Page 5 of Vow of Desire

“What?”

He nods at the stuffed creatures. My teddy bear and giraffe and whale with large eyes. So kid-like. “Your stuffed animals.What did they do to you to make you throw them on the ground like that?”

I look between him and my stuffed animals before blushing. “Nothing. I’m just…”

“You’re just upset you were told you’re going to have to marry me. Is that it?” He strolls into my room without my permission and walks over to my teddy bear and picks it up. Seeing the small fake animal in his hands sends a strange sensation through me. Embarrassment. Fascination. I’m not sure which.

“I wasn’t told anything. I am sorry for my outburst.” I was always taught to apologize whenever things went wrong, even if it wasn’t my fault.

“Your father didn’t warn you. It makes sense why you’d be upset. Told you’re going to marry me within seconds of meeting me. It must be jarring.”

“It is.”

He sets the teddy bear on my bed and turns the full might of his eyes onto me. “You have to know something about me, Luciana. I am a man of my word. I agreed to marry you and I intend to honor that. I don’t appreciate anyone going back on their word. Gabriel tried to do that to me before and I don’t plan on letting him get away with it a second time. We will be married.”

I frown. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I don’t know all the things Gabriel Romano gets up to. He’s my father’s boss. I don’t ask questions.”

“You’re a good girl, I take it.” He steps closer to me. There’s a glint in his eyes that makes me want to step back but I keep myself from moving.

“I was taught to be.”

“That’s good. I like a woman who knows her place. But are you always this good? Or do you have something darker inside of you? Underneath the surface?” His fingers skim down my armand goosebumps break out on my skin. I gasp, stepping away from him. “My apologies. I shouldn’t have touched you. We’re not married yet. I won’t take liberties.”

“No. You shouldn’t have. We just met. You’re a stranger to me.”

“And yet, we’ll be married in a month. We won’t be strangers then. We have a wedding to plan.”

I didn’t even think about that. I always dreamed of planning my wedding – it’s a high honor for a mafia girl – but the thought of planning a wedding to a stranger makes a heavy weight settle in my stomach. The urge to throw up hits me but I hold it back. The last thing I want is to embarrass myself further with Matteo. My stuffed animals on the ground feel like they’re glaring holes into my body.

“Of course,” I whisper.

He smirks. It makes him more handsome but also more terrifying. I know nothing about this man. Is he nice? Is he evil? That’s the question mafia girls have to contend with when it comes to arranged marriages.

“I’ll see you at the cake tasting. I scheduled it for later this week.” He nods at my teddy bear. “Cute animal.” Then he leaves my bedroom and finally, I feel like I can breathe.

My hands find my teddy bear and hold it close to my chest as if I need the protection. As if a fake animal made of stuffing can actually protect me from what’s going to happen.

The moment the garden party is over, I confront my father in his office. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He bows his head, clearly in shame. Good. I want him to feel bad for not preparing me. “I just couldn’t. You’re my daughter,Luciana. My baby girl. I’ve raised you myself all these years after your mother died. I couldn’t let you go. I didn’t want to let you go.”

“But this was going to happen and you didn’t even tell me. You should have told me. I needed to be ready. Instead, you threw me to the wolves.”

“I know I have raised you with a light hand but this is no way to speak to your father.”

I scoff. “You didn’t tell me that I was going to be married when you should have. You don’t get the right to say that to me.”

He stands to his feet, slamming his hands onto the table. “I am still your father. And you will show me respect.” His hard tone speaks to no disagreements.

I immediately shut my mouth because that’s what I was taught to do.

“Now,” he says with a nod, “I am sorry I didn’t tell you. I wasn’t ready to lose you. You have to understand that. Matteo is…”

“Matteo is what?”

“He tried hurting Gabriel and Leo last year. And I didn’t want you married to a man who I can’t trust. But here we are.”

My spine tenses. “What do you mean he tried hurting Gabriel and Leo?” Leo is Gabriel’s right hand man. He’s been around at parties before but other than that, I haven’t spent much time with him. I know he married a woman named Emma a year ago and that was that. I’m kept out of the goings on in the mafia world most of the time. For my protection as my father would claim. To keep me sheltered. To keep me his little girl forever.