Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,101
play golf on my yacht on Saturdays.”
We shared a laugh that echoed down the beach. When it died, Alessio made a contemplative sound.
“Been meaning to talk to you for a while. For years, actually. You can’t avoid me forever, Anthony.”
Too bad.
“Is this about Mia?”
He was referring to the time when I got so high I made out with his wife. I remembered the hospital visit after he beat the shit out of me, but nothing else.
I shook my head. “I don’t even remember it, Alessio.”
Alessio waited for me to elaborate as my stomach twisted in knots. Then he sighed, long and hard.
“Do you think your dad would be happy, if he was here with us? Would he be proud of us?”
Considering I killed him, I doubt it.
“You? Sure. Not me.” I crossed my arms, my gaze flicking to the shore. “Tell you the truth, I don’t think of him.”
Alessio’s brows furrowed. “Why?”
A shadow moved in the dark, and I turned my flashlight toward the waves. A child tottered down the beach. I got up and sprinted toward him, scooping him before his bare feet touched the water. Alessio’s light landed on the kid’s face. One of Vinn’s.
I returned to the house, where a frantic Vinn tore apart the house. “I’ve got him. He was this close to the water.”
Vinn took Chris from me, looking nauseated. “Thanks. I owe you.”
“Guys, I think I’m going to skip poker night. I’m beat.”
They slapped my back and I headed into our room with the kids. Massimo bounced in Evie’s arms, fussing. He whined as I walked in the room, his arms outstretched toward me.
Evie laughed. “I love how he forgets I exist whenever you show up.”
“Vieni da papà.”
I scooped him in my arms, his dark eyes glistening as he groped my beard and pinched my nose. I’d hoped he’d be like Tristan, sweet and easy to please, but more and more I realized we were watered down versions of our parents. Tristan was her shadow. Massimo was mine.
I hiked him on my hip. “This kid worries me. He’s my mirror.”
“What the hell did you expect, honey? You’re his dad. Of course he’s going to be like you.”
“I hoped they’d take after you.”
“He’s just a baby, T.”
I shook my head, sighing. “What if he’s just as troubled? What if he goes to college and comes back with a drug addiction? What if—”
“I’m not worried. I quite like who you are and what you’ve chosen to become.”
Evie pressed her soft lips to my cheek, and I flushed like a teenage boy. With her I was the luckiest man in the world.
I dragged Evie into my arms. The salted air from the beach had played with her hair, teasing her chocolate waves. Gorgeous. She kissed the top of Massimo’s head, and my chest tightened.
Her and him.
My life.
My redemption.
For too long, I’d lived in the devil’s shadow. Now I had a reason to live. To defend. To channel my rage into something pure.
Evie tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, her soft eyes crashing into mine. “What are you thinking about?”
“How much I love you. How I almost lost you. How I nearly ruined this.”
She shushed me with a hand on my cheek.
I used to push her away. Now I pulled her closer.
“Tony, there’s no room for the past in our new lives together.”
I stroked my son’s head and cradled her belly. “Is there room for one more?”
“Already?”
“Time flies. I don’t want to waste another minute.”
She leaned on my shoulder, smiling. “I love you, Tony.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Saving me. Loving me. Giving me this life.”
A life that, for the first time, I planned to protect and cherish.
# # #
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If you haven’t read the Sinners of Boston series, read the books for more cameos from Anthony! Have you met Alessio and Mia? Keep reading for the first chapter of Arranged.
Mia & Alessio: Arranged
Michael & Carmela: Taken
Vinn & Liana: Faked
Thirty-Four
Mia
Everything was gone.
I’d trashed my sister’s wedding invitations, deleted our Pinterest gallery, and emptied the kitchen of save-the-dates. Alessio & Carmela monograms went into the garbage, along with every marriage-related detail concerning venues, florists, and bakeries.
Mom didn’t need the reminders.
A lump lodged in my throat as I buried my sister’s beautiful future. Her hopes and dreams joined bits of eggshell, banana peel, and leftover pasta. My fists clenched her engagement photos, which were the hardest to destroy. I’d spent too many hours dwelling over the what-ifs of