Page 5 of When She Loves
The dinner appears to be over. Rafaele walks around the table to where I’m sitting and grabs me by the arm. “Let’s go,” he says in a low voice. His hold on me is firm but not painful. I let him lift me to my feet and lead me out of the restaurant.
An SUV is waiting outside. He opens the door, shoves me inside, and slides in after me. His scent washes over me, spicy and masculine.
Nero takes the driver’s seat and starts the car, his eyes briefly meeting mine in the rearview mirror.
My head spins. I press my temple against the cool window and try to come to terms with what just happened.
“Your sister said your father beat her. Did he do the same to you?” Rafaele asks, a strange lilt to his voice.
I glance sideways at him. “No,” I say. “Only Gemma.”
He rolls his shoulders, not looking at me. “I’m taking you to my home. You will stay there until our wedding, because your father is clearly incompetent when it comes to overseeing his daughters. There won’t be any further change of plans. You will walk down that aisle in three days and become my wife. Do you understand?”
He’s right. My father is incompetent in many ways.
But Rafaele isn’t.
Something tells me there won’t be any sneaking out ofhishouse.
When I don’t say anything for a second too long, he takes my chin in his hand. His touch burns against my skin, but his blue eyes are pure ice. “Do you understand?”
Dismay drips into my blood.
By marrying this man, I’m signing my life away.
I swallow and give him the smallest of nods. “I understand.”
CHAPTER2
2 DAYS LATER
CLEO
The doorbehind me opens without a single knock.
That’s a first. The maid usually knocks before she brings in my meals.
I tear my gaze away from the view of my fiancé’s garden through the arched bedroom window and turn. A strange woman I haven’t seen before stands in the doorway.
Black button-up shirt, gray knee-length skirt, and a sensible pair of Mary Janes. The outfit screams uniform, but it’s different from the one the maid wears.
She gives me a cross look, her gaze critically scanning my body, and her lips curling at my two-day-old clothes.
I’m still in the same dress I wore to the dinner where Gemma announced she’s pregnant. I would have loved to change into something else, but for whatever reason, the maid only brought me Rafaele’s T-shirts.
No thanks.
The woman closes the door and chucks a black garment bag onto the unmade bed. “Go shower. You need to get ready for your rehearsal dinner. The Messeros will all be here to see you, and you will not embarrass the don by looking like something the cat dragged in.”
Wow. Sounds just like Mamma.
When I don’t move, she scowls at me. “Are you deaf?”
Mild indignation coasts over my skin. Who the hell is she? She’s got a mean look and a mean mouth, but what she doesn’t realize yet is that I can be far meaner.
I march over to her until I encroach into her personal space. Her eyes widen. When I grab her wrist and squeeze hard, she gasps.
“Where is my sister?” I demand.
