Page 21 of Masked Hearts

Ambrose scoffs, looking over at me. “He’s just as much of a pain in the ass as you are. I’m sure this will work out great.”

“Watch it,” Gabriel and I say in unison.

“My turn for questions,” Gabriel picks up instantly. “Have you decided where you’ll be staying after the wedding?”

“They’re not staying here?” Kylian asks.

“No, we’re not. Unless you’d like to hear me make my previous threats a reality through these thin bedroom walls.”

“Monaco,” Adriano interjects before Kylian has a final reason to blow my brains out.

“Hmm, interesting choice,” Gabriel says.

“We have property, and it’s close to home. For both parties,” I say.

“It’s not in the borders of France, that was my condition for your freedom,” Gabriel counters.

“It’s not in Italy, either. It’s perfectly in the middle. Completely neutral,” Adriano adds.

“Our own Switzerland, if you will,” I offer.

When Adriano mentioned it as an option, I was hesitant to try it. It’s pushing the boundaries Gabriel created on the first day, but I hope it’s just enough that he won’t suspect anything funny.

“We can’t get on the bad side of theCosa Nostraby travelling into France a few times a week. Antonio has to have meetings with clients under their control, too, and they won’t fly to France for it. It’ll cause the least problems for both of us since you can’t afford to launch a territory war with them either.”

It is also very public and very high profile, so if Gabriel does decide to pull any stunts, he’ll have all eyes on him.

“Very well, but I expect access to both you and my daughter at any time. And I will be taking care of security.”

Just as we expected, the control freak has to have his finger in the pot at any time to prove he has control.

“Of course, I would never want to keep her away from her family,” I say sarcastically, as if that isn’t the exact thing he is doing to me.

“Do we have a deal?” I ask, stepping forward.

“Yes, we do. Pleasure doing business with you all. I’m sure this is the start of something great,” he extends his hand to me.

Yeah, your fall from greatness.

I grab his hand firmly and shake. “Here’s to a fruitful marriage and partnership.”

Chapter seven

Theá

“MissTheá,it’salmosttime. We have to put the veil on,” Jacques says as he jogs over with the lace veil.

I stare at the two of us in the mirror as he slips it into my hair. “Your mother would be so proud of you,” he says absent-mindedly.

Jacques has worked for my family for years, arriving just before my mother passed away. They were two peas in a pod, and surprisingly, the only reason my father condoned the friendship was because Jacques is gay. Fine for the staff, but not okay when it’s his son.

“Would she? Or are you just saying that because it’s what people say in these moments?” I scoff, observing the man behind me, who gazes at me with soft, sad eyes.

It feels as if I’m watching a scene from a movie, except it’s missing a major character: my mom.

I always imagined my mother rushing around on my wedding day, making sure everything ran perfectly, but much like her death—my wedding day came a lot sooner than anyone could have predicted.

The entire morning and most of last night has been filled with the usual festivities, minus the festive spirit. It was more Eleanor forcing me to deal with all the tasks I’d been putting off, like getting a dress and shoes, deciding on my flowers, and even some maintenance. I’m practically a hairless cat as I stand here since she insisted I wax every inch of my body because, and I quote, “You never know what might happen.”

---