Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Chloe laughed. “He’s still in high school.”
Disappointed, Gia looked through the movie posters again. “Scream.”
“Now we’re talking,” a pink-haired Kat yelled out while filling her hands with candy. “Any chance we could watch Scream twice?”
Chloe shook her head doubtfully, knowing they were going to be lucky to get through half of them. “Maria?” she asked for her choice, moving on.
At this point, the beautiful blonde only had one request. “Anything but Pride and Prejudice.”
Chloe made a mental note to put that one in dead last, because even though she was happily married, she knew the last thing Maria wanted to watch was sisters trying to find a man all because they needed to wed to secure their futures.
“Then we can watch The Little Mermaid,” Chloe added to the list, wanting to make sure they had time to watch Elle and her favorite movie.
Lake’s sights, however, weren’t set on a Disney film. “I choose Dirty Dancing next, then.”
Vincent couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he mumbled under his breath, “What’s so special about Patrick Swayze?”
Kat threw a gummy worm at him as if she had a Luciano vendetta against him. “Well, for starters, he can dance.”
“I can—ow!” Vincent rubbed his shoulder where Amo had struck him but decided to keep his pretty mouth shut.
His sister, Adalyn, who had been awfully quiet as she loaded up two hotdogs and a barrel of soda, clearly gave zero fucks what was going to play on the screen. “All right, let’s get the party started. Lake, can you get the family-size of peanut M&M’s?” she asked, placing a bag of Skittles between her teeth. They were just barely able to make out the rest as she mumbled, “My hands are full.”
Chloe made another mental note while she was at it.
Pro tip: Give Adalyn Skittles to make her shut up.
“Dominic Luciano,” Vinny Vitale greeted him regally as he joined them in the corner. “How have you been?”
“Never better.” He held out his left tatted hand.
Vinny reached out to shake it. Unable to miss the jewelry on his ring finger, he smiled. “I’m glad the arrangement I struck has worked out for all of us.”
“Yeah,” he huffed. “Finally.”
Lucca gave the man who had managed to land the throne and his sister all in the same year a patronizing look. Yeah, poor you.
“I’ve been thinking about what you asked, Lucca.” The consigliere turned to him. “And I think I came up with a solution.”
“That so?”
The consigliere waved his hand as he spoke, “Yes. How about I stop by your office tomorrow so we can discuss the matter?”
His eyes went back to scrutinizing the men. He would find out tomorrow how to best handle his men when they found out he was to wed a woman without Italian descent. “Sounds good.”
“Great.” Turning to leave, Vinny turned back for just a moment. “Oh, and do you happen to know where my son is?”
It might not be the truth, as he knew exactly where his soldier ought to be, but it was still pretty much accurate.
“With Vincent … God only knows.”
TWENTY-TWO
DO YOU KNOW WHO HE IS?
Pressing Send on the black heart emoji, she sent it to Lucca’s phone. She knew he would understand that it meant she was not only grateful but also thinking about him.
When she returned her eyes to the big screen, she realized she probably shouldn’t have drunk all that soda. She began to squirm in her seat. All the water in the scene where the Titanic was about to go down and everyone was clinging for life wasn’t helping. She didn’t want to miss the best part …
Gia’s whisper revealed her own predicament. “I need to go, too.”
It made her feel better to know Gia was in the same boat. “If we hurry, we can be back before Leo dies.”
With Gia beating her to get up, Chloe didn’t need any other encouragement.
Vincent was the only one who paid them any attention when they stood. He had been guarding the theater by stationing himself at the exit door next to the movie screen, while Amo had taken position at the back of the theater, where he could guard the other door. All the other girls had been too engrossed in the movie, even Maria and Kat, who would swear later they weren’t. None of them clearly wanted to chance missing the part coming up as they slid their legs out of the way, so Gia and Chloe could get through. Chloe didn’t blame them; the part where Rose swears she’ll never let go … only to let him fucking go … was iconic.
“We need a bathroom break,” she explained when Amo stepped outside the doors with them.
Nodding, he walked them to the restroom and stood about five steps away in front of the men’s bathroom.
Hurrying to do their business, the two relieved girls met up at the wash station.