Plastering a smile that I didn’t feel on my face, I entered. “You needed something?”
Arabella’s youthful face lit up in greeting. “Hi, Rae, how are you this evening?”
Ready to be done with this farce.“Fine, thank you, Miss.”
“Oh, that’s good.” She clasped her hands in front of her body. Standing in front of the floor-length mirror, she looked exactly how a helpless kitten would. “I can’t reach the zipper all the way. Can you help me?”
“Of course, Miss.” I closed the door and crossed the room. Why the hell she wore things she couldn’t put on herself was beyond me.
I pulled the sides of the gown over Arabella’s soft bronze skin. The zipper slid easily. There were half a dozen buttons that closed the sheer material over the back of her shoulders. This gown, like her others, had a high neck and long sleeves, but created the illusion of showing the skin underneath. Modest yet beautiful. I might hate fancy clothes on principle, but it stuck in my craw to look at her.
It would be easier to dislike Arabella if she was cruel and snotty. But her compliance and acceptance didn’t make sense. How could she just let these people boss her around? Mrs. Grimaldi detailed her every move! It didn’t make sense why she chose to live with such controlling godparents.
“Are you excited for tonight?” Arabella pushed her perfectly curled hair over her back.
To help my uncle serve you dinner? Who wouldn’t be!“It will be a nice evening, I’m sure.”
Arabella fidgeting with the diamond tennis bracelet. “I’m nervous, actually.”
Oh, good lord! She was trying to bond with me. Again.
“Nothing to be nervous ‘bout. It’s just supper.” I gave her a pat on the shoulder, trying to be supportive, because I just couldn’t help myself. She looked so sad!
Only, I used too much force and it was more like a thump. Arabella straightened, but instead of chiding me for the inappropriate contact, she gave me a wobbly smile.
“We haven’t seen Dominico in a long time. I don’t know what to expect,” she whispered. “When he left, Francesco was livid!”
I bit my tongue.I will not ask. I will not ask. I will not—
“Your godfather was mad?” I blurted out. “Why?”
Arabella’s head bobbed. “It was a small dinner party, just some friends of the family. Dominico got into an argument with one of them after I was sent to bed. But I…I heard the shouts. When I came downstairs, there was an ambulance hauling out one of the men and Dominico and Francesco were yelling at each other. Dominico’s been in Europe ever since.”
I met several of the Grimaldi grandkids back during the visit when I was twelve. Dominico was the one who spent the most time with me. Something about us just…clicked. And of course, stupid girl that I was, I let him kiss me that last night.
It was innocent, a child’s fumbling. Over the years, I’d been through way more shit. There was no reason my first kiss should make my cheeks warm. It was such a silly thing to think about, but here I was, cheeks blazing.
It was just hot here in Arabella’s luxurious bedroom.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “How long ago was that?”
Her delicate features scrunched as she thought. “About three years—no, wait! Closer to four. I only just turned fourteen.”
My eyeballs felt like they were going to drop from my head. “You’re seventeen!”
Mercy! I knew she was young, but—
“I’ll be eighteen next month,” she added with a smile. “I’ll be engaged and married as soon as I turn nineteen.”
Common sense and emotion were slapped right out of me. My brain was blank. Stunned speechless. What the hell kind of predestination shit was that? Herexistence summed up in the changing of the calendar! I needed to get the hell out of this room before my big fat mouth opened and I said something I shouldn’t.
Like don’t go getting married just because you need something to do!
Clearing my throat, I managed a polite statement. “Well, that sounds nice, Miss. If there isn’t anything else you need, I’ve got to change.”
“Oh, yes, thank you, that was it.” Arabella graced me with a winning smile.
I returned a forced one and skedaddled out of there.
