Lonely Together

41

MARIAH—TWO WEEKS LATER

Staring at myself in the multiple mirrors hung to the wall in front of me, I couldn't get over how stunning I looked in the gown. Not only did it accentuate my figure, but the shade matched my complexion perfectly.

"I'm so glad you chose this one," Ximena called out from behind me, a bright grin on her face as she inspected the dress even more.

The past two weeks had been very busy, but also very informative. The funeral for Valentino's father was held just days after his death, and it had been very hard on all of his family members—even if some of them didn't show it. Valentino had also been spending hours each day learning about all the tasks his father had undertaken as the boss, while also making the changes that he found necessary. Although he was adjusting to being the capo as he called it, I could tell that it still bothered him with the way he cringed whenever someone reminded him.

Now, we were just days away from leaving for the trip to Italy and the last task was to do one last fitting for my tailored gown before we left. The ball still wasn't for a few more days, but we wanted the dress to be perfected before we even landed.

"I love it," I said quietly, feeling tears well in my eyes at just the sight of me in the dress. I'm sure I was crying more because of the confusing predicament I had found myself in, but I chalked it up to my stunning appearance.

"Thank you so much for coming with me," I smiled at Ximena once we were outside of the dress shop and standing on the sidewalk outside. "That was a stressful process."

"Of course, honey. Everyone is going to be stunned when they see you in that...especially Valentino," she replied as we climbed back into the Range Rover he let me borrow for the day. "Speaking of Valentino...how has he been recently? He won't speak to me about it."

I sucked in a breath at her question, knowing I couldn't give her the answer that she wanted. I hoped she wouldn't look at me any differently knowing that I wasn't even sure about how my own boyfriend was feeling—but he wouldn't give me any answers.

"I think he's still grappling with it. It's not anything that he expected...or really wanted at first, so I think it's going to take time for him to get used to all of it."

In the past two weeks I had also learned that I had to be vague with everything I said about the mafia while we were in public and not in any of our homes. With Valentino being the boss, anything and anyone could be an informant or a rat, which is why nothing about the mafia could be spoken about explicitly. It was hard to do, but I was working on it.

"Meeting my parents tonight isn't helping his nerves at all," I added, making us both chuckle although I was absolutely serious.

After calling my parents to let them know I was going on yet another trip with Valentino—who was a complete stranger to them—they demanded to meet them. They claimed they felt uncomfortable letting me leave the country with a man they had never met, which was completely understandable.

"Thank you for telling me that. I want him to know that he can talk to me about anything that has to do with it, but I know him too well. I know that he'll only speak about it if he wants to," Ximena told me in a quite melancholy tone, clearly wishing that Valentino would be open with her. "But as much as he may not want to hear it...I'm glad he's the one to do it and not one of his brothers. He has what it takes."

I wanted to verbally agree with her, but I figured it would be rude of me to have an opinion about how well her other sons would have done, so I simply resorted to a nod.

Not much later, I had dropped Ximena off at her home and was back at Valentino's place so that we could take the two hour ride to meet my parents.

"Hey love," he spoke as I stepped into the apartment, walking over to me and pressing a kiss to my lips. "You don't know how nervous I am."

"Don't be! They'll love you...I promise," I assured him with a smile, cupping his cheeks in my hands. "You're ten times better than any other guy I've introduced to them."

"The other guys you've dated must be monsters if a mafia boss is better than them," he replied, with raised eyebrows, making me let out a giggle. "Let's get going, love. I can't afford to be late."

***

"Don't be nervous," I reminded him once we were parked in the driveway of my childhood home, just seconds away from going in to meet my parents. "Just be yourself, babe. Don't try to be anything you're not."

"I can do this," he murmured, pressing one final kiss to my lips before we both moved to get out. "Wait!"

"What?"

"Let me open your door for you. Just in case your dad is watching," he remarked, chuckling at his own words.

I rolled my eyes, but let him do it nonetheless, even letting him help me out as well since I was wearing heels. We intertwined our fingers as we walked up the pathway, both of our hearts definitely pounding like crazy. I rang the doorbell and squeezed his hand even tighter as I heard footsteps approaching.

"Mariah!" My father exclaimed when he opened the door, his signature bright grin on his face. "Feels like I haven't seen you in months."

I watched as his gaze then traveled over to Valentino, looking him up and down with a blank expression before his eyes landed on our intertwined hands.

"Hi Mr. Colton...I'm Valentino Santori," he spoke, sticking his free hand out to my father who shook it firmly. I could tell that my father was impressed by how firm Valentino's handshake was.

"Nice to meet you, Valentino," my father spoke blandly, opening the door for us to both step in.

I kept my grip on Val's hand as we stepped into the house, immediately overcome with the familiarity of the place I grew up. This place would forever remain an important piece of my life, and I was honestly glad that Valentino was getting to experience it.

"Oh they're here!" My mom said excitedly as she dropped a tray of baked macaroni and cheese onto the dining room table before rushing over to him and I.

"Hi mom," I smiled as she held me in her embrace, taking in the familiar and comforting aroma of the perfume she's used my whole life.

"And here he is...Valentino," my mom smiled as she pulled him into a hug as well, the grin not leaving her face. "Well, all the food is done, so let's make our plates and get to know each other!"

Finally, I turned to look up at Valentino who was already smiling down at me, not appearing nervous at all.

It was crazy how much I loved this guy.