Giovanni handed Gael a bottle of Perrier and kept one for himself. They twisted the caps and took a sip of the sparkling water as they observed a group of carolers from a few doors down.

"What did he want?" Gael asked after pocketing the cap. "Mariano."

"They want to push up the wedding."

He cocked a brow, staring at his uncle and waiting for him to continue. Mariano would be the next underboss in their family when his father would replace Don Mario as the family boss. But lately, he seemed to be taking on more responsibility, so the De Lucas could only assume that he'd be moving up the rank soon.

From the little information Gael had gathered about Mariano's personal life, the bastard was a prick—well, probably similar to how he was in the past and how Giovanni was until now—a lady's man. Mariano was cruel, and as much as Gael knew, he wasn't the settling down type at all. During their meeting at the hotel in Esmea a few nights ago, Mariano wasn't as vocal as Gael's hesitation regarding the marriage arrangement. But Gael could sense that the other didn't want this just as much as he did. So why was he suddenly here and even wanted to speed up the wedding?

"It was agreed that we would decide the date. What's his reason for requesting that? Was he drunk? High? Was he held at gunpoint?" Gael was pissed as he muttered. It was already bad enough that they had to pretend to cooperate, and now the Morellis want to hasten it up? Laughable.

Giovanni shrugged. "Strange. Something must be up in their family. They're rushing it."

"What did you say?"

"I told him we weren't ready. He said they'd shoulder the cost of the wedding preparation and everything else."

"With what money?" Gael scoffed.

"Of course, I had to remind him it wasn't about money," Giovanni added.

The marriage between the two families meant they'd have to be generous with each other. It wouldn't be easy if they were two ordinary families who weren't out for each other's blood, so it certainly wouldn't be a walk in the park, what with their circumstances. The De Lucas had to protect their assets. Mariano knew this, of course, and Gael also knew that the Morellis were also trying to save theirs. It was a no-brainer. "And?" he questioned.

Giovanni took another sip of the water and set the glass on the porch. He rotated his neck from side to side and then massaged his nape. "I told him about my brother being in town. They already heard about his illness anyway. I said we couldn't have a celebration and disregard my brother's health. So the wedding will have to wait."

Italian weddings are a huge thing. And despite the order being an arranged one, the elders required a formal ceremony and not just a mere contract signing. Gael's other uncle being terminally ill should be enough of a reason not to rush the wedding. Having a big party while someone from their family was fighting to live every day didn't feel right—not that there would ever be a wedding. They just needed to buy some time.

"What did he say?" Gael probed.

"He's giving us a month tops. Said that my brother's illness shouldn't matter as he's not the one getting married anyway, so there's no need to delay."

"That son of a bîtch." Gael huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose when he felt a tension headache coming up from the base of his skull and then forming across his forehead. "Can we even do it in a month? Are we ready?"

"We have to be." Giovanni turned his head towards the other, his face hardening. "Otherwise, you'd be a married man sooner than you'd expect."

The muscle on Gael's jaw ticked at the thought. There was no fûcking way he'd be married to a Morelli. He briefly closed his eyes, trying to drown out his thoughts, not wanting to imagine that life. This would mean he'd have to be in New York more often to see the operations and have their plans in place. Staying in Esmea and handling his businesses remotely only worked because he thought he had more time. But now, they had to move faster, and he could only do that if he was here with his family in Brooklyn.

With all these in mind, an image of a beautiful woman entered his thoughts. Angela. The only reason he stayed in Esmea was because of her. How could he be there for her if he had to stay here? His mouth went dry as he worried. He finished the water and set the bottle next to Giovanni's, the atmosphere becoming sullen every second.

A few moments later, Giovanni broke the silence. "Lia was there."

"Lia? You mean your…" He stopped himself from saying 'your Lia?' and restarted. "She came with Mariano?"

"Not exactly." Giovanni took out a black cigarette and leaned his backside against the railing. He lit up the stick and then blew it in the air. "I left the club with Mariano, and she was right next to his car, waiting for him."

Mariano and Lia were half-siblings. And with her past with Giovanni, Gael didn't expect she'd show up in the neighborhood where his uncle practically told her never to show her face there ever again. He was curious about what happened, but he waited for Giovanni to continue.

Giovanni took another long drag, taking his time to tell his tale—or probably he was delaying it on purpose. A crooked smile that didn't look like it was bred from happiness crossed his face as he said, "She introduced her fiancé. Apparently, they got engaged this year and will get married in six months."

Gael raised his brows, studying his uncle's expression. He could sense that Giovanni was trying to mask his real emotions. "She told you that? You don't think she was only trying to make you jealous or something?"

A thick cloud of smoke lingered in the air as Giovanni puffed. He was smoking like a chimney. "There was a huge stone on her finger. Her story checked out. It was on the entertainment section of almost every newspaper in June. The man's a big shot in Ohio." He laughed, but there was no mirth in his eyes.

For so many years, Giovanni hadn't sought after Lia after what went down between them. It was the first time that Gael heard his uncle had the woman checked out. He shook his head. What was Lia thinking introducing her fiancé to Giovanni? "I'm sorry, man," was all he could say.

Giovanni chuckled, and Gael wanted to join him, realizing that they both looked pathetic at the moment.

Knitting his brows, Giovanni scoffed as he dropped the cigarette inside the green bottle. "Sorry? You kidding me? This is the best news I've heard in a long time. I feel sorry for the guy picking up my sloppy seconds." He pushed himself off the railing. "Oh, and then Gabby showed up."

It wasn't lost on Gael that the other quickly changed the topic, but he didn't call him out on it. "So I heard."

"Has she met Mariano before? It didn't seem like it was the first time they saw each other this afternoon," asked Giovanni.

"She didn't tell me if they did." This made Gael even more suspicious of his sister.

"Gabby wouldn't say anything, and she was pissed the entire ride home. She called me a sybaritic dingleberry. What the fûck does that even mean? Who says things like that?" The crease between Giovanni's brows was deep as he was thoroughly confused.

Despite himself, Gael couldn't help but chuckle. Oh, he knew someone like that all right. Perhaps Angela's writing influenced his sister's cursing. After all, Gabriella was a fan of Angela, and the latter was quite creative with her words.

"Gael, Gio, come inside. Everyone's waiting," Aurora called as she peeked through the window.

The two men nodded and headed back inside. As Gael entered through the door, he checked his phone, but there weren't any messages from Angela. He figured she was already asleep, so instead of calling, he sent her a message.

[ Gael: Buon Natale, Angel. Sento la tua mancanza. Vorrei che fossi qui. ]