His three rules

Chapter 3

"Dante!" A tall blonde gentleman greeted as Dante shook his hand and invited him in.

"It's nice to see you again, Brian," Dante replied, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close to his side.

At first, I was taken aback by Dante's sudden display of affection. Before I could react or pull away, I realized they were both looking at me, as Dante motioned to Brian with his eyes.

"It's very nice to meet you, Brian. I've heard so much about you," I answered with a smile as Dante turned back to Brian with a smile.

"All good things, I hope," Brian replied with a laugh as Dante joined in. I had never heard Dante laugh before or even smile this much. It was both weird and unsettling at the same time.

We sat down at the large dining table as Dante started asking Brian where Lincoln—their other partner—was, to which Brian replied he had something come up last minute. I took this as my cue to zone out of the conversation as everything sounded very boring and tiresome. That is, until a foot kicked my shin underneath the table, and I once again met Dante's scowling eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized as Brian just laughed it off again.

"It's quite alright. I understand that everything we're talking about must seem incredibly boring to you."

"Not at all," I politely answered him as Dante only smiled nervously while listening to us talk.

"I got to say, Dee, you've got yourself one heck of a wife here. She's polite, charming, funny, and not even to mention beautiful."

"Hey now, watch yourself, that's my wife," Dante joked back with a laugh as I couldn't believe what was playing out in front of my eyes.

The rest of the evening, the two spoke about business mostly and trips they would need to take during the upcoming year. At around 11, they excused themselves from the table as Dante poured them a drink outside. Brian said goodnight to me, and 10 minutes later, I heard the front door shut and a knock on my door.

"Come in," I answered as I switched the lamp next to my bed on, watching Dante come in and stand at the foot of my bed. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you for tonight. For playing along and making this marriage as believable as you did."

"You're welcome," I answered as he turned back around to leave. "But Dante?" I watched as he once again faced me. "I wasn't acting." He didn't say anything or even muster a smile. He just nodded his head in acknowledgment and left.

So many thoughts were running through my mind from the events of tonight, and I struggled to place the pieces close enough to make it make sense. As much as I wanted answers and an explanation for whatever that display was, I knew pushing for it too soon wasn't a good idea.

So I didn't.