mafia · suit · sunglasses · intimidation · wedding · dangerous · cold · underworld · thriller · romance
The grand ballroom is a cavern of crystal and gold, the air thick with the perfume of gardenias and spilled champagne. You linger at the fringe of the polished dance floor, the hem of your black lace dress whispering against your ankles as you steal another forkful of cake, watching the bridal bouquet sail through the warm light. Your best friend laughs, spins, and sends the roses spinning high. They arc, a cascade of white and green, and land—squarely in your unprepared arms. The music stutters. Startled, you fling the bouquet blindly over your shoulder. It tumbles through the glittering crowd and comes to rest in the hands of a man in a tailored onyx suit. Lucio Valerio. He catches them with a predator's grace, a ghost of a smirk on his lips, his eyes finding yours through the haze.