Page 9 of When She Loves
Joshua shakes his head. “I was tired of sitting on the sidelines. I deserve more.”
Entitled piece of shit.I lean forward until we’re face-to-face. “You deservenothinguntil you learn to not be a slave to your emotions.”
Joshua lets out a pained moan and starts mumbling something, but I’m done with this conversation. I turn away from him and head for the door.
I exit the room and lock the door behind me. Nero’s standing just outside, making the necessary arrangements over the phone. The hallway has low ceilings, so he has to hunch slightly to make his six-five frame fit. He glances at me and gives me a nod. There’s no need for me to stick around to make sure Nero carries out my orders. There aren’t many men I trust completely, but my consigliere is one of them.
I’m about to take the stairs when Nero calls out my name.
I glance over my shoulder. “What is it?”
Nero presses his palm over the phone’s receiver. “You sure about this?”
He’s not talking about Conor.
He’s also not the first person to ask me that question over the last few days.
I’m a man who likes to be in total control, and yet I’m about to marry a famously uncontrollable woman.
Cleo Garzolo has done everything in her power to make herself unattractive as a marriage prospect, including lying about losing her virginity to some kid. A lie that will hang over me until I display our bloody wedding sheets as proof that she was pure.
She’s erratic, has no sense of self-preservation, and drinks enough to qualify as a barely functioning alcoholic.
It’s understandable why my very traditional Italian family disapproves of her.
When Gemma, the Garzolo sister I was originally supposed to marry, said she was pregnant and that Cleo was willing to take her place instead, I agreed to the outrageous proposition before I even realized the words were out of my mouth. On paper, Gemma was the perfect woman to marry. But for some fucking reason, I found myself looking at Cleo whenever I was supposed to be looking at her sister.
“I’m collecting the payment Garzolo owes me.”
Nero snorts. “You’re so full of shit.”
“Watch it.”
“You wanted that girl long before she got served to you on a silver platter.”
I give him a warning look. Nero’s been by my side for nearly a decade, and he’s the closest friend I’ve got, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s my subordinate. We’re close, but not so close that I’d ever jeopardize my duty as don—to do whatever it takes to protect and grow my family’s power—for his sake.
That duty is why I’m marrying in the first place.
“Stefano Garzolo bargained his family away to stay out of jail. I can either get what he owes me through force, or I can marry his daughter. The latter is the logical choice for more than one reason. It avoids bloodshed. It also gets me a wife. At my age, I need one.”
Nero looks amused. “Right. Very logical. Tell me, what’s the logic behind all the times I’ve caught you staring at her tits?”
I purse my lips. Sometimes I forget how observant my consigliere can be. “She’s a beautiful woman, and I’ll enjoy having her in my bed,” I say dismissively.
“She’s not just beautiful, is she? She’sunhinged. And yet, you still said yes to marrying her. All that for a lay who’ll likely try to bite your cock off on your wedding night.” He barks out a laugh.
“She won’t bite anything off.”
“She’ll drive you fucking insane with her behavior.”
“Most of her misbehavior was aimed at avoiding marriage. She failed. Why would she continue to act out after she’s married to me?”
“Don’t think she’ll see it that way. She’s not pure logic like you are. She’s marrying you because of her sister, not because she likes you, and based on what we’ve seen of her, Cleo isn’t one to suffer in silence.”
I arch a brow. “Good to know you think she’ll suffer being married to me. How have you survived all these years by my side?”
“I often ask myself that question,” he says with a grin before his expression turns serious. “I’ve seen how she gets under your skin.”
