joy.”

Aria smiled apologetically. “It won’t be too bad. Now let’s go shopping. I need some fresh air.”

Of course Romero accompanied us as we headed out to buy dresses. Maybe I would have enjoyed myself more if I didn’t have to be careful not to flash my stupid ankle monitor whenever I tried a dress on. From the look on the face of one of the vendors, I was fairly sure I didn’t manage to cover the bracelet with the hem at all times. I realized I’d barely thought about escape in the last few weeks. Too many things had happened. And then there was Romero’s constant surveillance whenever I went somewhere with Aria. Moreover, the ankle monitor was making it entirely impossible. I’d have to figure out a way to convince Matteo to take that thing off. Once that was taken care of, my desire to run away would probably return with full force.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

GIANNA

I’d known all along that the Christmas party at the Bardoni’s house was going to be a huge flop, but it was even worse than I’d thought. The only good thing about this ordeal was that Matteo had Sandro take off the ankle monitor so I could wear my cocktail dress without flashing that thing at everyone. That would have been the talk of the evening, no doubt.

The Bardoni’s lived in a townhouse, which had been decorated to an inch of its capacities. They’d even set up a massive angel, which had been carved from ice, in their front yard. The decoration was white and gold, expensive crystal baubles adorned the massive tree. It screamed money, and felt so impersonal that I was sure an interior designer had arranged it. Mrs. Bardoni didn’t appear as if she’d ever moved a finger for anything. She was also at least twenty years younger than her husband.

She and her husband greeted Aria and Luca first, and while their smiles hadn’t been exactly warm or honest, they turned positively fake and condescending when it was time to greet me.

I shook Mrs. Bardoni’s hand with a polite smile, or at least I hoped it looked polite. Her expression was as if an untalented sculptor had tried to carve a smile into a statue. The smile of the ice angel outside had been warmer than hers. When Mr. Bardoni turned to me, I had to suppress a shudder. He reached for my hand but while he’d barely brushed Aria’s skin, his lips pressed firmly to my hand and then his tongue darted out and licked my skin. The accompanying leer he sent my way almost made me punch him. I quickly retracted my hand, only barely managing not to wipe it on my dress, and only because the silk was too beautiful to come in contact with that asshole’s slobber.

Matteo was in conversation with Mrs. Bardoni who was introducing him to a young woman my age. It was obvious that the old hag was trying to set Matteo up with her daughter. Anger bubbled up in me but I knew better than to show my emotions. When I finally turned my eyes away from the scene, I found Aria watching me with a worried expression. I gave a small shake of my head. Matteo tore himself away from Mrs. Bardoni and her daughter, and wrapped his arm around my waist. He scanned my face as he led me into the living room where the remaining guests had gathered. “You look pissed.”

I shrugged. If I told him what Mr. Bardoni had done, things would become ugly. “Looks like you have a fan,” I said instead, nodding in the direction of the Bardoni daughter whose eyes followed Matteo.

“Jealous?” he asked, smirking.

“You wish.” But was I?

We didn’t get the chance to talk more, because other guests approached us, and while most of them were acting polite, I could see in their eyes that they despised me. I had a feeling that they would show me what they really thought of me the moment Matteo wasn’t around. They soon got their chance. While Matteo and Luca joined the other men, Aria and I strolled toward the buffet. Of course we weren’t alone for long. Soon the bitch Cosima, Matteo’s stepmother Nina, as well as Mrs. Bardoni, and a few other women joined us. Aria’s presence still offered me some protection from direct insults, but none of the women bothered talking to me. It was as if I wasn’t even there. Even Aria’s attempts to include me in the conversation failed. I didn’t care. I hated these women, hated their fake smiles and nasty personalities. But the worst was watching Aria being polite to Cosima despite what that bitch had done.