Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
“I’m not important to him. I’m pretty sure I’m an embarrassment to him. Why don’t you go back and see him, and say something like, ‘There’s no way I’m ever going to marry your daughter.’ Or better yet, why don’t you say, ‘I promised your daughter I would marry her, but seeing as she’s so used to being let down, and her heart crushed, I’m going to follow in your footsteps and never come through with any of my promises!’”
Adele had said too much and now she was pissed. Growling, she turned toward the sink, threw her coffee out, and rinsed out the cup before heading up to her bedroom.
“Is that what he did?” Enzo asked.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Trust me.”
“You had a hard time as a kid, so what? Get over it.”
She wanted to hit him. Adele had never considered herself a violent person before, but the desire to slap him was strong.
Instead, she smiled at him. “I am over it, which is why you can get the hell out of my house, or I’m going to call the police.” She stormed toward her front door and flung it open. “Get out.”
“This is not getting over it.”
“Oh, trust me, it is. I’m not my father’s daughter. I don’t need to marry anyone of his choosing and when I do marry, it’s going to be a man I love, and one I’m sure he’ll despise.”
She was a little shocked that Enzo actually left, but as he stepped over the threshold and out into the world, she slammed the door shut and then flicked the lock into place.
How dare he?
She was over it. She wanted nothing to do with her father.
Nothing he nor anyone else would change that.
****
“You saw her? Talked to her?” Hank asked.
Enzo stood at the office window and nodded. Hank had called a meeting, wanting to speak to him.
“How is she?”
He thought about Adele. “She is nothing like any of our women.”
“No, I don’t imagine she is.”
“How?” Enzo asked. “Men have women with mistresses all the time. They are never allowed this much freedom.”
Hank fell onto the only sofa in his office. He had a glass of scotch in his hands. “I had every intention of keeping Carla and Adele. They were part of my family, but once my wife nearly killed Carla, I couldn’t allow it. When Carla learned the truth, she was done with me. She never wanted me again, so I just couldn’t do it.” He sighed. “I guess that makes me weak.”
Enzo didn’t say anything. He’d never met a woman that would make him weak.
“She will never fit into our circles,” Enzo said.
“With training, she will.”
He clenched his jaw. So, that was the end game as well—training Adele, tamping out that fire that made her unique.
Enzo knew he shouldn’t care. Adele was a woman, and there was a certain protocol for their women to abide by. If she was to become his wife, all that sass would have to be saved for him and him alone.
He tried to imagine Adele at one of their social functions where she’d be forced to mingle with the women. She’d be an outcast from the start. The only reason she’d be accepted would be because she’d be married to him.
Rubbing at his eyes, he didn’t like the feeling that swept over him. He barely knew this woman, and he shouldn’t care for the outcome.
“Did she talk about me?” Hank asked.
Enzo looked toward Hank. “No.”
He saw the disappointment in his eyes. Hank didn’t need to know the hatred she still had in her heart.
“I don’t imagine she would.” Hank sighed.
“What is the story between you two? Why does your daughter hate you so much?” Enzo already had an idea, but he wanted to see how much Hank was willing to tell him.
“I let her down. Carla never kept me away from Adele. I always hoped she and I would reconcile, but that never happened.” Hank stopped to take a drink. “She never would. The damage had already been done, and no matter what I did or said, she wasn’t going to belong to me. I still got to see her whenever I went to visit Adele. She was such a cute baby, adorable little girl. Every time I went, she wanted me to go to a school event, either at the school or in the surrounding area, and I couldn’t go. You know the drill.”
Hank was a capo, he couldn’t go without some form of soldier or protection.
“I always promised her I would be there, and Carla knew I wouldn’t be. She’d try to make excuses for me. That was what Carla was like. She didn’t want me, but she also tried to make my life as easy as possible. She was a good woman.”