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A band started playing when dinner was over, the signal that it was ti out his hand I let hi out Gianna narrowed her eyes and searched the guests, as if she was thinking of attacking the culprit who’d started the chanting

When Luca tugged ht up with me Luckily, nobody noticed because Luca’s arms around me held me firm His eyes pierced ainstus to finally enter the dance floor; the tables had been set up in circles around it Luca kept his arm around my waist as he led me toward the center To everyone around us it looked like a loving eht

Luca pulled ainst his chest for the waltz and I had no choice but to rest un under his vest Even the groo unarth He had no trouble keepingthe dance When it ended, he leaned down “Once we’re back at the table, you’ll eat I don’t want you to pass out during our celebration and ht”

I did as he asked and forced down a few aze kept checking on me while he talked to Matteo The dance floor was filled with other people now Lily rose from her chair and asked Romero to dance No surprise there He couldn’t refuse her of course Neither could I refuse when Luca’s father asked me for a dance After that I was handed from one man to the next until I lost count of their nah it Luca’s eyes followed my every move, even when he danced with the women of our faht her dancing with Matteo at least three tiot more sullen by the minute

“May I?”

I startled at the distantly fah my body Dante Cavallaro took the place of whomever I’d danced with before He was tall, albeit not as tall as Luca, and not as muscled “You don’t look impressed with the festivities”

“Everything’s perfect,” I said mechanically

“But you didn’t choose this e”

I gaped at hiave him a look of cold efficiency while Luca radiated fierce brutality Different sides of the same coin In a few years the East Coast and Midould treement I snapped my mouth shut “It’s an honor”

“And your duty We all have to do things we don’t want to Soht seem as if we don’t have any choice at all”

“You are aa choice?” I said harshly, then stiffened and ducked my head “I’m sorry That was out of turn” I couldn’t talk to someone as practically er was I didn’t fall under the rule of the Chicago Outfit anye, I’d become part of the New York mob and thus Luca’s and his father’s rule