By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(41)

Dad didn’t say anything but his expression didn’t soften in the slightest. I got why he wasn’t impressed with me. I’d done a lot of shitty things over the last five to eight years.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to get through to his thick skull.

“Humor me, who is it?”

“Greta.”

Dad stared, his mouth setting in a thin line. “As in Greta Falcone?”

“Yes. I want her.”

Dad shook his head, chuckling. Then he sobered when I didn’t fall in. “You’re being serious.”

“I’m deadly serious. I want Greta.”

Dad shoved to his feet and carefully put the glass down on the small side table as if he worried that he could throw it at me if he kept it in his hand.

He came closer, his eyes incredulous but also angrier than I’d seen them in a long time. “Amo, have you lost your fucking mind?”

I stared back at him, unblinking, as serious as I’d ever been about anything in my life.

“Let’s disregard the fact that you’re going to marry Cressida in a few weeks, shall we? You could have any woman in the Famiglia. Every family would gladly give their daughter to you as a wife, but Remo Falcone’s daughter that’s not something I can make happen. Nobody can unless they’re ripping her from his cold, dead hands, and even then you’d still have to kill the remaining Falcone bunch.”

I knew all that. I knew Remo Falcone would ram his blade into my heart before I’d finished asking for her hand. Not to mention Greta’s crazy twin. “I’m willing to risk it. I want Greta. It’s her or no one.”

Dad looked at me as if I’d lost my fucking mind, then his expression hardened and he grabbed my arm. “Don’t tell me you touched her? Or heaven forbid took her virginity? I swear, Amo, I’m going to beat the shit out of you for the first time in your fucking life if that’s the case. Cressida, that was something we got under control, but Greta? Hell would look pretty cozy in comparison to our life if you fucked up like this.”

I shook him off, fury bursting in my chest. “I wouldn’t dishonor Greta like that,” I growled. “She’s honorable.”

Dad searched my face and grimaced. “Fuck it. You’re serious about her.”

“I am, Dad. I want Greta.”

He shook his head again. “Remo Falcone won’t ever allow it. He’d rather chop himself into pieces and send us the bloody mess than give us his daughter. I don’t have leverage against him to force him and to be honest I doubt he’d let anyone force him into giving away his daughter. He’d go on a fucking rampage as he should.”

“What if Greta wanted to marry me?”

Doubt flashed across Dad’s face. “She does?”

I wasn’t a 100% sure. Greta and I hadn’t really discussed our feelings, nor had we talked about a future together because Cressida had always been in the way. “I haven’t asked her. But she and I…” I shook my head. It was difficult to put into words what went on between us. I didn’t even understand it myself.

“You hardly know the girl. How can you be sure about anything?”

“How can you ever really be sure about something? But Dad, what would you have done if you had met Mom after being engaged to someone else? Would you have given her up or would you have done everything in your power to make her yours?”

Dad shook his head. “This is lunacy, Amo, and nothing you say will make me think otherwise. Even if you and Greta had some kind of connection, then there’s still the major problem of Cressida. A Capo needs to honor his men’s families and the traditions. If we cancel the wedding now, this would cause ripples none of us could control. The only way this could happen was if you waive your position as future Capo.”

My stomach tightened. I’d once before offered up my position, to Marcella, but deep down I’d known she wouldn’t accept. This was different. I’d always wanted to become Capo. It was in my blood, and had until recently been my only desire. Things had changed since I’d first met Greta. But would I really give up my future for her?

Part of me shouted yes, without hesitation, another part wanted to have both and simply beat down anyone who disagreed.

Dad grabbed my shoulder. “This is not something I can do for you, Amo. And you shouldn’t consider giving up being Capo for a girl you hardly know and can’t have unless you start a war with the Camorra. My wedding with your mother was supposed to guarantee peace but a possible wedding to Greta would cause a bloody war.”

I had considered what Dad said. Still the thought of giving up Greta without fighting felt like a coward move. Dad was weighing the options as Capo, as a bystander of what Greta and I had.

“Love doesn’t happen in a blink, Amo. What you experience with Greta is lust, cold feet and the thrill of the forbidden. Don’t ruin your future because you mistake it for something else.”

Dad knew the love Mom and he shared. He didn’t know much about romantic love apart from that. Did I love Greta? I didn’t know. It was something I’d never felt before. I knew it was more than I’d ever had. It was something new entirely. It was so impossibly strong I could hardly believe it could become more. Was it love? Possibly. Was I falling in love? Definitely.

I knew love at first sight was a hoax. And yet, my feelings for Greta defied logic.