Page 63 of Heritage of Fire

“It’s okay. I ordered a lemonade and I’ve been people-watching.” I take another sip of my drink and raise my eyebrows. “It’s really good.”

“I’ll probably just get a water. What are you eating?” Isabella’s eyes rove over the menu in front of her, her long fingernails tapping absently on her phone.

“I think I’m going with the chicken salad.” I smile when she scrunches her nose and sticks her tongue out like she sucked on something sour.

“I don’t know how you eat that.”

No one in my family likes it but me, so Giulia never made it. However, on the rare occasion I visited a place that had it on the menu, I’d get it.

“What have you been up to? Mom said school was going well.” I notice the tension in her shoulders when I ask, but she nods, picking up her phone to scroll.

“Yeah, it’s okay, I guess. I wish I didn’t have to finish. Mom knows I want to model. It would be a whole lot easier to go to auditions during the day if I wasn’t in class.”

The waitress delivers a water and takes our orders before I get a chance to respond.

“You’re so close to finishing, Bella,” I say once she leaves.

“You sound like Mom.” She rolls her eyes, and I cringe at being compared to my mother. “I’ve been skipping a few classes when it’s a big audition. I don’t want to be void of goals in life. I don’t want to be you.”

Well,thathurt. It’s like I’ve been smacked.

“What do you mean?” I ask, unsure if I want to dive down this rabbit hole.

“It’s just—you didn’t have many goals, and then you got married, and now what? What do you do foryou? No offense,Lu. I know you didn’t have a choice.” She casually sips her water as if she didn’t insult me.

I’m trying to find a hole in her logic, but I can’t. Idon’thave any goals. I spent my late teen years tucked away, and to be honest, I never really thought about what I’d do after I got married. Not because I don’t want to do anything, but because I don’t know what Icoulddo. I didn’t go to college. I have no experience.

“I want to travel,” I say defensively.

My sister raises her brows at me. “Travel,” she deadpans.

“Nik took me to Russia. I didn’t get to explore much, but I enjoyed being immersed in another culture—the food, the language, the people.” Excitement thrums through me as I talk about it. I take another sip of lemonade. At this rate, I’m going to need a second.

Our food is placed in front of us, and we chat about a few of the projects Bella’s working on—which makes her comment about my lack of such things even more of a slap.

However, the more she shares, the more concerned I get. She’s hanging out with some pretty well-known businessmen, along with several other girls interested in modeling. They’ve been invited to a new VIP club stuffed full of millionaires and politicians. Her claim is it’s going to be great for networking, but that isnoplace for a young girl.

I don’t want her to have the secluded life I did. Although, I picture her getting ice cream with her friends while talking about prom. Not partying with thirty-year-olds, surrounded by drugs and alcohol. This world she’s inserted herself into is dangerous.

“Just be careful, Bella. If they find out your last name—it won’t be good.”

Now I sound like my father. But if people found out she’s the daughter of Salvatore Buscetta, it would be more than just not good—it would be devastating. She’d be found bait. A way to getat my father and the Cosa Nostra. She could even be sold off to our enemies. We’d probably never see her again.

“God, Luna. Could you be any more of a buzzkill? I don’tlookyoung, and these people treat me like an adult, like I’mworthsomething.” She digs into her salad, stabbing a cherry tomato four times before picking it up with her fingers.

The shop’s air kicks on, rustling the stack of napkins on our table. I stare, watching them flap around. I can relate to what my sister said. I want to feel like I’m worth something. Like I’m something more than a piece in a game to be moved around for the benefit of the Buscetta name.

“So, how is married life? Enjoying the perks of marrying a hotty?” She snorts, half choking on a crouton.

A small chuckle flees from my mouth, and she glares at me. “It’s not a traditional marriage, Bella.” I drop my eyes. I don’t want to talk about this with my younger sister. I drink the last of my lemonade and wrestle down the rest of my sandwich, keeping my mouth full to avoid talking anymore about Nik.

“Don’t count it out yet. He’s lucky to be married to Luna Buscetta.” She raises her water to me, smiling.

If only Nik thought that.

Chapter 26

Nik

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