Chapter 7

Dante

"The wedding will take place in six months," Francis said. "That's enough time to plan a proper celebration without dragging things out too long. However, public announcements should go out right away."

He smiled, showing no hint of the snake coiled beneath his genial tone and expression.

We'd adjourned to the dining room soon after my arrival, and the conversation had immediately veered into wedding planning territory.

Distaste curled through me. Ofcoursehe'd want the world to know his daughter was getting hitched to a Russo as soon as possible.

Men like Francis would do anything to increase their social standing, including finding the balls to blackmail me inmyoffice two weeks ago, right on the heels of my grandfather's death.

Fury reignited in my chest. If I had my way, he wouldn't have left New York with his bones intact. Unfortunately, my hands were tied, metaphorically speaking, and until I found a way tountie them, I had to play nice.

For the most part.

"No, it won't." I wrapped my fingers around the stem of my wineglass and imagined it was Francis's neck I was strangling instead. "No one will believe I'm marrying someone with such short notice unless something was wrong."

For example, your daughter is pregnant, and this is a shotgun wedding.The insinuation had everyone shifting in their seats while I kept my face blank and my voice bored.

Restraint didn't come naturally to me. If I didn't like someone, I made damn sure they knew it, but extraordinary circumstances called for extraordinary measures.

Francis's mouth thinned. "Then what would you suggest?"

"A year is a more reasonable timeframe."

Neverwas better, but sadly, it wasn't an option. A year would do. It was short enough that Francis would agree to it and long enough for me to find and destroy the blackmail evidence. Hopefully.

"Announcements should also go out later," I said. "A month gives us time to craft a proper story, considering your daughter and I have never so much as been seen in public together before."

"We don't need a month to come up with a story," he snapped.

Although arranged marriages were common in high society, the involved parties went to great lengths to conceal the true reason behind the nuptials. Acknowledging one's family joined with another simply for status reasons was considered vulgar.

"Two weeks," he said. "We'll announce the weekend Vivian moves into your house."

My jaw tensed. Beside me, Vivian stiffened, clearly caught off guard by the revelation she'd have to move in before the wedding.

It was one of Francis's stipulations for keeping his mouth shut, and I was already dreading it. I hated people invading my personal space.

"I'm sure your family would like the announcements to go out sooner rather than later as well," Francis continued, placing a soft emphasis on the wordfamily. "Don't you agree?"

I held his stare until he shifted and looked away.

"Two weeks it is."

The announcement date didn't matter. I'd simply wanted to make the planning as difficult for him as possible.

What mattered was the wedding date.

One year.

One year to destroy the photos and break the engagement. It would be a huge scandal, but my reputation could take the hit. The Laus' couldn't.

For the first time that night, I smiled.

Francis shifted again and cleared his throat. "Excellent. We'll work together to draft—"