Page 39 of Poison and Wine
“And it’s still not too late for you to marry her.”
“She’s meant for you, Callum.”
“We can barely stand each other.”
“You can’t fault her for fighting you like a caged animal. The poor girl was spirited away in the night and taken away from everything she knew. She’s also coming to grips with the fact she’s about to be married to a man she doesn’t know.”
“Even when I try to make sacrifices, she fights me every step of the way. Like last night, I made a bargain with her to go to university and to have a career. I even promised not to marry off any daughters we had. But was that enough for her? Feck no.”
“Be patient with her.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “She tests my patience with every breath she takes.”
Seamus laughed. “Beautiful women tend to do that.”
“Then I wish she was ugly as gobshite.”
“You lie. You’d have my arse if I’d brokered you an ugly bride.”
I laughed. “I suppose you’re right.” Glancing over my shoulder, I eyed Caterina’s bedroom window. “I guess I better go tell her the priest is coming.”
“It’s still early. Let her sleep.”
“You’re no better than my brothers when it comes to her.” With an angry shake of my head, I replied, “Too fucking soft.”
“Everyone needs a soft place to fall.” He shot me a pointed look. “Perhaps once you’re wed, you can be that person for her.”
“There’s not much softness about me, Seamus.”
“Even among the hardest of men, you’ll find a tenderness that they only show to the woman they love.”
“That sure as hell wasn’t something my father would’ve believed.”
Seamus’s expression darkened. “You should never want to align yourself with your father’s beliefs. He made cruelty his religion and worshiped at an altar of sadistic malice. When I think of what he did to his own daughter…” Seamus swallowed hard. “The worst parts of hell aren’t good enough for him.”
“Aye, I agree.”
“Thankfully, you aren’t him, Callum.”
“I sure as shite don’t want to be.”
“Then open your mind and your heart to Caterina.”
I scrubbed my eyes with a grunt. “Why is this love bullshit worse than fighting the Russians or the Triad?”
“Because matters of the heart are always infinitely more painful than the physical ones.”
“Tell that to my thigh.”
“You’re a fecking lost cause,” Seamus grumbled.
I held up my hands. “Fine. I’ll try, okay? Will that make you happy, old man?”
“I’m only fifteen years older than you.”
“But you look at least forty years older than me.”
“You know if I dragged you over the side of this terrace, my life would be a lot easier.”