Ruined in Vows (Marchetti Family #3)

5. Allegra

Chapter 5

Allegra

“ I have some business in Vegas to take care of next week. You will all be coming with me,” my brother Nico announces just as we are finishing up dinner.

“Vegas?” Ocean repeats her face lighting up. “I have never been to Vegas.”

“Is it really necessary to take us all with you mio figlio ?” Mamma adds, a frown on her face.

Nico nods. “Yes. Though I have ample security on the estate, I won’t be able to rest easy with my family so far away from me. If anything happened and I couldn't get back to you...” he trails off, the implication clear. He clears his throat. “Anyway, I would prefer it if you came with me. It’s non-negotiable.”

Placing my cutlery on the table, I wipe my mouth with a napkin before forcing a smile and speaking. “I guess we could hit two birds with one stone and have my bachelorette party while we are there?” My throat is tight as the foreign word leaves my mouth. I hate it. Anything even remotely related to marriage, I once only associated with Dante. Now I am asking my brother’s permission to grant me...what is traditionally a right of passage for any engaged woman, before I marry another man. Bile fills my throat, heartbreak choking me, but I swallow it down.

“Oh my God. Yes.” Ocean claps, her smile dropping as if she just remembered something. “Although, we may have a small issue with that. We are both under the age of twenty-one and I'm pregnant.” She swings accusing eyes to her husband.

Nico smirks at her, taking her hand and pressing kisses to her knuckles.

“That will not be a problem. My business associates will be happy to accommodate us at one of their many clubs. There will just be no drinking for you my Tesoro, but you can still have fun.”

“What do you mean by us ?” I ask.

“Well, of course I will be there. You didn't think I would let my wife out alone, for men to stare at and possibly try to touch, did you?” He shakes his head in disbelief as if I am the problem.

I chuckle. “You’re crazy, brother.”

He grins sardonically, murmuring, “Crazy in love.”

Ocean swoons, literally, before pulling her hand away. “Who will look after Romeo when we are at this club?”

“Well, me of course,” Mamma speaks, glancing at her grandson with so much love it's palpable.

“I want you there with me,” I pout.

“And she will be. Marcia will be joining us,” my brother tells us.

Marcia is Romeo’s nanny. Nico hired her around a month ago to help Ocean when the new baby arrives. She started soon after, so everyone could get used to the new arrangement, a settling in period of sorts. It all seems to be working out. Marcia is an amazing middle-aged woman and the mother of one of Nico’s soldiers, so he knows that he can trust her. He would never hire just anyone to look after his son. Or allow them to spend so much time with his family. He lucked out with Marcia. She is great. I think it is also nice that she is around the same age as my mamma and she has some one closer to her age to talk to.

“Can Athena join us?” I ask hopefully.

Athena is my best friend from school, my only friend really. She comes from a prominent family background, her father owning one of the largest personal investment management companies on the East Coast. Johnson & Co., Wealth Management.

Davis Johnson is a force to be reckoned with in his own right, building his company from the ground up. I also know Papà, and now my brother, are one of Davis’s biggest clients, so it might not be all above board, but still, most everything in the world is corrupt, from high powered politicians to your normal looking white picket fence family, so who can blame Davis for taking a piece of the illegitimate pie?

Nico mulls over my question for a long moment. When an exasperated growl leaves his lips, I know the answer. “Sure. But I don’t want either of you thinking this will be some girly holiday where you can have free will. You will have guards with you at all times and abide by my rules.”

“Paranoid much?” I huff.

Nico shrugs. “Yes. This shit with the Russians and whoever is helping them is quiet right now, but it could escalate at any time after what I did to Vadim. In fact, I am just waiting for the moment they retaliate. And when that moment comes, I don't want any of you in the crossfire.”

I sag in my chair. Do I think my brother is overkill sometimes? Yes. But he is only looking out for his family, making sure that we are safe and I can't begrudge him that. After all, we have both lost so much already. Which is why I insisted on the wedding to Riccardo. We will find the truth of Dante’s death and Riccardo’s involvement. I owe the love of my life that much. Especially when I am committing the ultimate betrayal by marrying another man. Even if my intentions are to find evidence, I know Dante will be rolling in his grave at my acquiescence to this marriage.

Shaking the thought away, I clear my tight throat. “Okay,” I agree. “But please can you let me know the details of when we will be flying, so that I can talk to Athena?”

“Sure,” Nico drawls thoughtfully.

Something else crosses my mind, and I grit my teeth at having to even ask this. But it's my reality now and so I blurt, “What will we tell Riccardo?”

My brother’s gaze snaps to mine, anger igniting in his blue eyes. “I don’t give a fuck what that asshole thinks. He can't stop you going anywhere. You are not his wife. Yet.”

Snorting a laugh at Nico’s temper when it comes to the subject of my fiancé, I shake my head. I think he is having a harder time coming to terms with this than me. “I didn’t mean it like that. But Riccardo could have someone trailing us. I don’t want him to know we are going to Vegas in case he follows us there.”

“Right.” Nico muses before shrugging. “We will tell him you are going to Miami for a last-minute girl's trip before the wedding. A bachelorette party of sorts.”

Rising from my chair, I round the table, bending so that I can drop a kiss to my brothers’ cheek. He usually hates any kind of affection but has gotten better at showing and allowing it since Ocean and Romeo came into his life. He will always be the terrifying mafia don, only now he has a softer side he doesn’t mind his family seeing.

“Thank you,” I tell him, before straightening.

Turning on my heel, I move to leave the dining room. Just as I reach the door, Nico calls out to me.

“For what?”

Grinning, I glance over my shoulder, knowing he will hate the next words out of my mouth.

“For being the best big brother a girl could ask for.”

He grimaces, proving I know him better than he thinks.