Page 180 of Made for Sinners

Adrianna found me near the bar, a glass of champagne in one hand, her other tugging me into a hug that nearly knocked the breath out of me.

“You did it,” she said, pulling back to look at me. “You married the most terrifying man in the city. Again.”

I grinned. “He’s not that terrifying.”

She gave me a look.

“Okay, he’s terrifying,” I amended. “But he’s mine.”

Michael appeared beside her, already two drinks in, his tie loosened and his smile lazy. “You look like a queen,” he said. “And he looks like he’s one wrong look away from murdering someone.”

“Perfect match,” Adrianna said, raising her glass.

We clinked.

Across the lawn, Dante was deep in conversation with Rafe and Luca, his posture relaxed, his smile rare and lethal. But every few minutes, his eyes would find me. And when they did, the rest of the world disappeared.

I finished my champagne and wandered toward the vines, the soft music and laughter fading behind me. The stars were out now, scattered across the sky like spilled diamonds. The air was cooler, the scent of grapes and earth grounding me.

I needed a minute.

Just one.

To breathe.

To steady the chaos in my chest.

To remember who I was.

I wasn’t just Vincent Ricci’s daughter.

The youngest child.

The only daughter.

The mafia princess groomed to smile, stay quiet, and one day be married off to secure an alliance.

I wasn’t just the girl they whispered about at parties.

The one they said would be someone else’s problem soon enough.

The girl they thought would spend her life as a pawn in someone else’s game.

I was EmiliaConti.

And I had rewritten the rules.

I hadn’t been handed this life.

I had taken it.

Every step, every choice, every risk—I had chosen this.

I had chosen him.

And I didn’t regret it for a second.

The footsteps behind me were soft, but I knew them.

---