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“I just need you to find her.” I slip my hand into my pocket, touching the soft cotton. The only thing my rabbit left behind were her panties. It only goes to show how fucked in the head I am about her that I’ve kept them with me since.
We make our way across the hotel lobby toward the ballroom that has been set up for this event. It should have started already. A server pulls open one of the doors for us. The second I step into the room, I spot Aidan O’Haire standing with his father, Conor. With them are Vincent Rossi and his father, the current head of the family, Gio.
I can tell they’re tense. They fucking should be. I don’t go straight to them. No, I work the room, saying hello to some of the familiar faces. I’ll let them fester. I can feel their eyes on me the entire time. I end up at the bar on the side of the room. My eyes scan over the room, wondering where Vincent's bride is.
Gio is the first to act. As he should be. “Luca, my boy, how are you?” he greets me.
“I’m not your boy, Gio.” His already red nose and cheeks brighten more. Gio is a few years older than my father.
“Don’t be like that. We’re family.”
“Is that why my invitation got lost in the mail?” I counter.
“It’s only a small wedding,” he sputters.
“Into the O’Haire family,” I point out. There is nothing small about that, and we both fucking know it.
Gio has always been a proud man, stuck in the past. Everything is always about lineage to him. He is the type to never get fully off the boat when our families arrived in America before he and I were even a thought to our ancestors. That's why the situation is all the more shocking.
“Times are changing.” He takes a large swig of his whiskey.
“So it would seem.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aidan O’Haire watching us. The tension in the room slowly grows with each passing moment. I lean onto the bar and revel in it. I want them all on edge.
“What about you? Do you plan to marry soon?”
“Don’t ask questions you know the answer to, Gio.” He sets his now empty tumbler down on the bar. I’m sure he’s trying to think of some other small talk.
I never had any interest in marriage. It destroyed my father. My own mother died a few years after my birth. I was told he loved her dearly. If not for Emma, the few times I heard him talk about her in a drunken ramble, I would have never believed it.
My father had a taste for whorehouses after she passed. Ones that often made my skin crawl. I watched him slowly fall apart until I couldn’t take it any longer and sent him back to Italy with one of his mistresses. He got sloppy. That happens with a lot of men in this life as they age. It’s not a fate I’ll allow myself to ever succumb to. I made my mind up a long time ago when it came to marriage.
Too bad fate has other plans for me. I watch in shock as my little rabbit comes walking through the ballroom doors. I swear it’s like the devil himself can hear my thoughts and is laughing up at me. Because at this moment, there is no doubt in my mind that I want to tie my little rabbit to me for eternity.
4
MONA
The atmosphere around me feels different tonight as I enter the ballroom. I honestly don’t know how the hell I’m going to make it through this. I take a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. Fake it until you make it, I remind myself. This is the absolute last place I want to be. My mind keeps racing with so many thoughts.
“Maybe you should try breathing.” My sister elbows me in the side. I let out a breath. “You’re breathing for two now.” I snort a laugh because it’s the worst time to joke about this, but the hell with it.
I should try to enjoy myself tonight to some degree. It could be one of the few left with my sister. The more that my new reality seeps into my soul, the more I know I have to protect this baby, and that means only one thing. I am going to run.
“Let's make our rounds and talk to people, then find a corner to hide in,” I suggest.
“Incoming,” Riley mutters under her breath. I turn to see Vincent heading toward me. I force a fake smile onto my face. Then my whole world flips on its head again. I almost can’t believe my eyes. I’m frozen in place as I watch my baby daddy step in front of me, blocking everything else out.
“Rabbit.” He calls me, closing in on the last few steps between us. My heart flutters when I hear him call me that. A range of emotions fills me, relief and happiness in the mix of them. Along with a side of fear of what my father will do if he finds out the truth.
“Rabbit?” my sister repeats, confused. “Oh, wait. Rabbit.” She puts it together. I might not have given her every detail about my night with my handsome stranger, but I told her some.
“You can’t be here.” I glance around, wondering where my father and brother are. This is bad. Real bad.
“I can be anywhere I want.” I glance up at his intense gaze. He’s in an all-black suit. The same as the night we met. He easily towers over me and everyone else in the room. Without a doubt, he could take on anyone in this room. He could easily defeat my brother and father, but they don't always play fair.
“You don’t understand,” I try to warn him.
“Enlighten me.” Yeah, he’s not going anywhere, gauging the irritation on his face.
