AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Welcome to the family, Isabella.”
44
RICO
The cardboard box lets out a huff as I drop it on the floor in the middle of the spacious living room. Polished oak floorboards stretch out towards the tall windows on my right, and there is a fireplace along the wall on the other side. Apart from that, and the small pile of cardboard boxes that I have just dumped in the middle of the floor, the room is completely empty. Just like the rest of the house.
Leaving my stack of boxes behind, I walk over to the glass balcony doors and push them aside. Warm air smelling of pine trees and clear water washes into the silent house. I wander out onto the balcony.
It faces a glittering lake, with lush forests on both sides. The sun is setting over the water, painting it with gold and red light.
The house, along with the massive garden around it, is technically situated within our family’s vast compound. But it’s secluded enough to make it feel private. Secret, almost. Hidden like a gem here at the edge of the woods and the lake.
Tilting my head back, I watch the sky.
I will be able to see the stars from here.
A smile spreads across my lips.
She really picked the best house of them all.
After drawing in a deep breath of clear afternoon air, I walk back into the living room. Since I didn’t have that much stuff to bring, I didn’t bother marking any of the boxes. I bend down and open the first one. It’s full of clothes. Pushing it aside, I open the flaps of the next one. More clothes. I straighten again.
And feel the barrel of a gun against the back of my neck.
“You really should be more careful,” a smug voice says. “Leaving the balcony door open like that. Who knows what kind of wicked person might climb inside.”
A grin curves my lips. “And what if that was my intention?”
“Then I would say that you accomplished your mission, little mafia prince.”
The gun disappears from my head, and I turn around to face a smirking Isabella. She tosses her gun down on one of the cardboard boxes. It lands with a thud.
“Hello, Rico,” she says.
“Hello, Isabella.”
A small shiver rolls down her spine when I say her name. It makes warmth wash through my chest. Almost subconsciously, she lifts her hand and fingers the necklace I gave her. I watch her until she seems to realize what she’s doing and instead shifts her hand to the straps of her backpack. Sliding it off her shoulders, she lets it drop to the floor next to my boxes.
I raise my eyebrows. “That’s it?”
She shrugs and nudges the backpack with her shoe. “Everything else belongs to Isabella Johnson. These clothes were the only ones that I felt belonged to Isabella…” She trails off, and her eyes go distant for a second, as if she’s trying to come up with a new last name for herself. Her hand once again drifts to the necklace, fidgeting with the thin silver circle. Then she lets it drop and shrugs again. “Just Isabella.”
Since I can tell that not having a real last name is still a little painful for her, and not something that she wants to talk about right now, I quickly change the subject. “So, I hear that my grandfather tried to pay you off to get you to leave.”
Relief washes over her features at the change in topic. Then she chuckles. “Yeah. With a blank check too.” Mischief glitters in her eyes as she advances on me, backing me up against the wall. She reaches up and draws her fingers along my jaw while a brilliant smile decorates her lips. “Imagine the amount of waffles I could’ve bought with that.”
I slide my fingers through her hair, hooking it behind her ear. “I will buy you all the waffles you like. As many and as often as you want.”
“You’d better.”
A soft laugh escapes me. She opens her mouth to no doubt continue her mock threats. I use that opportunity to flip us around. Her back hits the wall with a thud while she blinks at me in surprise. I press closer, slanting my lips over hers for a second before drawing back.
“And I hear you speak fluent Italian,” I say, raising my eyebrows at her.
Tilting her head back, she grins up at me. “I do.”
“That would’ve been nice to know before I cursed you out in Italian, thinking you didn’t understand a word of it,” I say in Italian.
