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Sadie Sorento and Brandon Avenetti were destined to be together. Their families were already planning the wedding of the Italian mafia prince and princess long before the pair had even star...
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I never should have let Brandon talk me into this.
In my defense, I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks and my emotions were all over the place before he showed up at my door with my favorite wine, saying all the right things, holding me in all the right places, kissing me in all the right ways...
Jesus, what a mess I've gotten myself into.
Now I have to spend the evening sitting across from Steven and try to keep my poker face. It's easy to play my part in the bar, but the Aventti estate is a whole different stage and whole different audience. Steven is smart, and he has way more experience than Brandon or Alex in this kind of thing. I'll be lucky if he doesn't take one look at me and know I'm lying.
Despite all of that, there's the tiniest part of me that's looking forward to it. I haven't seen Steven or Lorraine in years, and it's been even longer since I've been to a family dinner at their house. There was a time where I was there almost nightly, and they were as close to me as my own parents. And spending time with Brandon...it almost feels good.
That's a slippery slope, though, because the reason I'm here is to take him down and as strong as they are, I can't let my emotions distract from that.
I put on one final coat of lipstick and smack my lips together right as my phone buzzes. Brandon's name flashes across the screen with a cheeky message. Your chariot awaits.
Right. And if agreeing to dinner wasn't enough in the first place, I agreed to let him pick me up. It's at least an hour drive both ways where we'll be trapped alone in a car together, and that's almost as daunting as dinner.
I send him a quick text to let him know I'm on my way down and grab a pair of boots from my bedroom. This is the fourth outfit I've had on, and it still doesn't feel exactly right. It's not like me to be so nervous, but then again, I've never done anything quite like this before.
Arriving with him makes me feel a little better, as if he's some kind of buffer. It's a position he's always taken seriously. Brandon used to run interference for me with our fathers whenever I'd say something disparaging to them or their business when we were younger. I was never shy about my disdain for the Mafia, and my mouth got me into trouble more than a time or two, but Brandon was always there to try to smooth things over.
At least I'm mature enough to bite my tongue now, but somehow I don't think that will keep me out of trouble with Steven.
There's a knock at the door and I open it, expecting to see an impatient Brandon. "I told you I was on my..."
I snap my mouth shut quickly, realizing it isn't Brandon, but Agent Herrera–this time dressed as an appliance delivery man. The cheesy, over-the-top disguises feel a little extreme. It's hard to take him as seriously when he looks so ridiculous.
"Expecting someone?" He raises an eyebrow at me.
"I'm... meeting Brandon." I stutter. "He's taking me to dinner with his parents so I'll be able to get more intel."
