The Mafia’s First Love

The Dinner

Victor

I looked at the clock.

Seven minutes past eight.

Dave was late.

Again.

I leaned back in my chair and glanced across the dining room.

Mr. Arson sat opposite me, calm as ever. His wife was beside him, and Andrea sat quietly between them.

Everything about the evening was exactly as planned.

Except my son.

"He'll come," I said.

Mr. Arson gave a small smile.

"I have no doubt."

I wasn't worried about whether Dave would come.

He knew better than to embarrass the Arson family.

Tonight wasn't about dinner.

It was about the future.

The Garun empire had survived because we understood one thing better than anyone else.

Power was never maintained by strength alone.

It was maintained through alliances.

And the Arsons were an alliance worth having.

Andrea had been raised for this world.

She understood the rules.

She understood what came with being a Garun.

More importantly, she understood what would eventually be expected of her.

My son needed to understand the same thing.

The doors opened.

I looked up.

Dave walked in.

His expression was unreadable.

Good.

At least he hadn't come here intending to make a scene.

"You're late," I said.

He removed his jacket.

"I had work."

Mr. Arson chuckled.

"You're running an empire already. I suppose you're allowed a few minutes."

Dave took his seat.

His eyes moved around the table.

Then they stopped on Andrea.

For the first time that evening, I saw something change in his expression.

Only for a second.

But I noticed.

Andrea

I had imagined meeting Dave Garun a hundred different ways.

None of them looked like this.

He walked into the room as though everyone else had been waiting for him.

And perhaps we had.

I'd heard about him for years.

Everyone had.

Cold.

Ruthless.

Difficult.

Powerful.

The future head of the Garun empire.

But none of those descriptions had prepared me for actually sitting across from him.

His eyes met mine.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

"Andrea."

My father gestured toward me.

I smiled.

"Dave."

He gave a slight nod.

"Nice to meet you."

I almost laughed.

That was it?

After everything I'd heard about him?

"Likewise."

I picked up my glass.

My hands were steady.

I refused to let him see that I was nervous.

I'd been told enough about this family to understand what tonight meant.

This wasn't simply dinner.

Our fathers had already decided where this was going.

And I had no intention of pretending I didn't know.

I looked at Dave again.

He seemed completely uninterested.

That bothered me.

Perhaps more than it should have.

I had grown up knowing that one day I would marry a man who could stand beside my family.

I'd expected that man to want me.

Dave Garun looked as though he was already somewhere else.

I wanted to know where.

Dave

I knew exactly what my father was doing.

I knew the moment I saw Andrea sitting at the table.

This wasn't dinner.

It was an introduction disguised as one.

I looked at her.

She was beautiful.

There was no denying that.

She carried herself with confidence, spoke politely, and seemed completely comfortable in a room where most people would have been intimidated.

She made sense.

That was the problem.

Andrea belonged here.

She understood this world.

She understood my family.

She understood the kind of life that came with the Garun name.

Maya didn't.

My thoughts immediately went to her.

I hated that they did.

I looked away.

"How is work?" Andrea asked.

"Busy."

"Father tells me you're taking over more of the company."

"I'm handling more responsibility."

She smiled.

"That must be exciting."

"It can be."

Silence settled between us.

I wasn't good at pretending.

And I wasn't going to start tonight.

Across the table, Father watched me.

He knew exactly what I was thinking.

Or perhaps he thought he did.

"Dave," he said, "Andrea will be visiting the holding soon."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"She should understand the business she'll eventually be part of."

The words landed heavily.

Eventually.

I looked at Andrea.

She lowered her eyes briefly.

So she knew too.

Of course she did.

I leaned back.

"I don't remember agreeing to anything."

My father's expression hardened.

"We're not discussing this here."

"Then don't bring it up here."

The table went quiet.

Mr. Arson cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we should allow them time to know each other."

I almost laughed.

Know each other?

This had nothing to do with knowing each other.

It was an arrangement.

A transaction.

An alliance.

And everyone at this table knew it.

Except perhaps Andrea, who seemed determined to believe there was something more.

I looked at her again.

For some reason, I felt guilty.

That irritated me even more.

Ken

I arrived late enough to avoid the first part of dinner.

That was intentional.

I walked into the dining room with a smile.

"Sorry. Traffic."

Father gave me a look.

"You live ten minutes away."

"I know."

I pulled out a chair.

Then I noticed her.

Andrea.

Interesting.

I looked at Dave.

His expression told me everything.

He wasn't pleased.

I smiled to myself.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing important," Dave said.

I sat beside him.

"Then why do you look like you want to murder someone?"

His eyes moved toward me.

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"Not when you're this entertaining."

Andrea laughed softly.

It was the first genuine reaction I'd seen from her all evening.

I smiled at her.

"I'm Ken."

"I know."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You've heard of me?"

"Everyone has."

"Good things, I hope."

She smiled.

"Mostly."

I laughed.

The dinner continued.

I listened.

I watched.

I said very little.

But I remembered everything.

The arrangement.

Andrea.

Dave's resistance.

And the way Father's attention kept returning to the two of them.

There was tension beneath the table.

The kind that didn't disappear simply because everyone was pretending to eat.

I leaned back.

This could become interesting.

Dave

The dinner ended later than I wanted.

I stood outside beneath the cold night air, waiting for my driver.

"Dave."

I turned.

Andrea stood behind me.

"I wanted to say goodbye."

"Goodnight."

She smiled.

"You really don't talk much, do you?"

"Not when there's nothing to say."

She laughed softly.

"At least you're honest."

I looked at her.

"You seem to understand the situation."

"I do."

She glanced toward the house.

"Our fathers have been discussing this for a long time."

"I know."

"Then I suppose tonight was simply their way of making things official."

"Something like that."

She smiled again, but there was a quiet understanding behind it.

"Well, I enjoyed dinner."

"So did I."

"Goodnight, Dave."

"Goodnight, Andrea."

She walked back toward the house.

I remained where I was, my hands in my pockets.

My father's decision had been clear.

The Arsons wanted the alliance.

My family expected me to accept it.

And for the first time, I found myself wondering how far I was willing to let other people decide the direction of my life.

I looked toward the road.

I wasn't ready to agree to anything yet.

But I knew the pressure wasn't going to disappear.

And sooner or later, I was going to have to make a choice.