Page 74 of Poison and Wine
With a smile, I replied, “So let’s figure out how to put the fire out. Together.”
Chapter Twenty-One: Callum
With our meeting finished, I showed the Neretti brothers upstairs. The party was in full swing with the band playing traditional Irish folk music. Couples twirled around the makeshift dance floor to the tunes coming from the guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. There was nothing that made me feel like home the way the music of my homeland did.
At the expression on the Neretti brothers faces, I couldn’t hold back a laugh. “I don’t suppose I can interest you in a jig later?”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “I need a fucking drink.”
“Only the finest Irish whiskeys await you at the bar.”
He shook his head and he made his way over there with Leandro and Gianni on his heels. I scanned the crowd for Caterina. I found her being led around by my mam for introductions. I could tell she felt out of her element by the way she kept biting her bottom lip and shifting on her feet. I might not have known her for long, but I knew how to read her.
I decided to put Caterina out of her misery. As the music changed over from an upbeat tempo to a ballad, I made my way over to her. Relief flooded her expression at the sight of me. “The meeting is over?”
“Aye.”
“And everything is still okay?”
I motioned across from us where her brothers were drinking at the bar. “They’re grand.”
“I’m glad.”
Holding out my hand to her, I asked, “May I have this dance?”
“I would love that.”
I nodded at Mam. “Excuse us.”
She smiled. “Enjoy yourselves.”
Once I got Caterina on the dance floor, I pulled her tightly against me. With my hand at the small of her back, a small sigh escaped her’s lips. With our bodies pressed against each other, I kept thinking of the statement she’d made to her brothers.
As I stared intently into her eyes, I asked, “Why did you lie about consummating our marriage?”
“It was the right thing to do.” At what must’ve been my continued shock, Caterina said, “I wasn’t just thinking about me. I was thinking about the repercussions for both of our families.”
“But you had a chance to be free of me,” I protested.
“At what cost? The chances of my brothers living through a war of that magnitude were slim. Then I would’ve been at the mercy of my father.” She shuddered. “Not to mention the threat it would’ve brought to you and your brothers.”
“As I told you before, you never have to worry about your father again, Kitten.”
“You don’t know how much I appreciate that.”
“I’m not going to lie. You shocked the hell out of me.”
Caterina giggled. “I wish you could’ve seen your face.”
“It takes a lot to surprise me, but you fucking floored me.”
“You did a good job of masking it after the initial shock and horror,” she teased.
“I’m just glad it was believable to your brothers.”
“I think you sold it pretty well.”
“Thank you.” As I stared into her beautiful face, my hand dipped to the curve of her delicious ass. “In the end, I wish you had been telling the truth.”