I wanted to tell him I loved him, only I couldn’t. It would only complicate things further and nothing would come of it. I had to marry Nico. I had to protect Kon from my family.
“Kon,” I whispered, “I have to tell you something.”
Firming his hold on my hip, a smirk pulled at the corners of his lips. His eyes were still shut.
“Dominick moved the engagement party to Friday night.”
His eyes blinked open. “This Friday.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, my throat dry and my chest caving in on itself. “The wedding won’t be long after. That’s what everyone has agreed.”
“You’re going to go through with it?” He sat up, his legs dangling off the side of the bed, his mouth hard. His flinty eyes harder.
“There’s nothing I can do.”
“You can refuse to walk down the aisle.” He released an exasperated growl. “What happened with Gian? You told me he supports your decision not to marry Nico.”
“He changed his mind after what happened. He thinks I need someone to protect me, and Nico can do that.”
“Dammit, Carmela. You don’t need Nico. I can keep you safe. Don’t you trust me? I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
I swallowed with difficulty, wishing not for the first time I could choose my destiny. “I know, but my family will never let me be with you.”
He cupped my face. “My father won’t let this go, and even if he will, I sure as hell won’t. You’re mine, Carmela. This is bullshit and you know it. Why do you think I’d let you marry that fucking prick after everything that’s happened between us? I don’t get where this is coming from. I mean, last week you told me you wanted to try and make this work between us.”
“I did, more than anything, but it’s not possible, Kon. We’re from two different worlds.”
“So were Evie and your brother. They made it work.”
“We’re not them.”
“You’re right. We’re not. I’m not letting you walk away simply because your family has some fucked up notion about who they think you should marry and how you should live your life.” He dragged his tattooed hand across the back of his neck, his blue eyes shadowed and full of anguish. “Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”
I stilled, not knowing what to say. I had convinced myself I dreamed the whole thing. I’d been on so many painkillers, and they had the unfortunate side effect of destroying the filter between my mouth and brain. When I remembered it a few days later, I immediately dismissed it.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it fucking matters. We aren’t puppets. We don’t have to do what our families want. The most important thing is what we want, and I won’t walk away from you, Carmela. When I want something, I don’t stop until I have it. Solnyshka, I want you. I want us. You think you need to be a good girl and do what your family wants, but you don’t. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll make this work. Trust me.”
I closed my eyes briefly, the passion in his words affecting me more than I could express. I willed it all away, refusing to be a prisoner of my emotions. I had to keep my mind clear and protect Kon from my family.
“I told Dominick and Gian about the deal I made with you and your dad.”
“When?”
“Yesterday. They staged an intervention of sorts last night.”
“What happened?”
“It was ugly. They weren’t happy at all. Gian wanted to kill us both and Dominick…yeah, well, I think he’d have strangled me if we were alone. The good news is that they are open to negotiating with you and your dad provided you walk away and we end everything between us.”
“What do you mean?”
I chewed on the corner of my lower lip and forced a blank expression onto my face, ignoring the determined wobble of my cheeks.
Don’t cry.
Don’t cry.
Everything will work out.
“I don’t know the details. They don’t discuss business with me. I’m sure they’ll be in touch. Your dad will be happy. Everything worked out the way we planned.”
“Wait. Are you serious right now? You damn well know I don’t care about the business deal. I care about you. I’ll deal with my father. He’ll push and fight, but he’ll do what I want. I control more than half of his business empire and a lot of those people will only deal with me.”
God, it was so tempting to give in and let him fight this battle for us, but my family would never talk to me again, and I couldn’t lose them. While they were overbearing, they were all I had. They were the only sure thing.