Chapter 10

As they approached the older man at the bar, Poppy noticed that the silver fox was just as handsome as his son. She found it amusing that is seemed everyone here tonight looked like they were straight out of a mob movie or a fashion magazine, and most of them ridiculously attractive. The idea made her a little self-conscious, if she was being truly honest with herself. Ironic since she didn't seem to know how to be honest with anyone else around her lately.

Poppy never saw herself as beautiful, even though many people told her she was. She felt average at best, and amongst Luke and his people, made her feel even more less-than than normal.

"Luke, can we talk, please?"

Stopping on his way to the bar, he turned to her, clearly annoyed. "Would you stop? Why are you acting so weird?"

"That's just it. I'm not the woman you think I am."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think so, too. You're my fiancé and you were just checking out Roman D'Amico in front of me, and not for the first time. You said he's not the one who was texting you, but I'm starting to think I was right. Keep your eyes on me, and only me. Got it? No woman disrespects me in front of my people."

Even though Poppy knew he was talking about Claudia, it was offensive that he thought she was disrespecting him. One thing she always seemed to have a problem with was her temper, and tonight would be no different, mafia boss date or not.

"Let me tell you something, Luke Gambino," she said, pointing her finger in his chest. "You are so full of yourself. Stop treating woman like they owe you something, and maybe your relationship would be in a better condition. Does your father treat your mother the way you're acting? Is he a controlling, possessive, psychopath who has his wife's phone tracked? That's just creepy and you know it!"

"What?" His eyes grew wide as he looked around, seeing his father drinking his wine with a smirk. "My father can hear you."

"Good," she snapped, stomping over to his father. "Mr. Gambino, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, doll face, what's up?" he asked as his wife stepped up beside him, clearly adoring her husband as if he was the only man in the room.

"Do you accuse your wife of cheating or treat her like property?"

"Nope, the little lady wouldn't have it. She'd kick my ass."

Nodding, Poppy turned back to Luke to look him in the eyes with a smug raise of her brow. "Would you talk over her, and be rude with everything she does or says? Including making fun of the way she dressed when she thought she looked cute and was liking her new outfit."

"Wait a minute… I wasn't making fun of you."

"I wasn't talking to you, Luke. I was addressing your father."

Staring at Poppy, or Claudia in his mind, he just glared at her. "You're ungrateful."

"For what? Being treated like a trophy piece? Respect goes both ways, you know."

The older man just laughed. "I like this girl. Where has this Claudia been?"

"Dad, really?"

"What? She's not wrong. You treat your women like a dog on a leash. Have you ever seen me treat your mother that way?"

His mom agreed, "Of course not, Mario. You know I'd knock your block off."

"Damn right you would, you foxy minx," his dad said, grabbing the woman around the waist. "Damn, I love this woman."

As Poppy watched the older couple coo over each other, she smiled and turned back to Luke. "That's what a woman wants. Trust, love, desire, and respect."

"Hear-hear!" agreed his mother. "Now, let's have a drink and head to our balcony seats. I hear this opera is going to be lovely tonight. Maybe my son can calm down and treat his fiancée properly. Son…"

Luke watched as his mother gave him the eye. He knew that look well and he knew better than to show any disrespect to his feisty Sicilian mother.

"Yes, mother. You're right." Taking Poppy's hand, he kissed it with a loving smile. "I'm sorry, my love. I've been acting crazy. This wedding just has my head spinning, and I'm causing you stress too. Why don't you tell father about your new business? I'm sure he'd love to hear about it."

"I'd be honored," she smiled back.

Truthfully, she needed to open up to him and be honest, but maybe this was the time for Poppy to teach Luke how to treat a lady, because clearly he needed a reality check. What would it hurt if she pretended just a little longer? After all, she was wearing a lovely dress and having the dream luxury date of her life. Maybe she'd wait until the date was over to tell the truth. What could a few more hours hurt, right?

***

As they settled into their seats in the concert hall, Luke seemed to be calmer now. Waving over to his bodyguard, he asked, "Any word?"

"Roman is here with his second in command and his older sister. They made funeral arrangements today and are just here for the opera to relax. No threat tonight."

"Good. We'll make an appearance at the funeral to show our respects."

His man seemed unsure. "We have word he thinks you're involved, sir."

Poppy's head jerked to look at Luke in shock as the men talked.

"I know. We need to show we had nothing to do with this, and if we did, we're not scared of him."

"Yes, boss. I'll make the arrangements to attend."

As the man walked away to stand guard, Poppy was looking at Luke like he lost his mind. "You're attending his brother's funeral and he thinks you did it. That's sick."

"Babe, really? You know how the family's work. You act like this is your first time at the rodeo. I make a show of dominance while also paying my respect for the dead. It's how we do things."

"It's how you do things. That's not how I operate. Of course, I'm not a made man… woman… whatever."

Luke just chuckled. "I told you how things work, and your own family is mafia. How do you not understand this? You need to stop watching old mob movies and come to the reality that in real life shit happens. You just have to deal with it and roll with the punches."

"And you need to not try to treat human life as if it's not important."

"You're starting to sound like my mother."

Poppy smirked, giving him a wink of amusement. "She must be a smart lady."

"Can we agree to enjoy this night and stop arguing? It's just cold feet that has us so tense. All this wedding planning has us both stressed."

"Luke I…"

"Oh, look it's starting," he interrupted making her roll her eyes.

One thing was for sure. Luke Gambino had a problem with his communication skills.