Page 52 of Mine Again
Chapter Eighteen
Isabella
“You’ve caught Mateo’s cousin’s attention,” I say to Mia, catching Maximo watching her yet again from across the room. His eyes have been on her far too often since his arrival yesterday.
She laughs, easy and light, but doesn’t bother looking his way.
“Can you blame him? This dress is doing me a lot of favors.” She winks, playful but self-assured.
And it’s true. Mia looks stunning, even in black, the dress hugging her curves in all the right ways despite its conservative cut.
Leaning in closer, she lowers her voice. “Maximo isn’t the only Chicago mobster eyeing an Accardi.”
I blink. “What do you mean?”
She nods discreetly toward the bar. “Aldo Marino. He’s been hovering near Mamma all night. And she’s definitely not brushing him off.”
My eyes drift in that direction. Sure enough, there he is, the Chicago consigliere to Maximo’s family, leaning toward our mother as she smiles up at him.
Her posture is relaxed, her expression open. It’s not the look ofsomeone being polite, but of someone enjoying herself.
“She’s been laughing a lot. I’m telling you, Isa, she’s into him.”
“Well, good for her,” I say, unable to hide my smile. “She deserves a bit of positive male attention after being married to Antonio Accardi.”
“No kidding. You think he’s serious?”
“What? No, they only just met. And Aldo and Maximo leave the day after tomorrow. But honestly, I hope she’ll have wild sex and make some juicy memories.”
Mia snorts into her glass. “God, can you imagine? Mamma getting laid. That would be… weirdly amazing.”
“Right? She deserves something just for her. For once.”
Mia smiles faintly, her gaze shifting again, scanning the glittering crowd.
“Speaking of male attention… it’s kind of strange, don’t you think?”
“What is?” I ask.
“With Father gone, men are actually allowed to talk to us. And they do.”
She’s right. All night, I’ve felt it too, those lingering glances, the sudden interest, like we’ve become visible for the first time. And not just to the eligible ones.
“Hardly surprising,” I mutter, shifting my glass from one hand to the other. “Now that we’re connected to the Don, we’ve become hot property.”
“Has anyone caught your interest?”
“Ha,” I huff, sharper than I mean to. “Not a chance. I’m not going to bind myself to any of these men. All our lives, we’ve been bargaining chips for our father. Now we might actually have a say in who we marry.”
“Mightbeing the operative word,” Mia says, daring a glance in Maximo’s direction over the rim of her champagne glass.
“Well, I’d rather die an old spinster than marry a man from our circles.” I glance at her, then lean in and whisper so only she can hear. “I want out, Mia.”
There, I’ve admitted it to her as well.
She stills. “Out?”
“Out of the Mafia. Out of all of this. I want a normal life. Quiet, boring, mine. I want to wake up in the morning and make choices without asking permission.”
