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A hint of amusement flickers across his face. “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”
“No.” I meet his eyes evenly. “I’m simply making a slight adjustment.”
His brows knit together. “…Adjustment? What does that mean?”
“We can talk more about this.”
He studies me for a moment before nodding. “I was actually on my way to meet with my capos. We can discuss it afterward.”
“No.” I interrupt him before he can turn away. “It would be better if they were present.”
He hesitates. I can almost see the calculations running through his mind. Finally, he gestures toward a hallway.
“Very well.”
He leads us through the mansion toward a pair of heavy oak doors at the rear of the ground floor.
Inside, a long conference table dominates the room. Around it sit ten of the Moretti family’s highest-ranking men, their conversation dying the moment I step through the doorway.
Every pair of eyes turns toward me. Lorenzo steps forward.
“Gentlemen, Roman wanted to discuss something regarding tonight’s engagement.”
I don’t bother sitting, nor exchanging greetings. I clasp my hands behind my back and look around the room.
“I’ve decided to make a change to tonight’s engagement.”
Several of the men exchange puzzled glances. Lorenzo frowns. “What kind of change?”
“I no longer intend to marry Audrey.”
The room goes completely still. Instead of looking at Lorenzo, I let my gaze sweep across every man seated at the table. “I want Aurora.”
The room erupts instantly. Murmurs explode into angry voices. Chairs scrape. Lorenzo’s face turns a deep, furious red, looking like he’s one second away from bursting a blood vessel.
“What the hell is this?” he snarls, slamming a hand on the table. “Are you trying to make a fool out of me and my family? We had an agreement! You are supposed to marry Audrey. It was signed and sealed. You can’t just come in here and demand the younger daughter!”
He keeps ranting about honor, alliances, reputation, the sanctity of their deal. I let him talk until he runs out of steam.
“It was an agreement to marry a daughter from your family,” I say coldly, cutting through the noise. “I’ve decided I want Aurora instead. She’s still in the family. What’s the problem?”
Lorenzo’s eyes bulge. “No. Audrey was chosen first. The arrangement—”
“I don’t care,” I interrupt, my voice flat and final. “Does it look like I give a fuck about your plans or your feelings? I want Aurora.”
Suddenly, the door bursts open, and my sunshine walks in with her older sister right behind her. Aurora.
Even in the middle of this chaos, the sight of her hits me like a punch to the gut. Those gray-green eyes, that curvy body, the innocent fire in her expression.
“What is going on?” Audrey demands.
Lorenzo snaps at them. “Leave. Now.”
But Aurora’s eyes find mine. She asks again, voice shaky, “What is happening here?”
I hold her gaze, letting my eyes drag slowly down her body, from the top of her head, over every delicious curve, down to her feet, before sliding back up. Mine.
I turn back to Lorenzo and the rest of them, my voice carrying through the room like a death sentence.
