Becoming His Wife by Hayley Faiman

Chapter Nine

MACI

Ican’t hide the pink in my cheeks, I know that I can’t. The women around me smile, and I know I look like an idiot. I’m nineteen, I’m getting married in a couple of days, underwear should not embarrass me.

But it does.

Especially when the women staring at me know exactly what is going to be happening in this particular underwear. When Pippa said that we would be going shopping, I didn’t think it was for underthings.

“Do you know what Tiziano likes?” Lenora asks from behind the counter.

She smiles at me, and I want to crawl into a hole and shrivel up. I know absolutely nothing about Tiziano Bianchi past his name and the fact that I want his hands all over me all of the time.

Shaking my head, I look down at my feet and pinch my eyes closed. Biting the corner of my lip, I wonder when this will be over? I feel a cool hand wrap around my forearm.

Turning my head, I look at the pink-tipped nails and slowly drag my gaze up to meet Pippa’s. She’s smiling, but instead of looking as if she pities me, I see zero judgment in her gaze.

“Why don’t we look at things that you like? Things that you feel sexy in?”

I try to meet her smile with one of my own, but my lips are trembling and I’m so nervous, I don’t know what to do. Underwear should not make me nervous, and I wonder if I’m this way thinking about what I’m going to be wearing on my wedding night, what am I going to actually be like on that night?

I don’t know if all of this was a huge colossal mistake or if I made the right decision. Maybe I should have said I would be a call girl, a hooker, it would have just been ripping the Band-Aid off, unlike this, which has been a very slow and anxiety ridden two weeks.

Pippa releases my arm before turning to Lenora. “Something feminine, soft, and sexy,” she says.

Turning toward Lenora, I can see the curiosity in her eyes. She has questions, but she’s not going to ask them. She must be one of those women who knows her place. Then her lips curve up into a grin.

“I have a whole bridal line. Let’s start at the wedding night then work our way through the honeymoon. Do you know where you’re going?” she asks.

I snort, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t know there was going to be a honeymoon,” I state.

Lenora’s lips press together. “There may not be, these men tend to get caught up in work. Sometimes things like honeymoons and any romantic getaway get pushed to the side.”

“Tell me about it,” Pippa mutters. “Well even if you have a staycation honeymoon, you can look hot doing it.”

Lenora takes her time going over every detail of the white wedding day lingerie, she’s so kind and considerate, plus she doesn’t make me feel silly for not knowing a damn thing about underwear. She just smiles and answers my questions, then she hands me a whole armful of items and tells me to try them on.

“We want to see it all,” Lenora calls out.

The first thing that I put on is an almost too sweet looking baby doll. Looking at myself in the mirror, I really don’t like it. It looks sweet, and I feel like I look far too young in it. Maybe it’s the ruffling along the bottom, but it isn’t sexy to me.

“Let’s see,” Pippa calls out.

“I don’t think I like it,” I say, not wanting to show them at all.

“I’m sure you look great,” Lenora says.

Opening the door, I don’t step out of the dressing room and luckily, I don’t have to because they’re standing directly across from me. Pippa wrinkles her nose, but Lenora is a professional and remains expressionless.

“I don’t want to look younger than I am. This makes me look like a kid,” I blurt out.

Lenora and Pippa both giggle at my words. “Hand me all the sweet things. Sweet is not going to cut it. Not for your wedding night,” Lenora announces.

“Not for Tiziano,” Pippa adds.

Turning to her, my eyes widen. “What do you know?” I ask on a hiss.

Pippa’s lips press together and her eyes go wide, as if she realizes that she’s said the wrong thing. She tries to take a step back, but just ends up pressing against the wall. Lenora looks over to her, then to me and takes a step forward.

“Sexy, we’re thinking sexier,” she says, trying to change the subject. “Let me pull some things.”

Lenora leaves and I can’t take my eyes off Pippa. She looks to one side, then the other, but finally shifts her gaze to meet mine when she realizes that I’m not slinking back into the room.

I have no real claim on Tiziano, not yet and if he’s anything like the men who dropped me off here, I will never have a claim on him. But that doesn’t mean that I want to be so naïve that I’m being made a fool of right to my face.

“What do you know?” I ask again.

She lets out a sigh and takes a step toward me. “We all have a past and the men, their pasts are a little more colorful than the women’s, right?”

“Do you mean ours aren’t because they prefer virgin brides?” I ask, arching a brow.

Pippa smiles and shakes her head. “Some do, but it’s not necessarily a requirement for all.”

“But it was for Tiziano,” I point out.

She nods her head once, slowly. “It was,” she says, licking her lips. She tries to stall, probably hoping that Lenora will come back immediately. “He’s the head of a famiglia. Soon to be a boss. It was expected,” she murmurs.

“You know more than that. Granted, I’m sure what you’ve said really means something, I have no idea what, but there is more to what you meant.”

She nods her head, her eyes focused, connected with my own, and she doesn’t even blink as she watches me for what feels like hours. It’s only seconds, but they drag with each breath.

“He’s a man who likes women,” she murmurs.

“Women,” I say, repeating her word.

“Often.”

“Are you saying the call girls?” I ask, trying to read between her words.

Pippa nods her head. “While he was waiting for his bride, at least.”

“Mia?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

Pippa doesn’t confirm or deny my question, which really is a silent confirmation and all I need to know. Instead, she clears her throat and turns to look into the shop where Lenora disappeared to.

“I don’t know the details,” Pippa lies.

“It’s okay,” I lie.

It’s not okay. Mia has been helping me, she’s the only person I have really been exposed to until today. She’s been fucking the man I’m supposed to marry and probably still is.

Meanwhile, I’m supposed to stay under lock and key, I’m supposed to stay a virgin just for him. Pure and innocent, perfect for him. And he doesn’t have to do shit for me.

Though, can I complain? Really? It could be a million times worse, and it would have been had he not decided he wanted to keep me.

I should be grateful I’m not going to be a whore for every man who pays the fee. Feeling grateful for one thing doesn’t make me feel any better about my future husband and Mia.

Holding my head high, I decide not to show my feelings. They don’t matter anyway. In private I am no doubt going to cry, but not here and not now. Not in front of anyone, and I will be damned if I cry in front of Mia the next time that I see her.

“Let’s get some wedding night stuff. I want to look my best,” I say.

I give Pippa my best bright, but fake, smile. If she notices, she thankfully doesn’t say anything. Instead, she meets my smile with one of her own and we don’t mention Tiziano, Mia, or sex the rest of the day.

TIZIANO

Gavino walksinto the restaurant with a quick glance around the room and I lift my glass of water to him. He jerks his chin toward me and heads in my direction. I’m sitting in the back of the room, my back to the wall and the seat that Vino will take is next to me, his back against the wall as well. I have a view of the front and side of the place and he’ll have a view of the back and other side.

Strategy and trust. It’s what we have with one another and I’m thankful for it, the only reason that I was willing to give up my control of the Bianchi famiglia to him.

Trust.

I respect Gavino, but I needed more than just respect to make the deal that I did with him, I needed trust, but he already had it with me, and my father trusts him as well.

“We got a problem,” he says, repeating my words from a few hours ago.

“Indeed,” I murmur.

“Care to tell me what it is?”

I didn’t tell him shit earlier, too afraid to say it in my office and on the phone. The leak is somewhere, but I don’t know if it’s tapped or if it’s a person who just knows too much. So, I thought this the best compromise—meeting in person.

“There’s a leak from somewhere in the Zanetti famiglia,” I announce.

“You know this how?” he asks, leaning back in his chair.

I arch a brow, watching him for a moment. He is attempting to look aloof, but I can see the concern beneath the surface. He is right to be concerned, the information that has been leaked has been personal in nature, and not something that an average Made Man should even have knowledge of.

“Someone knows about the contract between us. One of my men came to me, asked if it was true, if I had agreed to give over the Bianchi famiglia for a wife. Said he heard it from someone in the Ricci famiglia who heard it from someone in Zanetti.”

Gavino is quiet for a moment, then he turns his head to the side, contemplating what I’ve just told him. He doesn’t say anything immediately, though I can see his chest moving up and down as he breathes heavily, no doubt becoming angry with the information.

When he shifts his gaze back to me, he frowns. “Salvatore drew up the contract, his office is small and he typically handles all of my business himself. His only staff is a paralegal. Mia knows, as does Arlo and a few specific high-ranking men. None of which would say a fucking word, knowing their heads would roll if they did.”

“It’s coming from somewhere,” I say.

He grunts. “I know and I will get to the bottom of this, because if they are speaking about these things, then what the fuck is next?”

“Exactly,” I grunt.

“Wedding is in a couple of days,” he murmurs.

Nodding my head, my lips curve up into a grin. “I’m ready for this,” I say.

“It seems as though you truly are. I am glad for you, cugino. Family is the most important thing in the world. Babies and the like,” he says with a smile.

Thinking about babies with Maci causes my heart to thump against my chest. I want that with her. They will be beautiful, no doubt, and I know that even if she doesn’t ever fall in love with me, we will create a wonderful life together.

We are famiglia and she will never leave me, no matter how we feel about one another. I don’t plan on her hating me though, I’ll do my best to make sure she wants to stay.

“Agreed. What happens now with your men?” I ask, curious to see how he’s going to handle the situation.

Gavino’s lips curve up into a smile, it’s shit-eating and almost terrifying. “Don’t you worry about that. I’ll find out who is talking and when I do, they won’t do much talking when I’m finished.”

“Good. My father can’t know about this deal, it’ll kill him.”

Gavino dips his chin before lifting his hand and motioning for the waiter to come over. We order lunch, then spend the rest of the time together discussing business and the wedding. It’s calm and relaxing, just what I need a few days before everything changes.