Birthright by Shay Savage

Author:Shay Savage [Savage, Shay]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Shay Savage, LLC
Published: 2020-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16—Catholic Guilt

This is it. Tonight, Cherry will come to my house and meet my family for the first time. This is a crucial step to solidify my hold over Cherry, using her need for a family connection to my advantage. If all goes well tonight, she will be sure to agree to marry me when the time comes.

I take a deep breath and look at everyone gathered for our family meeting.

“What’s the status of the restaurant?” I ask Antony.

“Pretty well taken care of,” my cousin tells me. “Word is out. No one will go there anymore.”

“Good.” I stifle the smile that tries to creep over my face. “Is that everything?”

Kate looks over her notes before she rattles off a few more numbers. Pops leans against the wall, near the giant portrait he had commissioned for himself a few years ago, and yawns. I glare over at him, but he doesn’t pay any attention to me.

“That should cover it all,” Kate finally says.

“Good. Now, the last order of business is a little more personal.” I look around the room. “Cherry is coming to dinner tonight. I expect everyone to be welcoming, obviously, but also make sure you avoid any talk about business. Family stuff is fine, but she doesn’t know what all we’re into, and I want to make sure that by the time she understands, it’s not going to be an issue.”

“How the hell are you going to do that?” Antony asks.

“He thinks she’ll be too hopelessly head over heels for him to care,” Nora says, snickering. “Blinded by love, right Nataniele?”

“Something like that.” The first meeting she attends in weeks, and she has offered nothing but sarcasm the whole time.

“Buy her a new car,” Antony says. “That piece of shit she drives is an eyesore.”

“That’s not what she wants.” I stand up and stretch my aching back as I wonder if I need to replace Pops’ chair. “Cherry has no family and no friends to speak of. I don’t need to give her trinkets. I need to give her a place where she feels like she belongs, and you’re going to give that to her. Be friendly. Include her in everything, and for fuck’s sake, don’t talk about business!”

“That’s a standing order for family dinners,” Nora reminds me.

“Yeah, well, it’s especially important tonight.” I glance at Kate, but she doesn’t look at me. She keeps twisting her fingers in her lap and chewing on her lower lip. “Kate? Did you want to say something?”

“Honestly, Nate,” my aunt says, finally looking up, “I don’t know how I feel. We need a wedding quickly, of course. Weddings must follow funerals to keep the family numbers up and that strengthen us. Not having one invites further tragedy, and we’ve seen recently how true that is. Who gets married and to whom they get married isn’t necessarily of consequence. That said, I’m not sure why you haven’t reached out to the other families for a suitable arranged marriage. Then you wouldn’t have this problem.

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