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“Yeah?”
Tavi’s tone is troubled. “You got a minute?”
I look at Vittoria. She’s looking around the room in wonder and nervously twisting her fingers at the hem of her top.
“Give me five. We need to talk.”
“Oh yeah.”
“Where?”
“Dungeon.”
Shit. He doesn’t want a fucking soul to overhear us.
“I’ll be there.”
I turn to Vittoria. “Forgive me for what I said earlier, Vittoria.”
I like the feel of her name on my lips. I’d like the feel of her body even more.
I run my hand through my hair, feigning nervousness. I don’t get nervous. “I’ve been under a lot of pressure. I thought you were here to spy on me after last night.”
She purses her lips and doesn’t respond, but wraps her arms around her torso. Finally, she gives me a little nod.
“My father can be a difficult man,” I tell her. “Assuming you decide to stay, which I assure you would be the right thing to do, I’ll be sure you enjoy your time here.”
She rolls her eyes. “You just want me to marry you.”
I feel my brows rise just as she bursts into laughter.
“That was the most ridiculous thing ever. I can’t even believe this is happening. It’s like some sort of a dream or nightmare or a reality TV show.” She’s laughing with an almost maniacal glee. “I… I just can’t believe any of this is… real.” She squints at the heavy drapes, the lamps beside her bed imported from Sicily, the thick, vibrant Persian carpet handwoven overseas. My mother’s taken great pains to furnish this house with the most luxurious amenities possible.
I smile at her. Actually smile. I’ll pretend we just got off on the wrong foot. I nod. “I do. We all do. Your value to us is worth more than you might know.”
“More than a crown of glory and six million dollars?”
I smile again, a full-on smile that actually seems to melt a bit of my stony heart. Is she seducing me?
“That about sums it up. But a crown to the throne of Rossi and six mil is nothing to sneeze at, bella.”
She looks away. Maybe she wants to hide the flush of her cheeks when I call her beautiful.
I bow to her as I take my leave. “I’ll have staff come and assist you with your belongings.”
A knock sounds at the door. “Come in,” I say.
The heavy door opens, and Marialena pops her head in. She’s changed into jeans and a slouchy sweater, and squeals when she sees Vittoria. “Ohh, they gave you this guest room. I love this one. Come with me, Vittoria, and I’ll show you around The Castle.” She looks to me discreetly, asking for permission. Unlike Vittoria, Marialena knows the hierarchy here.
I nod my approval. “Go. Dinner at six.”
Vittoria follows Marialena and lets out a breath.
“Ciao, bella.”
Chapter Seven
“Teach me how I should forget to think!” Romeo and Juliet
Vittoria
“My brothers are going to try to seduce you,” Marialena says as she takes me down the carpeted hall. My heels sink into the velvety burgundy carpet, and I wish I’d changed into something a bit more comfortable like her.
I laugh nervously. This family is insane. “Is that right?”
“Of course,” she says with a musical laugh. “You heard the terms of that agreement. My grandfather wants them all married so they outrank my father in time. It was part of his plan. But he put this all in place so that if you don’t marry one of them, my father will see his archenemies richly rewarded.” She shakes her head. “I miss Nonno. He kept things interesting around here.”
“Seems like he still is,” I mutter to myself.
We walk down the spiral stairway, like something out of a fairy tale, and my stomach growls with hunger. Dinner at six seems pretty far away.
“Ah, Marialena, you showing our guest the place, eh?” Mario stands at the foot of the stairs with a bouquet of flowers. For one frantic minute, I think they’re for me. If these men try competing for my attention… But when I get to the bottom of the stairs he only winks at me and goes on his way.
“Mario has a flavor of the month. No, day,” she corrects. “The man treats women like they’re on a conveyor belt.”
“Lovely.”
“So don’t marry that one. He’s fun if you want to go drag racing or if you get stuck somewhere and can’t get back by your curfew…” I look at her to see if she’s joking. She isn’t. I bet she’s talking from personal experience. “But he won’t be… faithful. It isn’t his nature.” She frowns but doesn’t elaborate. I wonder if fidelity is in the nature of any of the Rossi men?
Why do I care? I’m not marrying them. I learned my lesson about trusting men. I might stick it out to the end of the month to get the smaller payout, though… maybe.
