Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Follow these little clues and come get your special present. I know you’re slippery enough to evade all the guards.
How could I have been so stupid to believe it was from Matteo? Yes, he would be the one to challenge me like this, but to confess feelings for me would be so damn foolish. He hates me almost as much as I hate him. That’s what I went in there to tell him when I’d been caught off guard by that jackass.
I crept across the lawns, dodging guards, missing all the cameras, having slinked past them numerous times before. Matteo missed all the things he said before. “You stupid bitch. He’d never want you. He might protect his favorite enforcer’s little terror, but you’re not the girl he’d marry. It’s going to be fun to see how he failed to protect you. All that effort gone to waste.”
Matteo loved my father as his own because he was amazing at his job and I was just a pain in the ass they had to control to keep my dad happy and working for them.
I tear the stupid card in half and toss it and the rose in my trash.
With my light suitcase packed, I hear a rapid knock on my door. “Sweetheart, can I come in?” my mother asks.
“One moment.” I tuck the suitcase under the bed and go to the door, opening it for her.
“Vivian, my little girl. I don’t know what happened today, but I want to talk about it. Will you talk to me?”
“What is there to say? I’m marrying a man that’s only doing it to save face, so he doesn’t have an uprising on his hands,” I say.
“It’s more than that.”
“Yes, he enjoys control and a challenge. I’m a challenge he wants to conquer.”
She smiles, brushing her hand through my hair. “So, you know how your father and I met?”
I nod. “Dad worked for Uncle Dario, and he was in love with Aunt May.”
“Yes, but that’s not how we met.” Now that I come to think about it, did they ever really tell us? Maybe not. Everything in this family is meant to be a secret, after all.
“How did you meet?” I huff, plopping down on my bed, waiting for her to explain.
“I kicked him in the balls when he tried to kidnap me.” My eyes shoot up before she manages to finish her sentence.
“He tried to kidnap you?” Oh my goodness, I thought I got my toughness from my father, but it’s not just him. Mom has a hidden side that I wasn’t aware of. A real ballbuster.
“Well, technically he succeeded a few minutes later, but I got in a good shot before then.”
I slap my hand to my mouth, holding back a deep belly laugh. “Oh my God.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t even know it was him who grabbed me, so I reacted. Besides, I didn’t know him anyway, and you’ve seen how intimidating he can appear. Imagine in the middle of the woods during a rainstorm.” I just stare and shake my head. They are two crazy people who love each other unconditionally. “See? It’s very complicated. When I first lived with your Aunts May and June, I worked at a news station.”
“Why did you stop?”
“One, I met your father, and two…well, let’s just say it wasn’t the right place for me.”
“So how did the whole kidnapping, ball-knocking thing happen?” I want the details. I’m old enough to know how they truly met and managed to not kill each other.
“Well, I was on assignment in Missouri with my boss, who was a total pervert, and your father stalked me all the way there.”
“Stalked you?”
“Yeah, he saw a picture of me and knew I’d be his wife. He wasn’t too happy that I was away with another man and lost it. In reality, he actually saved me from not only myself, but from some nasty people. I was running to some dangerous territory without proper gear and no cell phone signal in the middle of a rainy night.”
“Damn.”
“So we don’t always see our path, but things work out. Matteo’s a good man. Crazy as fuck, but in my opinion, he’s perfect for you.”
“Perfect for me? He doesn’t have feelings for me, and what about all the whores that are after him?”
“Do you see him with any?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t discreet about his private affairs.”
“You don’t have to worry about his fidelity to you, my sweet Vee. He respects marriage and all that it means.” Maybe I won’t be enough for him. Matteo is a man’s man, and I’m a woman who kicks ass. Don’t know how to be sexy, but my mom wouldn’t understand that since she’s the epitome of beauty. Even at her age, she outshines me by miles. My dad worships the ground she walks on. That’s a love I want, an obsession I crave, and there’s only one man I want it all from. He’s just not up for the task.