He had been picking me up on “dates” since our meeting. After I explained the situation to Keely, she seemed to accept it, but I could tell she was suspicious. Still, that didn’t stop her from making a comment about how fine Capo was when she first met him.
“Shit,” she had said. “That singer—what’s her name? The one who always writes about her boyfriends?—has no idea what she’s missing out on around here lately. Lots and lots and lots of creative inspiration. That tattoo on his hand has me wanting to lick it, not to mention that perfect face and that tight-ass body. Are you sure he’s real, Mari? The man doesn’t have one fucking flaw.”
I hadn’t found one yet, except for his coldness. It didn’t seem like he meant it, but there was something guarded about him at all times. It seemed like he had to make an effort to remove it when we were together. At The Club, in the darkness, he had been warm, dare I say welcoming, but in the daylight, he was as hard as a frigid wave.
His standoffishness didn’t take away from how well he seemed to know me already, though, because already, he was giving me things, experiences, I’d only written about in Journey. Our dates seemed tailored to fit me.
After our meeting, he had given me a card with the set amount of money on it. He told me I had to use it or he’d assume I was reneging on my end of the deal. This was, after all, an arrangement with terms.
I needed a new wardrobe. I worked on that.
I needed to start eating better. I jumped on that.
I had people to see about our two weddings. I did that.
Rocco’s secretary, Giada, made a comment about my hair when I’d gone to meet the wedding planner who took care of things in Italy. Most of my meetings took place at Rocco’s office. I still had no idea where Capo lived.
Giada secured me an appointment with one of New York’s hottest hair stylists, Sawyer Phillips, the same day. The Faustis had some real pull. Sawyer was kind to me, though, and after we were done, my hair was rich chestnut brown with swirls of caramel in the mix. The change was almost shocking.
My eyes were much more vibrant and my skin glowed from the inside out. It could have been that I was eating well, too, and not as stressed about where I was going to sleep and where my next meal was coming from. But…I had a standing appointment with Sawyer indefinitely after the first one, and two girls who did my nails.
I also had a man named Giovanni who followed me around when il capo wasn’t with me. I only saw Capo in the evenings for our dates, so I spent more time with Giovanni. He was a nice guy, and I usually didn’t mind him tagging along. I couldn’t help but notice how…different he was compared to Capo and the men who worked for or were related to the Faustis, though.
Giovanni wasn’t as attractive, which made no difference to me, but it seemed like Capo did it on purpose. And Giovanni and I had nothing in common. Zero things to talk about except for the weather and the things he liked and disliked about New York. He was from Italy.
Capo. My appearance. Even Giovanni.
There were so many changes in such a short period of time. I woke up knowing that some part of my life was going to be different. And after the wedding, I felt things were going to change even more. Capo seemed to be biding his time with the “dating” part of the deal. He wanted it to be official. Still, I hadn’t expected one thing:
I still felt like…me, just without the extra stressors.
I worried about the price of the clothes I bought. Even about the amount of groceries in my cart. So I bargain hunted, almost afraid the money was going to run out and I’d be left hungry and homeless again, even though I was still staying with Keely until her lease was up and I’d be married.
Some things would never change, I guessed. There’d always be a certain amount of fear in me. A certain amount of I can afford that, but what about that? Can I have a drink and fries?
All of these changes had to be explained to Keely, though, so she wouldn’t get too suspicious. So I told her that even though Capo didn’t give me the job, Rocco offered me one. I worked in his office as a gopher girl. To make this true, because I felt guilty about lying to her, I brought Giada coffee whenever I arrived.
Capo had nodded and said, “Bene,” when I had told him about what I had told Keely. We had to keep the story straight.
Capo’s hand came over both of mine after I sighed. “Stop fidgeting. It makes you look nervous.”
“I am,” I said. “Nervous.”
I’d been twirling the engagement ring he’d given me around my finger. It was a four-carat antique stunner. The central diamond was oval shaped. There was another surrounding layer of diamonds around the center. And then more diamonds on the sides. It was real artsy, feminine, and I could’ve sworn the side scrollwork and diamonds created abstract butterflies.
The only reason I knew the carat size was because Capo had told me. He didn’t want me to be worried about anything on the ring being a three. As far as I was concerned, he could’ve given me a simple gold band. The thing was heavy and sometimes I was afraid that someone would cut my finger off for it.
He had made the moment special, though. He’d taken me on a helicopter ride around New York at dusk, and after we landed, he told me to check my bag. I found a new coloring book inside. The title said: The Mariposa Princess. I had smiled when I opened it. It was a thick book and the first half of it was filled with character portraits of me in many different poses.
He told me to keep going and only stop when I got halfway through. The second half of the book had been carved out, but the ring sat in the center, and it was made to look like it was on my left finger. The bottom of the page had writing in elegant script: When you know, you know. I had slipped the coloring book back in my bag, the thought of it more valuable than the ring.
“That way we have a real story to tell,” he’d said. “No lies to keep track of.” He had slipped the ring on my finger, and we hadn’t spoken about it since.
I told Keely about it earlier that day. I didn’t want her to be taken by surprise during her party, and I didn’t want to announce it to all of her family. It was her day. I told her to tell if she wanted, but I was keeping quiet.
She hadn’t kept quiet after I’d told her. “It’s too soon! You hardly know him. He’s affiliated with one of the most powerful criminal families in history. And do you know what that means? They’re probably the reason he’s richer than sin!”
He was richer than sin.
When we were going over the financial side of things during our arrangement meeting, all that Capo owned was made clear to me. Not only did he own one of the most successful restaurants, but one of the most successful clubs and a string of fancy hotels. I knew his wealth better than I knew him as a man. And if he had criminal dealings? He hadn’t disclosed them at the meeting. I hadn’t asked either.
Not wanting to listen to her as she continued on the same path, I had taken out the coloring book he had given me, the ring, and showed them both to her. She’d read the inscription at the bottom of the page out loud.
When you know, you know.
“Do you truly want this, Mari?” she had asked, staring me in the eye. “If you say yes, I’ll back off.”
I grinned at that. “Yeah, Kee,” I said. “I really do. But we both know that you’re not going to back off.”