“You… you, miss lady, are practically glowing. I don’t remember you looking so vibrant,” Holly says. She points at me and gives me an accusatory glare.
“It must be that new cream,” I lie and swallow hard. She’s been trying to ask me about Vincent every chance she gets.
I’ve been thinking of what to say to her. Somehow, I can’t find the words to tell her that he’s a mobster, and not just any old mobster. He’s a mob boss.
The mafia boss I …
The mafia boss I think I’m falling for.
Think… Do I just think it? The thought actually frightens me.
He went out last night and came back in the early hours of the morning. I didn’t see him though. He left before I got up. He did send me a message, though, about later. He was arranging for Pierbo to get me to the fundraiser party for seven.
Holly snaps her fingers in front of my face and looks on at me with anticipation when I chuckle.
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s the umpteenth time you’ve zoned out. Ava, you’re seeing that guy, aren’t you?” she asks me pointedly with a deadpan expression. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
I sigh. “Yes…. I’m seeing him.” I can’t lie. As to whether telling her that I’m seeing Vincent is the right term to coin it, I don’t know. Since it feels like I am and I don’t want to get on my best friend’s bad side, I’ll give her that to ease off the questions.
“And sleeping with him too… a lot.”
Yes… a lot.
I’ve lost of count how many times Vincent and I had sex over the last few days, and I can’t believe myself.
Four weeks. It’s been just over four weeks, and we’re heading into week five. Next week is when I leave him though.
A pinch of sadness that comes naturally ebbs over my heart when I think of leaving and us ending.
We’ve been on this fast train I remember getting on, and then I’m just going to leave him.
Holly reaches out and touches my shoulder. “You’re supposed to tell me these things. It’s okay to tell your best friend these sorts of things, Ava. You seem to really like him, but you’re not sure about something?” She raises her arched brows.
“Yeah, a little something like that. It’s just been… a little wild.”
“Wild?” Her eyes sparkle with interests. “From the minute I heard the name Giordano, I thought wild. They own The Dark Odyssey, and the way he looked at you that day, Ava, was just so nice.”
That makes me smile.
“Really?” I won’t pretend I don’t know what she means.
“Yes. I don’t remember ever seeing you look like this. What’s happening with him? Are you going to stay in touch when you go to Florida?”
Now, that is a question I can’t answer. Vincent and I haven’t talked about that. I think the reason is obvious. It’s already what I’ve accepted.
The end.
“I think I’ll have to see how it all plays out.” That’s the best answer and all I can do.
It’s complete irony.
I am. I’m ironic to myself.
When we made this arrangement, all I could think of was having my life back, getting the end date and being free.
Now, I don’t think it’s freedom. Being with Vincent did something to me. It broke down walls I built up over my heart for the last ten years.
For a moment, I allow my mind to drift once more and dabble in waters I shouldn’t.
What if I did keep in touch when I went to Florida? What if he did?
What if I came back in three months’ time and saw him?
Holly taps the top of my hand and smiles at me with awe.
“I hope it works out. It would be nice.”
Maybe it could.
Maybe I could have that.
“Yeah.”
***
My dress is beautiful.
I feel like I’m a princess. Like I just stepped out of a film in this gorgeous gown.
It’s a black sleeveless dress with a bodice covered with diamantes and endless length flowing down my legs.
My hair looks beautiful too. Marguerite did it.
It’s swooped to the side, so it flows down past my left shoulder and cascades down to my waist.
She did my makeup too. Tonight, she went for a smoky eye effect and a berry-colored lipstick.
It’s the first time I’ve been to The Dark Odyssey and worn so much clothes.
I’m also not wearing a mask.
It’s not a masquerade-themed party like the rest of the club.
Vincent told me that when they hold fundraisers like these, they try to make them different.
Tony meets me at reception again, and this time, I’m led to a completely different section of the club. We don’t walk past the main floor. This seems like a separate route that avoids any contact with the sex and wildness going on in the club.
It makes sense for anyone who’s not here for that.
We get out to the courtyard, where I see people dressed in evening gowns and cocktail dresses gathered together drinking wine. Passing waiters hold trays with canapes and more drinks.
This is strange, seeing this too. People out here not in lingerie.
Tony takes me up a set of wide stairs that leads to a hall fit for a wedding reception. It has the Venetian style like the main floor of the club with the gold roof and baroque balconies on each floor.
I’m so amazed at how massive this place is and all the ideas that have been put together to present something spectacular.
It’s stunning and breathtaking.
What’s more stunning and breathtaking is the man over in the corner who looks straight at me as I enter the building.
There are so many people here, but they all fade out along with the soft jazz music when I see him.
We must be twenty feet away from each other, but the pull of that magnetism is so strong I can barely breathe.
Vincent watches me and starts walking toward us. His eyes on me, only me.
His gaze intensifies and expands when we meet in the middle, and in that moment, I know I’ve fallen for him.
“Boss,” Tony says, breaking the beauty of the trance.
“Thank you, Tony,” Vincent says.
I never take my eyes off him. I hear Tony walk away, and that’s all I register. Vincent lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles, making me smile and blush at the same time.
“You look beautiful,” he says.
“You too,” I answer.
“I look beautiful?” He smirks, revealing the dimple in his left cheek.
“Hmmm hmm.”
“Come here,” he says, beckoning me to his lips.
I move to him, and he slants his lips over mine.
We’ve kissed in public before, but not like this. Not in front of people who aren’t wearing masks and aren’t distracted by their fantasies.
These people around will be looking on and watching, knowing who he is and the significance of who he is.
He’s kissing me.
When we pull apart, I see I’m right. There are a few women to our left who are openly staring, and they continue to stare when Vincent takes my hand.
We’re about to walk away when someone clears their throat, and we turn to see an older man and woman walking toward us.
I know straightaway that they’re Vincent’s parents. While Vincent looks a lot like his father, there’s a stronger resemblance to his mother, who looks my way with a sheen of interest in her eyes.
Vincent releases my hand to shake his father’s when they get to us. His mother gets a kiss on both cheeks.
“Ava, these are my parents,” he says. I’m surprised he introduced me, considering they must know who I am.
“Good to meet you, Ava,” his mother says, putting out her hand for me to shake. “I’m Angela.”
I shake her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
She seems warm, warmer than her husband, who also shakes my hand.
I notice that Vincent slips his arm around me straight after in a noticeable protective manner.
“Did you just get here?” Vincent asks them.
“We did, as did our very special friends,” Vincent’s father says. He never told me his name.
I think there was a reason for that too. The way he says special friends catches my attention, as does the way Vincent tenses.
“I’ll go check in on them, then,” Vincent replies with a curt nod.
“Wonderful. Enjoy the evening…” his father says then looks from me to Vincent. “You look good together.” His gaze drops to Vincent’s arm circling my waist. And he saunters away with his wife.
Vincent presses his lips together in a hard line as we watch them go.
“Is… everything okay?” I ask. It’s probably a question I shouldn’t ask. He looks back down at me and smiles.
“Yeah. There’s one thing I have to do, but don’t worry, it won’t spoil the night. Tonight isn’t business.” He gives me a wink.
“Okay.”
He strokes the side of my waist and leads me further into the room. We’re heading to the archways that goes out onto a terrace.
I glance over to the bar area just before we get there where I see Vincent’s brothers. Three of them are there. They all have women with them. All very beautiful. They look like a collection of dolls. One is pregnant but carries off an elegant dress that shows off the rest of her figure. She’s standing next to Salvatore. I’m guessing that’s his wife. He’s whispering something to her, and she’s smiling.
Vincent and I go through the archways and into the night again The cool breeze kisses my shoulders, along with the music. There are more people dancing out here than inside. It’s nice to watch people having so much fun. It reminds me of the parties my parents used to throw when I was little. The setting and the amount of people here are similar.
We stop, and Vincent looks on ahead. He looks like he’s trying to put on a pleasant face, but I can tell something isn’t quite right.
I’m so focused on looking at him that I don’t see what he’s looking at until it’s a stone’s throw away from us. Away from me.
As I turn and look, I get a shock so powerful it shakes my soul.
The two men who are approaching us are two I never hoped to see again as long as I lived. They exist in my nightmares as shadows. Monsters. Monsters who steal all that a person is because when they take, they take it all.
Not just the soul. They steal your hopes and dreams too. They steal your humanity.
Dmitri and Yuri.
The two men who work for my uncle, Ilya Lobonov, the Pakhan of the Ivanezh Brotherhood.
The same man who took everything away from me. They all did.
All thieves.
Murderers.
They killed my parents and stole my innocence.
My lungs are on fire.
Hotter than the fire that consumed the house they think killed me.