AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Only then did I walk away, immediately pulling out a cigar, using the cutting to snip the end as I eased the sharp clipper into my hand.
“Whew,” Kane said. “That was incredible.”
“Yeah? Well, maybe I’m just getting started. As I said, no one fucks with my family.”
Maybe a little bit of violence was in order.
CHAPTER 8
Maria
Whoever said imitation was the purest form of admiration was a moron.
Maybe that wasn’t the right phrase, but it fit the situation perfectly.
What the hell did I think I was doing other than setting myself up for failure?
Or death.
I no longer recognized myself when I looked in the mirror, even if it was the same eyes peering at me that I’d always remembered. While I had to admit the layered haircut was stunning, adding fullness to my natural curls, I wasn’t certain I liked the hint of purple highlights. But that was one aspect I could change once the wedding was finished. Of course, that was if I passed the test tonight. Meeting my future fake husband for the first time had me in a bundle of nerves even after almost two weeks of extensive training and coiffing, fittings and travel shows depicting Italy.
I was overloaded, overwhelmed, and exhausted even though I’d been staying in a gorgeous suite in a massive estate complete with an indoor/outdoor pool and game room. I’d had a chef at my disposal, the award-winning Italian preparing dishes I never believed I’d enjoy in my lifetime.
Plus, I’d been able to play piano, which was something Maria had done her entire life. My mother had called daily, thoroughly enjoying her stay in what seemed like more of a posh resort than a medical facility. The doctors were already hopeful. Meanwhile, the real Maria hadn’t experienced the same good fortune, her body already surrendering to the effects of the round of drugs she was on to try to counteract the disease. It had a name far too long for me to understand.
She’d lost at least fifteen pounds, her skin already graying. I hated seeing that in her. In the time we’d spent together, I’d found her both infuriating and adorable, breathing new life into mine while hers was being sucked out of her.
And her parents were… interesting, her father frowning at me every chance he got.
Now I stood in a bright crimson dress that hugged every curve, the tall heels something I’d practiced walking in, but they felt awkward to my feet.
Leonardo was now my bodyguard, the man watching me like a hawk. We were in the hotel where I’d met Maria, the suite remaining in the family’s name the entire time in case someone checked. I was allowed some aspects of freedom now that all the paperwork had been completed, the contract signed. However immersed I’d become in the girl’s world instead of mine, I still felt like a fish out of water.
This was nothing more than a brief meet and greet, although I’d opened a bottle of wine, mostly to try to calm my nerves. So much for not drinking very much. After this, Daniel would either put a stamp of approval on the wedding or I’d be returned to my life twenty thousand dollars richer. I wasn’t certain which I preferred. I half expected the man to be a balding, fat dude instead of the hunk I’d seen and investigated in the pictures.
What I’d learned while surfing for information was that both families were more than just powerful.
They were extremely dangerous, two of the most powerful mafias in the world. Maria had learned enough about my weakness, my mother, to dangle a big fat carrot in front of me. She’d known I couldn’t refuse the opportunity, the possibility my mother could live a longer and healthier life.
I took another sip of wine, wishing the soft strains of Italian music could calm my nerves but it was doing just the opposite, reminding me of the fraud I’d become.
“Are you ready?” Leonardo asked as he moved toward me.
“I believe so.”
He nodded, about to turn away. I’d had very few conversations with the man, but it was easy to see he was completely loyal to the family.
“Leonardo. Can I ask you a question?”
Everything about the way he was eyeing me was unnerving. “Sure. Why not?”
“Do you like what you do for the Rossis?”
He seemed shocked I’d ask him something like that, the look on his face as if I’d asked him the length of his cock instead. “What’s not to like? I make damn good money and get to guard my favorite person.”
I wasn’t entirely certain whether he was being facetious or not. But I didn’t have a chance to find out because of the heavy knock on the door. When I reacted as I would as Margot, Leonardo gave me a hard look, forcing me to back down. Tonight, he was the hired help and I was the princess, something I had a feeling would be the one real thing that would expose my deception. I hadn’t been raised nor was I built for being treated like some poodle on a pillow.
However, I turned away on purpose, trying to act bored. The sound of deep voices filled the space a few seconds later and I shivered, doing my best to get into the mindset of an actress playing a part. The part of my life. I was now Maria Rossi, only child of a powerful Italian mafia family.
