Page 40 of Wicked Prince

Dad grunts in acknowledgment, but he doesn't argue. It's clear he's banking on that as well, or we wouldn't be here.

At least, I wouldn't.

Kayleigh just sits there preening, making it clear she doesn't care about being a bargaining chip for the family empire. I guess that's what happens when you're raised in it. All this must seem normal to her. Sane, even.

Curiosity gets the better of me, and I'm about to chance invoking Natalie's ire to ask which esteemed family will be joining us this evening when she freezes with her glass halfway to her lips and then sets it aside. Her face lights up and she gives a little wave to the small group following behind the maitre'd.

"There they are," Natalie purrs, shifting into pleasant socialite mode so fast I almost get whiplash.

I turn to see a man and a woman, both around their mid-fifties, walking toward us. The man is Dad's height, but he doesn't look quite as imposing even if he has the whole slicked-back hair mob boss look down pat. The woman next to him is the picture of elegance with her light brown hair gathered into a tight bun and a simple blue-and-white color-blocked dress that accentuates her slender figure.

"Cindy, darling," Natalie says, embracing the woman and kissing both her cheeks. "My God, you age backwards every time I see you."

"You're too kind, Natalie," Cindy responds with a pleasant if guarded smile, touching her shoulder. "You look lovely. And Kayleigh," she says, turning to my half-sister with a heavy sigh. "You've grown up so much since the last I saw you."

I take a sip of my water, standing by until Dad decides he wants to introduce me, if at all.

Kayleigh leans in to hug her. "It's so good to see you, Mrs. Rossi."

I choke and it's all I can do not to snort water all over my empty place setting. When I look up, Natalie is giving me a look one might give to a dog that's notorious for pissing on the floor in front of guests, but no one else seems to notice.

I'm too busy gaping at the newcomers, though, as a feeling of dread wells up in the pit of my stomach. There's someone standing behind the couple, and even though I can't see him clearly, I have a terrible, gnawing feeling I know exactly who it is.

Sure enough, Cindy leans in so my father can kiss her cheek as he utters some greeting my frenzied mind can't bother to process, revealing the last person I ever wanted to see here.

Lorenzo.

ChapterSixteen

AMELIA

Lorenzo is wearing a black suit that makes him look like some Italian playboy you'd see on the cover of a watch magazine, his hair lightly moussed back as usual. Like always, he’s just slightly too perfect to be real.

And God, how I wish he wasn't.

He's staring right back at me like he's seeing a ghost, but I would feel so much better if that was the case.

All I can do is sit there staring at the spectre before me for what feels like an eternity while the world moves on around me. Eventually, even Lorenzo manages to break away to greet Dad and Natalie, flipping the normal person switch everyone but me seems to have been born with. He shakes my father's hand and gives him some vague but respectful greeting I'm still too out of it to parse.

"And who might this be?" Cindy asks, smiling at me and drawing me out of my daze.

I turn to look at her and my lips part instinctively to answer, but nothing comes out. At the moment, I'm not even sure what the answer is. Or that it matters.

Who am I again, tonight?

This turn of events has left me shaken to the point where even my own identity is questionable. Not that that's really saying much.

Numbness.

Shock.

I don't know which has set in. Maybe both. All I know is that I should be feeling something I'm not.

I don't even feel like I'm really here. Like at any moment, I could wake up and be back in my dorm room, or better yet, back in my actual home with Mom right down the hall. Maybe this is just some chaotic fever dream. Some cosmic punishment for ever wishing I was part of my father's life.

Before I can answer, Dad is right behind me, his hand on my shoulder. "This is my daughter, Amelia. Amelia, this is Cynthia and Luca Rossi. And of course, their son, Lorenzo."

His name is like some magic word that breaks the spell keeping my emotions held back, and once the dam breaks, they all come crashing down on me. Hard enough that I lose whatever shred of my bearings I managed to gain over the last few seconds.

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