Ch. 101..105: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 101-105

Chapter 101

"Fay," Daniel says, coming to my side and wrapping a happy arm around my waist. "This is my Uncle Alessi, my mother's brother," he tells me, and I raise my eyebrows, surprised by the news and pretending to be excited about it. But in reality, I find it unnerving - neither Daniel nor Kent has said very much about Daniel's mother, Lenai, and I certainly didn't know she had a brother. Especially one who makes Kent go pale like that. "And this," Daniel says, turning towards the beautiful woman, who looks at me like a hungry cat peering at a little canary, "is Natalia, an old family friend. My mother's maid of honor, actually, at her wedding."

"Fay was born in America, yes," Kent answers quickly before I can open my mouth. "But her father's family is Sicilian, like us. Her mother..." he hesitates, and I realize that he doesn't know.

"Scottish," I supply sweetly, holding Natalia's gaze and gesturing towards my red hair.

"Ahh," Natalia says, nodding and still studying me. "And you can cook?"

I blink, surprised at the question. What the hell does that matter?

Daniel, at my side, laughs a little. "That's something Fay's working on," he lies smoothly, smiling down at me and giving me a squeeze.

Natalia nods sharply, still holding my gaze. "We will teach you to cook," she says, folding her arms over her chest deliberately, "like a real Italian woman, before you marry my godson. He needs a good wife."

I smile a little, intimidated, and then nod, agreeing to her terms. But honestly, the last thing I want is to be trapped alone in a kitchen with this woman. She scares me.

A lot.

"So, not that I'm not thrilled to see you," Daniel says, smoothly changing the subject as he pulls me closer to his side, supportive, "but what are you doing here? Was I -" he glances at his father, "was I supposed to know you were coming?" "No," Natalia says, definitive, turning her cool gaze on Kent now. "We are a surprise."

"Yes," Alessi says, likewise shifting his attention back to Kent. "My father has been...interested. In your progress these past few months. He sent us here to," he shrugs here, apparently finding the words, "do a little tiny check. See how you're doing. See if we can be of any help."

Kent's eyebrows lower over his eyes as mine shoot up, realizing the depth of what Alessi is saying. Whoever his father is - someone important, I suppose - he's sending these two to monitor whatever Kent is doing with his underworld business. And whoever is watching the Mafia King, and sending along his auditors? He must be a big fish indeed.

"Well, I'm so glad to see you, and so glad you're here," Daniel says, pretending to be oblivious to what they just said and beaming at the two of them. "We'll have to throw a party! And show you some of the sights, while you're here!"

"The sights," Natalia coos, looking back at Daniel with those fond mother's eyes, coming forward to take his face in her hands and squeeze his cheeks a little. "So cute, you American boys, with your idea of beauty. Daniel, darling, we left all of the sights in Sicily and

in Italy." She drops his face and claps her hands, laughing a little. "You will come home," she states, definitive, nodding towards me but not looking at me, "you bring your bride, and then we show you the sights."

Daniel laughs with her, agreeing, but I find my gaze shifting to Alessi, who is staring down Kent with a slick little smile on his face. They stare at each other in silence for a moment before Alessi speaks.

"Yes, Kent," he says slowly, "your Daniel has a good idea. Why don't you throw us this party. Tomorrow night. Invite...everyone. We are family, after all." He shrugs. "We want to see the family."

I watch Kent grit his teeth as he processes Alessi's demand. "Of course," he says after a moment, his voice unreadable. I'm still watching them when Daniel drops his hand from my waist, moving to Natalia's side to take her suitcase by the handle.

"Come one," he says, still smiling fondly at his uncle and...well, someone who acts quite a lot like an aunt, even if she isn't biological family. "Let's get you settled upstairs."

"Such a good little host," Natalia says, pinching his cheek and smiling at him. Then, she shoots a little glance my way. "Though it is usually the hostess's job to settle guests..."

I feel my cheeks go red as I realize her critique. But she's already halfway up the steps before I can do anything about it. "There are more suitcases in the car, little Fay!" Natalia calls over her shoulder. "If you want to be useful!"

My mouth drops open and I start, not knowing what to do, but Alessi leans towards me. "Don't pay too much attention to her," he says, smiling and shaking his head. "She is...ah, what do you call it here?" he takes a moment to think, looking up at the ceiling, and then snaps his gaze back to mine. "Ah! Yes. A bitch."

I burst out laughing at this, and Alessi laughs with me, coming to link his arm with mine, patting me on the hand. "Come come," he says, "you will be my little friend, I will keep you safe from her. Do you have any espresso here, after the long flight?"

"Yes!" I reply, smiling at him, relieved that at least one of these new visitors likes me. I turn towards the kitchen and Alessi turns with me. "Come on, I'll be happy to get you something." Alessi smiles at me and nods and we both walk towards the kitchen. Before we pass through the door, though, Alessi calls to Kent over his shoulder.

"Ah, Kent," he says, a sly grin sliding over his lips. "You'll get the bags, yes? Thank you, brother. Such a big help."

I don't even glance at Kent over my shoulder as we head into the kitchen, not wanting to give anything away. But I know, in my heart, that he must be boiling with rage.

Kent is as good as his word, putting all of his best people to work planning a party to welcome Natalia and Alessio, even though they didn't bother to let him know that they were coming. As a result, I don't see much of him during the rest of the day. Luckily, Daniel stays by my side like a little burr, perhaps intuiting that I need his help navigating the innerworkings of his family. He also sooths me after each of Natalia's verbal barbs which come...frequently. We have dinner together as a family the night they arrive, in the back garden. Natalia shoos everyone out of the kitchen so that she can make us an Italian feast of fresh pasta and fish, complimented with amazing cheeses and cured meats that she and Alessio brought us from Sicily.

Kent comes late to dinner and doesn't say long. While he's there, he doesn't say much. He nods and laughs when appropriate, but excuses himself quickly, saying that he has work and planning to do. I watch him go with a little regret. I'm still mad at him, but he was stressed out yesterday - I have no idea how he's handling the surprise arrival of these intense Italians on top of everything else.

"This one," Natalia says, jolting me out of my reverie by placing a creamy soft cheese in front of me, "is illegal in your silly country. Unpasturized," she says, patting me on my shoulder and gesturing for me to eat. I take a bite, groaning at how delicious it is. "Good girl," she murmurs, moving away to bring more dishes to the table. "Eat more, it will help you put some meat on your body. Grow some tettas."

Daniel snorts, almost sending red wine through his nose while I gape and look down at my body. I mean, my boobs aren't gigantic, but...I'm slim...

"Do not listen to her," Alessi whispers, leaning over to nudge me familiarly with his elbow as he sips his Campari cocktail. "She is trying to see if she can get under your skin. She will be more impressed with you if she cannot."

"Fay's tough," Daniel says then, winking at me across the table. "She can handle it."

"I don't know," I murmur, taking another slice of the delicious cheese and eating it. "Maybe I need more meat on my bones to survive all of these knives she's throwing at me..."

Both Daniel and Alessi laugh, making me smile.

 

Chapter 102

The next afternoon, Daniel gets ready for the party with me in my room, and we're alone for the first time since Alessi and Natalia arrived. He stayed up late with Alessi, drinking and laughing, while I begged off to bed by myself to be alone for a minute. Today, Daniel and I had taken our guests out to see the sights, as Daniel promised. Natalia was, predictably, unimpressed and kept calling our beautiful city a "horrible cage of rats." I'm finally relaxing from the experience now as I do my hair, curling it gently in the way that Fiona showed me so that I can let it sweep down over my shoulders like a femme fatale. My makeup is already done to match, and I'm starting to feel powerful - exactly how I'm going to need to feel if I'm going to stand next to Natalia all night. "So, what's this all about, Daniel," I ask him, looking at his reflection in the mirror so I don't have to turn around. "Why are they here, really?"

Daniel sighs and looks at me seriously. "Something's up, Fay," he says, shaking his head. "They wouldn't be here if it wasn't. Don Bianci - my grandfather - he hasn't sent anyone to check on dad since mom died. We must seriously be in hot water if he's sending Natalia and Alessi here together."

"Oh," I say, my eyes going wide. Don Bianci - finally I have a name to put to Alessi's father and Natalia's boss. I had gleaned, through our conversations the past day, that he's an incredibly wealthy and powerful boss in Italy - and Kent's father-in-law. If he's getting upset with Kent...

"This could go really well," Daniel continues, buttoning up his white shirt, "or, it could go terribly. A lot rides on what happens tonight. Alessi and Natalia want the whole family together so they can get a real picture of what dad is doing. And then, whatever they learn," he shrugs, shaking his head. "They'll decide to either support him in whatever way they can, or..."

"Or what," I say, my hands going still as I stare at Daniel.

"Or they'll replace him," Daniel says, looking at me seriously in the mirror. "My grandfather has a great deal of capital invested with my father. Dad is the boss and grandpa generally lets him do what he wants," he continues, "but if they decide that dad is seriously messing up..."

I nod, understanding him. "Grandpa," I murmur, grimacing a little. "Crazy that you call the most powerful mob boss in Italy grandpa..."

"Not to his face," Daniel says, grinning at me. "Then, it's nonno."

"Nonno," I say, laughing a little and wrinkling my nose. "That's even weirder."

Daniel laughs with me, shrugging, and then starts to put on his tie.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" I ask, finishing my hair and lifting a can of hairspray to set it just the way it is now.

"Just...make dad look good," Daniel says, turning his eyes back to me. "Which, I think, means presenting a united front to Uncle Alessi and Natalia."

"United front," I say, turning to him after I finish spraying. "By which you mean..."

"It would be better, Fay," Daniel says seriously, pausing with his tie and turning to me. "If we were...engaged. And nobody knew, at all, about...whatever's going on with you and dad."

I sigh, understanding and nodding. Then, seeing him struggle further with his tie, I stand up and cross the room to him, batting his hands away and taking the tie in my own hands, beginning to knot it for him. "But you know," I say quietly, looking up into his face after a second. "That us pretending to be engaged for appearances doesn't...actually change anything."

"Fay," Daniel whispers to me softly, looking down into my eyes. "You should let it change. Let me change it for you. We can go back to what we had -"

"Daniel," I interrupt, pausing my hands and then wrapping them around the tie itself, using my frustrated grip to pull a little on Daniel's neck. "Even if I wasn't..." I hesitate, not wanting to say it to him aloud, "with your dad... you and me? It's not fair to either of us." "Fay," Daniel sighs frustratedly, shaking his head at me, "I've said it before - we could be so good together -"

"What about Jerome?" I ask, looking up at him, my expression serious. "It's not fair to Jerome either."

Daniel freezes for a second, staring at me - honestly, as if he's never thought about it before.

"Are you in love with him?" I ask, genuinely wanting to know.

Daniel pulls away from me, turning his back, but I can see the tension in his shoulders. I wait, trying to be patient, but he just stands there - I think wondering himself. I clasp my hands together, considering that...maybe he just doesn't know.

I'm still waiting for Daniel to turn back to me when the door opens and I jump a little bit, turning to look at Kent standing suddenly in the doorway.

"What the hell are you two doing," he demands, "you're not even dressed!" he exclaims, gesturing towards my pajamas. Then he looks at Daniel and scoffs at him, "your tie," he mutters, stepping forward to do it himself. "Why can't either of you tie a tie -"

"I can do it," Daniel complains, the hint of a little boy's whine in his protest, and I smirk as I hurry to the bathroom where my dress is hanging next to the shower. I put it there to let the steam unwind any last wrinkles. "Fay!" Kent shouts after me, tense, as I peel my pajamas off and begin to slip on the dress. "You have about twenty seconds!"

"I'm coming!" I shout back, smirking a little as I pull the dress over my head and zip it halfway up my back, unable to reach any further. Then I hurry back out into my bedroom. "Can one of you..." I say when I'm back in the room, walking swiftly over to them and holding up the front of the dress with my hand. Then I turn and indicate the zipper, looking over my shoulder at them.

Both Kent and Daniel step forward to do the job but, realizing it simultaneously, they both stop and glare at each other. I can't help the laugh that bursts out of me at this. "Seriously!" I say, turning my head away and shaking it. "It's just a zipper!"

But then there's the warmth of a body close behind me and I feel a tug at the fabric of the dress as someone zips me up. When I turn, I'm surprised to see Kent standing close. He stays there for a second - perhaps a second too long, from Daniel's perspective, since Daniel angrily clears his throat.

Kent steps back, then, and looks me over from head to toe. "Shoes?" he asks, slipping his hands into his pockets.

I nod and spin around, looking for them, and I hear a little frustrated sigh come from Kent's direction.

"Would you chill out?" I scold, smirking at him briefly before I spot the five-inch stilettos under my vanity, their red bottoms catching my eye. I quickly sit on my stool and pull them on before standing up and spreading out my arms. "Well?" I ask. "Do I pass muster?" The dress is...gorgeous, simple, and serious. Kent has dressed me in a lot of different styles before, but never one that made me feel so...grown up. The black silk Versace dress has only two little spaghetti straps holding it up before it slinks its way down my body, the delicate invisible corseting below it giving me an incredible hourglass shape. The skirt of the dress spills to the floor but there's a slit up the right side that goes almost to my waist, though there's enough fabric in the circle of my skirt that you barely notice that sexy little fact unless I'm walking, or you're looking closely.

Daniel raises his eyebrows at me, clearly impressed, and gives a thumbs up, but Kent does nothing. He just stands there, looking at me from top to bottom like a connoisseur before he nods. "You'll do, Fay," he murmurs.

I roll my eyes at him a little bit, wanting a little bit more than that, but he just smirks and turns, walking out of the room, snapping his fingers over his shoulder to let us know that he expects us to follow behind.

I move to follow but Daniel stops me with a hand on my arm. "Forgetting something?" he asks, and I frown up at him, confused. Then, from his pocket, he pulls out his mother's engagement ring.

"Oh," I say, blinking down at it. And then I sigh, putting out my left hand and letting him slide it onto my ring finger.

"Where it belongs," Daniel says quietly, keeping my hand in his when he's finished. "Ready?"

"Ready," I say, smiling up at him.

"Off to war then," Daniel says, and we walk out of the room hand-in-hand just as a shout comes from below.

"Daniel, Fay!" Kent's voice rings out. "Come on! We don't have all night!"

Daniel rolls his eyes at me and I laugh as we make our way down the stairs.

 

Chapter 103

The party is already in full swing when we get there, which makes sense. Even though Kent is technically the host, there's no way he's not going to make an entrance. I walk in on Daniel's arm and find my breath almost immediately stolen at the beautiful scene before me - though I'm not sure why I'm so surprised. When Kent does something, he does it right.

"Wow," I breathe, pulling a little closer to Daniel as I look around. "Incredible..."

Daniel shrugs, less impressed than me. But then again, he's been coming to parties like this since he was a kid. I nudge him with my arm, making him look at me, and then I whisper "so jaded," teasing him as I wrinkle my nose. Daniel just laughs at me and shrugs, looking around and trying harder to appreciate it.

The party is being held in a beautiful rooftop garden in the center of the city so that buildings rise tall beyond the delicate arcs of greenery artfully placed along the rooftop's waist-high brick walls. The entire place is lit by candlelight and a quartet of musicians sit in an alcove, giving us a little music to pair with the night.

Kent, Natalia on his arm, moves away from Daniel and I to speak with a group of people who come forward to greet Natalia, and Alessi is likewise snapped up. Daniel nods towards the bar, raising a questioning eyebrow my way, and I happily nod. Halfway there, though, we're intercepted by a couple of young men around our age who Daniel introduces as his "cousins," though I know that can't be right - Kent doesn't have any siblings. But these Italian families are so sprawling that I doubt they bother with differentiating second- and third-cousins from firsts.

The boys' conversation is chatty and cheerful, talking about old memories and childhood vacations, but there's not much room for me in it. So I tug on Daniel's arm a little and nod towards the bar again, indicating that I'll go get us some drinks. Daniel nods to me encouragingly, letting me go.

I quickly walk over to the bar and place our order - a red wine for me, a Manhattan for Daniel - when suddenly I feel a presence by my side. I turn and am shocked to see Natalia standing close, looking at me rather than the bar tender. "What did you order?" she asks, cold, not bothering with a greeting.

"Um," I hesitate, suddenly on guard and doubting the order - even though I know it's what we want. The bar tender is back with our drinks before I can answer, though, so I nod towards the glass of wine and the whiskey.

"Red wine," Natalia sneers, looking at the glass with distaste. Then, she turns the look on me. "In the summer?"

"Um," I say again, hating myself in this moment for not having a better retort. But I love red wine...

"Take this back, per favore," Natalia orders the bar tender. "The girl will have prosecco, and so will I." The bar tender doesn't hesitate, doing as Natalia says, and I sigh discreetly through my nose. I don't look at Natalia, a little pissed at being countered like that, but she places an elegant finger under my chin and obliges me to turn my face to look at her.

"You will like it better, eh?" she says, nodding to me and taking back her hand once I meet her eyes. "In the summer, you must drink light. Red wine is for winter nights. Unless it is sangria, and then it is for day." She shrugs, as if this is obvious.

"I can handle my own drinks, Natalia," I reply, working to keep my voice even as the bar tender delivers two sparkling glasses of prosecco.

"Clearly," Natalia remarks, smirking at me. "You cannot."

I roll my eyes a little and reach for my and Daniel's glasses when suddenly Natalia reaches for my left hand, quick as a whip, a little hiss on her breath.

Shocked, I turn to her as she clasps my hand, pulling it closer to her so that she can stare at my ring.

"He gave it to you?" she asks, looking up into my face with wide eyes. "This engagement ring?"

I hesitate, a little shocked. "Yes?" I reply, hoping it's the right answer. "Daniel thought it would be...good. For me to have his mother's ring."

I'm a little shocked by Natalia's reaction as she turns her eyes once again to the sparkling diamond and then drops my hand as if it's a hot coal. She turns her face up to mine again, glaring at me as she grabs her drink. "Don't be a fool, girl," she sneers. "That ring was never Daniel's. If you have it, it's because he wanted you to."

And then Natalia spins and walks away faster than I've seen her move before, her elegance and poise ruffled for a moment. As she walks, though I see Natalia straighten her shoulders and smooth out her steps, as if our strange encounter never happened. "Hey," Daniel says at my side, and I jump a little. I had been so focused on Natalia that I didn't see him coming.

"Hey," I say, giving him a brief little smile, and then I reach for his drink on the bar and hand it to him, taking my glass of prosecco as well.

"What was that all about?" he asks, looking after Natalia's retreated form. "I don't think I've ever seen her...perturbed before."

"She got upset," I say, turning and frowning after her, "when she saw my engagement ring."

"Oh," Daniel says, raising his eyebrows and then nodding with understanding. "Well, that makes sense," he says, giving a little shrug and putting his arm around my waist, guiding away from the bar and towards a little bench underneath a rose arch, where we're alone.

"Why does that make sense?" I ask, sitting down next to him and taking a sip of my drink, not really tasting it.

"Because," Daniel says, grimacing a little. "That ring has...more history than we've told you before."

"What?" I breathe, my eyes going wide. I look down at the ring again, shocked. "Is it - what's wrong with it?" I know that it was Lenai's engagement ring - and, somehow, I had assumed that it came from her family, a Bianci heirloom passed from bride to bride, and Daniel only got it because he was the only boy.

"Nothing's wrong with it, but..." Daniel hesitates. "Well. Let me start at the beginning."

I sit next to him, tense, desperately wanting to know but having no idea where the hell this is going.

"That's my grandmother's ring," Daniel says, gently taking my hand and admiring it. "Dad's mom."

My mouth makes a little surprised "o" - I hadn't realized that this was a Lippert heirloom.

"My grandmother gave it to dad when he was eight and she shipped him off to Italy, after his father was killed. She knew that he would be safe there, and the ring with him. She told him to protect it with his life, and to give it to the woman he would marry." "Oh," I say, looking down at the ring again with new appreciation. "I mean, it's always been beautiful, but I had no idea it had such a...complicated story," I say, my words a little awed. I look up at Daniel again, who is watching me closely. "So, then he gave it to your mom?"

"Well, yes," Daniel says, a little awkward, looking away from me and running a hand through his hair. "But... he gave it to Natalia first."

"WHAT!?" I hear myself shriek, and the party goes a little quiet, everyone turning to stare at me.

 

Chapter 104

Daniel laughs as if he's said something incredibly funny and my reaction is totally normal, looping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. "Laugh," he orders in my ear, a little urgent. "They'll look away."

I do as he says, not nearly as good of an actress as he is, but then again - he's had his whole life to practice. But he's right, after I give a little laugh as if Daniel has said something that's a little scandalous but ultimately hilarious, his family gives us a couple of confused smirks and then turns back to their business. When they've all looked away, I snap my face back to Daniel's, my expression totally serious.

"Spill," I demand. "Now. Tell me everything." I drain my glass of prosecco, needing to bolster my courage.

Daniel sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know all of the details, Fay. What I heard is from my Italian cousins when I would go and visit them in Italy, and even what they knew was hushed up. It was apparently a big scandal."

I nod, urging him to go on as I slip his Manhattan out of his hand and take a sip, deciding I need even more courage. Daniel gives me a little chagrined frown as if he was looking forward to that drink, but he doesn't take it back.

"Dad was destined for mom - engaged to her at birth to unite the families, as I was to you. And my grandfather - he was incredibly good to my dad. When dad went to Italy, he went basically as a pauper - his father, the head of the Lippert family, had been killed, and my mom had nothing. So, the fact that nonno respected the engagement, when he could have married his eldest and favorite daughter to someone else, was...a big deal. Dad should have been grateful." Daniel sighs, shaking his head, and I nod, understanding. "But he wasn't?" I ask, needing to know more.

He shrugs and shakes his head, unwilling to commit to that idea. "He was grateful, Fay - he was just..." Daniel sighs and looks over to where his dad stands with a group of his family, Natalia again by his side. Kent is easy to spot, of course, being the tallest in the

room.

"He what," I prompt, frustrated by his pauses.

"He was in love with Natalia," Daniel says simply, turning back to me and laying it out plainly. I feel my blood go cold in my veins. "They - they tried to elope to Rome. But they were caught, and dad was punished, and..." Daniel shrugs, indicating that he doesn't know much more, "a year later, he married mom. And Natalia stood next to my mother at their wedding, and since then she's always been a close family friend. That's all I've got."

"Ohmygod," I murmur, mushing the words together in my shock as I stare at Natalia across the room, slumping in my seat a little and raising Daniel's drink to my mouth again to take a sip. "That explains so much..."

"It does?" he asks, looking over at Natalia curiously.

"Um, yah," I say, glaring at him a little for being so dumb. "Why Natalia never got married? Why she looks at Kent like that when she thinks he's not looking? Why she's doing her utmost to prove that she's the perfect Italian woman, wife, and mom? And then, Daniel - why she looks at you with such adoration, and treats you like you're the son she never had? Because you are the son she never had."

Daniel's eyes go wide at this realization and he looks at her again, shocked to think that...well, yes, in some alternate universe, Natalia would be his mother, not Lenai. And that perhaps Natalia wanted that very badly.

"Plus," I add, my voice a little bitter now, "the way she sticks to your dad like a little burr? Look at her, standing next to him, like she's ready to take him back the moment he gives her any sort of hint that he wants her." "Really?" Daniel asks, turning that wide gaze on me now. "Do you think Natalia's going to make a play for him, after all this time?"

I sigh a deep breath and gesture towards where she's draping herself on Kent's arm, laughing up at some joke he made.

"Come on, Daniel," I say, my voice derisive. "Your dad is not that funny."

"No, he's not," Daniel murmurs, seeing it himself. "Oh weird," he adds, turning back to me. "My fiancé and my auntie, both competing for my dad." He scowls and snatches the drink out of my hand now, draining it. "And no one going for me." "What," I ask, laughing at him now. "Do you want Natalia to go for you?"

"What?" Daniel gasps. "Ew, no, Fay -"

"Because," I continue, laughing now, "you're not technically related, and with how messed up this family tree already is, it could work -"

"Gross!" Daniel exclaims, standing up and pulling me with him, both of us laughing now. "Come on, we need a refill," he says, guiding me back over to the bar. We're both still giggling at the idea of Daniel getting together with Natalia, and I'm egging him on by imitating her Italian accent and thinking of things she'd say to him on their wedding night - how she'd boss him around, and the things she'd complain about - when someone comes up behind us at the bar.

"What's so funny," Kent asks, surprising us, and Daniel and I turn as one, bursting into laughter when we see him standing there. Kent frowns at us, but not in a mean or angry way. Honestly, he looks a little pleased to see us having fun, but just...displeased to be left

out?

Or maybe frowning is his default expression. I don't really know, and I'm laughing too hard to care.

"Nothing," I say, wiping my eyes free of a few tears of mirth as the bartender delivers my glass of red wine. "Just...a stupid joke," I continue, my giggles fading. Daniel nods, smiling at his dad and taking a sip of his second Manhattan. "Red wine?" Kent asks, frowning at my choice as I take the glass off of the bar.

"Oh god," I moan, slumping my shoulders and looking up at him. "Not you too. Can't anyone just let me drink what I want to drink?"

"Do what you want, Fay," Kent shrugs, his frown deepening. "I just thought on a summer night that something like a glass of prosecco -"

Daniel and I lose it again and Kent just rolls his eyes, deciding to ignore us. He pushes past us to the bar to get a drink. Daniel loops his arm through mine. "Come on," he says, "let me introduce you to some of my actual aunts and uncles -" "Ones you don't plan to marry?" I prod, grinning.

"Oh, I didn't say that," he replies, giving me a dirty little smirk and leading me over to a group.

Before we can arrive, though, there's a disturbance at the door - raised voices that ring wrong against the laughter and happy chatter that fills the party. Daniel and I stop in our tracks, turning to see what's happening, and for the second time that night I feel my blood go cold.

Because standing at the door to Kent's family party is a large group of people who I'm sure were not invited.

And at the head of the group, in a grey Gucci suit, is my father.

And standing a step behind him in black Armani, his crisp white shirt already unbuttoned and his eyes already on me, is Ivan.

"Well, Lippert?" my father calls to Kent, who has turned away from the bar and is glaring at the group standing at the door. "Are you going to turn us away from this happy affair?"

Everyone is absolutely silent as Kent pauses for a second and then slowly, with perfect deliberation, begins to cross the floor. He stops about halfway, leaving about twenty feet between him, and my father, and my...

My what? My maybe-boyfriend? The lion tamer I make out with sometimes at taco stands and my dad's mountain house?

"Of course," Kent replies to my father's question, his voice at once even and dangerous. "Come have a drink, Alden. You're going to be family soon enough as it is. Bring your...friends with you," Kent concludes, slowly raising his glass of whiskey to his lips and taking a casual sip.

Every line of Kent in this moment is a graceful warning that they can enter...

But they're on his turf now, and playing by his rules.

 

Chapter 105

apparently confused.

The people blocking the door step aside and the new guests begin to fill in - about twenty of them. Some of the people are familiar to me but some are totally new. While everyone else fills in, I'm surprised to see my father standing still, narrowing his eyes at Kent, And then he shifts his glance to me, on Daniel's arm, and I realize that...Kent just publicly re-established my engagement to Daniel without Alden's permission, even though my father has been offering me around as a potential marriage option to other powerful families Ivan included - I quickly glance around the room, trying to get a read on it -

I see Ivan's blonde head moving away from us through a group of people, walking with a dark-haired girl -

But, more pressing, I see Natalia and Alessi approaching Kent, their eyes curious and a little eager, as if they're hyenas finally getting to the heart of their prey.

And Kent is staring at my father, locking eyes with him, daring him to counter his word that Daniel and I are engaged, that the alliance between the Lippert and Alden families that has lasted for twenty-two years has finally broken apart.

I know immediately what I have to do and I move, pulling Daniel with me to my father's side.

"Papa!" I say, giving a happy little laugh and throwing an arm around his shoulders, still keeping a hold on Daniel with my free hand. I stand on my toes to give my father a warm kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you could come - I didn't hear word back from the invitation!"

My father starts a little at my sudden hug but then wraps his arms around me, fond. "It is good to see you, girl," he says, smiling down at me in a fatherly way. And despite how much he's pushed me recently, I'm reminded - suddenly - of the fond father that I saw in the images of his wedding to my mother, the way he looked at me when I was a child. And I realize that he's perhaps been waiting for a hug from me for a long, long time.

I smile at him, then, not able to help it.

"Sir," Daniel says, breaking the moment a little, but not in a bad way. He offers his hand to my father with a charming smile. "It is good to see you again."

"Daniel..." my father says, hesitating just for a breath as he looks at Daniel's hand. My father then glances towards Alessi and Natalia, who have drawn close to Kent. And I realize, quite suddenly, that he knows precisely who they are. "Yes," Alden concludes, apparently making a decision as he releases me to take Daniel's hand in a hearty shake, pulling him in for a hug as well. "It is good to see you as well, son."

When Daniel pulls back, my father wraps an arm around my shoulder and he, Daniel and I walk as a trio towards Kent, Alessi, and Natalia, who stand waiting for us.

"Dad," I say, doing my best to play the gracious hostess, "forgive me, I'm not sure if you've been introduced -"

"Alessi," my father says, squeezing the arm around my shoulders in thanks and putting out a warm hand towards Alessi, who shakes it happily. "It's been years - so good to see you again, and you looking so well."

"You, however," Alessi says, giving him an amiable grin. "You have gotten a little fat, yes? Too much of these American cheeseburgers?"

My eyes go a little wide at Alessi's gall but my father bursts into rich laughter, and so I laugh a little as well. When I look at Daniel, I realize that he's doing it too - all three of us faking it, all three playing the game.

"You've got me there," my father says, shaking his head in apparent mirth. "And this beautiful specimen..." my father continues, looking towards Natalia.

"Natalia," Kent says, gesturing towards her. "Of the Bianci family, in Sicily."

"Another Sicilian," my father replies, taking her hand and bowing low over it. "Like me."

"It is always good to be amongst our countrymen," Natalia replies smoothly, not friendly but not cold.

The four of them begin to chat lightly, then, and I quietly slip away from my spot beneath my father's arm, moving to Daniel's side. I nod back to the little alcove that we left, asking him as subtly as he can to take me there. Daniel glances at his father, who gives a tiny nod that I think no one else notices, letting him know he should.

So quickly, without fuss, Daniel and I move away.

"What the hell is going on," I hiss to him, looking anxiously around the party - searching, if I'm being honest, for a blonde head of hair amongst this sea of dark-haired Italians, and failing.

"It's an ambush," Daniel whispers back, glancing over his shoulder. "That was well done on you, though, greeting your dad like that. It put us in a good position."

"Good," I murmur, stopping when we reach our little bench but not sitting down on it, instead smoothing my hands anxiously down the length of my dress. "What did you mean when you said it was an ambush?"

"Everyone who just came in is from a rival family," Daniel replies, shaking his head a little and looking around at everyone. "They were not invited, but somehow figured out that Alessi and Natalia are visiting, and that they'd be here tonight. If I had to guess, I'd say these other families are going to make some kind of play to turn the Bianci family against my dad and towards them."

"Christ," I curse, clenching my teeth. "What can we do?"

"Nothing," Daniel sighs, likewise anxious. "Or - get whatever information we can, I guess. And make sure we don't fuck up."

I look at him with worried eyes. "Not my strong suit," I mutter.

"You're better than you think, Fay," Daniel replies passively, not looking at me and surveying the party instead. I see his eyes flash a little. "Seriously?" he whispers to himself. "They're here?"

"Who?" I ask, eager.

"The fucking Russians," Daniel replies, his voice low and angry. "The Kozlovs. Your boy Ivan must have brought them - they're his biggest tie, besides Alden. God damn it."

"Is that bad?" I ask.

"Yes, Fay," Daniel replies, looking at me a little angrily. I glare back, because how the hell was I supposed to know that when no one tells me anything. "They've notoriously got the weakest hold in the city's underworld. It used to be Ivan, but he surpassed them when he got in the drug game. But if they're willing to come here, in open defiance of my dad?" Daniel shakes his head, worried. "They're feeling bold."

"Which ones are they?" I ask quietly, and then - as I suddenly spy Ivan moving towards me through the crowd with a beautiful brunette on his arm - I think that I can probably guess.

As the two approach, the music changes, going from pleasant background music to an orchestral tango, causing the party guests to clear from a dance floor that I hadn't realized was there. A few couples take to it, beginning to spin around expertly.

As Ivan approaches, his trademark smirk already on his lips, he holds my gaze without wavering. I feel my eyes narrow at him as I shake my head, but I can't help my own lips from twitching up towards a smile, even as I stand with my arm clasped in Daniel's. "Fay," Ivan says, nodding to me and then shifting his gaze to my fiancé. "Daniel. I'm so pleased to hear that you two have...patched things up."

"We were never apart," Daniel snaps in reply, causing Ivan to shift his eyes back to mine, his smirk deepening.

"Really," Ivan replies, his words slow enough to be infused with a deep doubt. "Fay gave me a... different impression."

Daniel glowers at Ivan and my heartrate picks up as I sense that rare temper rising in him. My eyes go wide as I feel Daniel ball his fist next to me and I realize that Daniel is about five seconds away from punching Ivan right in the face.