Bound by the Don's Decree

Her father paid his last debt with his daughter's name on the paper. Camille Bruno has a restaurant in Queens, a knife she loves, and no intention of marrying anyone. On a Tuesday she is told she is engaged to Salvatore Bruno — fifty-one, immaculate, and owed sixty years of favors by her family. He gives her the ground floor of his brownstone and a contractor's number. He does not ask her to be anything. He does not explain why the restaurant that raised her almost lost its lease five years ago, or who quietly paid for it. He is old enough to have been her father's friend. He is rich enough to have bought anything else. He waited five years to tell her anything at all. When a rival family moves on his routes, Camille walks into the room with a tray in her hands. Salvatore watches. He does not stop her. He should have known better.