“Nico, we can’t sit in here forever,” I sighed.

His gaze met mine. “Screw the parties. Let’s go home. I’ll fuck you nice and slow all night long.”

Amusement bubbled up my throat. “You have a romantic way with words.”

He ran a hand across his mouth. “Who did you say was taking you?”

“Dominic, and the two men you’re secretly putting outside the club.”

A small smile pulled on his lips. “You’re nosy.”

“You talk loudly on the phone.”

“You got money?”

“Yes.”

“Your cell phone?”

“Yes,” I said, “though I don’t know why I needed a new one.”

He lifted a shoulder. Maybe it had been easier to buy a new one than to go home and get mine. We hadn’t been back to the house today, having stayed at the penthouse until now. I still had to find something to wear tonight, though most of my clothes were here at my parents’, anyway.

Benito came out to stand on the porch and Nico’s eyes narrowed on him. “You gonna break the news that we’re married?”

“Yes, I’ll make sure everyone knows I’m legally bound to Nicolas Russo.”

His amused gaze came my way. “Never thought my wife would have such a smart mouth.”

“Is it disappointing?”

His hand slid around the back of my neck and pulled my face to his. “There could be worse things.” He kissed me deep and slow. “You gonna have a fun time tonight?”

“Maybe,” I whispered against his lips. “But I’ll be missing you more.”

“Damn,” he drawled. “You’re sweet when you aren’t stealing from me.”

I flushed. “Are you going to let me get a job and pay you back?”

He laughed. “Do you know how much you stole? It would take you twenty years at best.”

“Well . . . I’m not going anywhere, am I?”

His gaze burned. “No. I think I’ll keep you.”

“Nico . . .” I swallowed. “I really am sorry about the money—”

“Don’t be. I’m impressed,” he said, amusement coating his voice. “There might be a little Russo in you yet.”

I knocked softly on the doorframe and cleared my throat. “Hi, Papà.”

He glanced up from the paperwork on his desk with an unreadable expression. “I hear you’ve gotten married.”

Everyone on the block must have heard it with how loud Mamma had screeched when she saw my ring. It wasn’t an ecstatic screech either—more like a horrified acquiescence.

I shifted in the doorway. “Yes.”

“He didn’t ask me if he could push the wedding up,” Papà grunted.

“You didn’t ask me before selling me to Oscar Perez.” My heart raced once the heated words passed my lips. I didn’t believe I’d ever have the courage to talk back to my father, no matter what he said or did.

His jaw ticked, but he only shuffled through some papers. “I didn’t sell you. You know how this life works, Elena. If you lived on the Outside and got to make all your own decisions, you’d never last. They’d chew a girl like you up and spit you out. I was trying to protect you.”

My father’s vision for my happiness and well-being were so skewed I knew we’d never agree on a thing, so as asinine as I believed his beliefs were, I dropped it.

“I don’t want there to be issues between you and my husband.”

He scoffed.

“Why do you dislike him?” I sighed.

“He’s a hothead and a cheat.”

I opened my mouth to disagree but then closed it. It was a little hard to dispute.

“He sees something he wants, and he takes it—just like his papà. I fucking knew I shouldn’t have let him see you until he married your sister.”

“Why did you tell him I was unfit for marriage?”

“Because he doesn’t deserve you!” Papà slammed a hand on his desk. “Oscar understood how you are. He would’ve made you a good husband.”

I laughed with bitterness. “How I am? Do you think I’m made of glass, Papà? You don’t even know who I am because you haven’t spent one day getting to know me since I turned ten.”

He gave his head a shake.

My throat felt tight. “Firstly, you’ve been misinformed about the kind of person Oscar was. Look into him a little deeper and think for a moment that you almost sold me to him. And secondly, regardless of your reservations about Nico—I’ve known him for a short amount of time and yet he knows me better than anyone else. He’s my husband, Papà . . . and he’s come to mean something to me, whether you like it or not.” I swallowed. “If you care about me at all, you’ll be civil with him.” After a moment of silence, I turned to leave but then paused at his voice.

“Even though you can’t see it sometimes, I love you, Elena, and I want the best for you. You’ll come to me if he’s ever bad to you.”

I nodded, though I knew it would never come to that.

For the first time in my life, I felt free to be me. To curse if I wanted, to keep my smiles for who deserved them, to be bad at something, to fall in love.

Nico didn’t treat me like glass. He shattered the reflection of an empty life staring back at me.

He taught me how to soar.

“A woman should be pink and cuddly for a man.”

—Jayne Mansfield

“SOPHIA ANISE!” MAMMA SCOLDED, AS a half-dressed male dancer humped a woman on stage who turned toward the audience, put a hand toward her mouth, and gasped. “I thought this was a family show?”

Sophia laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Elena is getting married! Who wants to see a family show?”

Mamma had put Sophia in charge of choosing the club and performance, and she had expected something PG?

“I love it!” Gianna exclaimed. “It’s been so long since I’ve been to a burlesque show.”

When we arrived, it was to find Gianna standing outside the club, chatting with the bouncer like she’d known him all her life. Turned out she’d met him three minutes prior. Poor guy probably thought he was getting laid tonight, when really Gianna was bubbly to everyone—well, besides the FBI agent anyway.

Our table was full, but it felt empty without Adriana and Nonna. My sister had severe morning sickness. Nonna said she was “sick as a dog” and that she had it coming to her for getting knocked up out of wedlock. She also said she had to stay home and make sure Adriana was okay, but really, I thought it was just an excuse so she could maintain her eight p.m. bedtime.

The lights sparkled, my cheeks were warm, and my chest felt light, as if it were full of happiness about to escape. I stood and announced, “I need to use the restroom.”

“Well, go then,” Mamma said. “You don’t have to tell the whole room.”

I laughed.

Mamma rolled her eyes. “Mamma mia.”

Dominic’s gaze narrowed on me from where he stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked sharp in his suit and as broody as usual.