Chapter 16

His cheeks were hurting from putting on a fake smile for so long. Sure thing, Karl’s dad was well known, and the wedding meant a chance for people from all corners of the country to come and kiss the pinky ring. Francesco wished he could just sit down for five minutes, as the long list of names that meant nothing to him moved past, offering congratulations they didn’t really believe to be true.

Not that anyone wished them harm right now, as he didn’t sense the danger like before. These people were just indifferent and were there for their own gain and nothing else. Karl seemed in high spirits, though, which was different from before, when they were still undergoing preparations. For that, and he was willing to endure that long night, and all that entailed.

“Francesco.”

He turned, putting on a mask of neutral deference. There was nothing more he wanted to do but strangle the asshole for putting those hounds on them. Hopefully, daddy-in-law didn’t suspect Morgan of helping them. “Yes, sir?” he said politely.

Karl was two feet away, engaged in conversation with two elderly couples. To think that he would see that guy like that. Such an image didn’t overlap a bit with Karl from the island, hungry, lean, and a little bit mad. Although, Francesco knew better. Before heading over to the ceremony, Karl had asked him to blow him and then not to brush his teeth. So, he was welcoming all these people while his mouth stank of the guy’s cum. If that wasn’t love, what was?

Don put a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Come with me for a bit.” Reading Francesco’s mind, he added, “Karl will be fine on his own for half an hour.”

Half an hour. A lot could happen in half an hour. He could be bent over a sofa or a desk and fucked raw. Or threatened and slapped around just for fun. Francesco didn’t pretend he could know what was in Don’s mind most of the time. During the preparations, he had left them alone, probably too concerned with his image in the press and giving interviews.

“There are some people that want to know you.”

Francesco held his tongue. He wanted to say that he was sick tired of meeting people, but it wasn’t like he could refuse off the bat without a proper excuse. He followed Don out of the huge ballroom and into a long hallway. Anywhere this man went, he took his business with him, as it looked.

Don opened a door and let Francesco walk in first. He stopped, dead in his tracks, when he saw who it was. Bea was prettier in real life, and without that never changing smile, she looked different, more mature, and more attractive. A lifetime ago, when Francesco was still trying to be an ordinary guy, he would have found her beautiful. Now that any jealousy was out of the way, he felt free to think that.

Don stood in the door for a moment. “I’ll leave you two kids alone to talk.”

Oh, so he was throwing him to the wolves. But without any preparations? What was he supposed to tell so that it didn’t turn into a scandal? He was still pondering what to say when Bea walked toward him and promptly slapped him hard over the face.

Too much in shock of her gesture, he just grabbed his cheek and stared at her in disbelief. She was breathing hard and prey to emotions only she knew what to make of. “You bastard,” she hissed.

Wow. So Miss Perfect knew a few nasty words.

“Oh, how do you know that?” Francesco asked smoothly.

“What?” she asked, taken aback by his reaction.

“How do you know I’m a bastard?”

She blinked a couple of times and then regained her composure. She walked away, remaining at a fair distance, half-turned from Francesco. Could it be that she had been invited to the wedding? That was cruel. Don should have known better. Bea’s parents were hot shots; it didn’t do to annoy them, or their daughter.

“I know you two didn’t meet while volunteering,” she finally decided to talk.

“Really? How do you know that? Everybody believes that we did meet while volunteering,” Francesco said. He tried to keep his voice neutral, but any wrong move, and everything he had struggled to build the last weeks would go to shit.

“I just want to know for myself. Everything you tell me, it will remain between us,” she said.

Francesco snorted. “Why should I believe you? You just slapped me silly, and we don’t even know each other.”

Bea faced him again and a small smile lit her face briefly. “I understand why he likes you.”

He loves me, Francesco wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut. When in doubt, it was better to let the other talk.

“You’re very handsome,” Bea said and shook her head like she didn’t believe herself for saying those things. “But that’s not it. Karl wouldn’t go just for a pretty face.”

Right through the heart. Francesco shifted his position. So, she did know Karl, as little time as they had spent together. The old jealousy began to rear its head again.

“No, he’s the type of man who’d go through fire for something he believes in,” she continued. “Or someone he truly loves. So, I need to know. How did you two meet?”

Francesco sighed. Was it a calculated risk on Don’s part? Would it cost him everything to tell Bea the truth? “Girls like you don’t want to hear the truth,” he said quietly.

“Girls like me? What do you mean?” She only seemed genuinely interested in what he intended to say by that.

Francesco made a vague gesture at their surroundings. “You were born in a good family, away from all the ugliness of the world. Well, it wasn’t like that for me.”

“Oh, boo.” She rolled her eyes, and Francesco smirked. Yeah, there was some fire in that chick. Maybe Karl had liked her a bit. “So, Mr. Woe-is-me, just go ahead and tell me.”

Francesco closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he opened them and stared her in the eyes. “In some sort of post-juvie prison. How does that sound for a romantic beginning?”

Bea looked at him for a moment and then burst into laughter. “Prison? Do you just want to shock me? Come on, why would Karl be in a prison of any kind?”

Francesco relaxed. When the truth was so unbelievable, normal people with normal lives simply chose to think it impossible, too. “You’re right. I’m just pulling your leg,” he said with a shrug. “Come on, it’s not that complicated. Karl grew up surrounded by nothing but guys. Is it that absurd that he turned out gay? Or do you think that he only used his hand as company all this time?”

Bea grimaced. “I suppose he found other types of companionships during his military education if that’s what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah. Other dudes’ hands. And mouths. And asses.”

“Do you think I’m impressed by your dirty talk?” She narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t need you to be impressed. I don’t need you to be anything,” he replied calmly. “You’re the one who wants something from me, not the other way around. And trust me, I’m more than willing to give it to you. For the record, I have nothing against you.”

Bea nodded thoughtfully. “It couldn’t have happened so fast. Not while he was with me,” she said slowly, as if she was trying to figure something by herself.

“No, that’s true,” Francesco confirmed. “Karl and I, we go way back. A long time before he met you.”

She nodded again. “So, it was just a rekindling of old times?”

Francesco knew he needed to cut deep if he wanted this girl to stop hurting already over things that weren’t in her power to change. “Rekindling is not the right word. It never died, this thing between us.”

A flicker of hurt passed her eyes. “I see,” she murmured. “So he cheated on me this entire time.”

“Will you use that against him? Us?” Francesco asked. If she did, there was little he could do to stop her.