Page 5 of Entangled Vow
Matteo:How are you today, gorgeous?
Matteo:Still on for drinks tonight?
Matteo:Not sure I can go another day without looking at that face.
If I had seen those messages this morning before the meeting with Papa, I would’ve glowed inside.I would’ve fought back a grin for hours and might have been too distracted to pay attention.
Now?All I could do was set the phone down and press my fingers to my temples like that would do anything to cure the screaming in my skull.What was I supposed to say?Sorry, I’m sort of being forced into marriage, this was fun?Funny story.My father still thinks this is the nineteenth century, and I’ve been sold like a prize heifer.
It was laughable.
Absurd.
It was also reality.
I could say no.I could take my money and run.There was nothing tying me down.Nothing except the people.They were counting on me.How was I supposed to trust Clay or anybody else to take care of them the way I did?How was I supposed to rest a single day, not knowing for sure that the properties I had started to think of as mine over the years were taken care of?How could I walk away from what I had poured my entire life into all these years?
Just the thought of giving up and retreating made me grind my teeth.Could I stand it?It would be like cutting off part of my body.I knew every inch of those properties.I was on a first-name basis with the managers.Our most loyal and frequent customers were like friends.Was I supposed to walk away after putting in all that time, effort, patience?
No way.I had worked too hard for too long.Even if my father didn’t think I had it in me to take control, I had to be part of it.I’d be damned if I’d fall in line and be the sort of wife Papa would want me to be—barefoot and eternally pregnant, no matter how supposedly brilliant he thought I was.
But I would sign the marriage license if it was my only chance at protecting what I loved.
That didn’t mean I had the words to explain things to Matteo.Not yet.Hell, I still wasn’t sure Clay would accept the offer, even if I had a strong suspicion he would.My lip curled in a sneer at the thought of him marrying a stranger just so he could grow his empire.At least I was trying to protect and nurture something that meant a lot to me.He was only interested in his net worth.
You’ll never believe the day I’ve had,I told Matteo via text.I’m going to need more than one drink.
* * *
“Say something,”I begged, watching Matteo closely, cringing a little now that I’d spilled my guts.The whole situation was so ugly and sad.
He shook his head slightly, and his golden blond hair shone in the blue-tinted lights of the trendy bar he’d settled on for our second date.He liked to name-drop during our conversations—people he knew and expensive clubs and restaurants he frequented.I had met many men like him over the years of managing our upscale properties.Satisfied to live off his trust, ready to throw money around if it meant impressing a woman.
“I don’t know what to say.”He finished his martini, then raised his empty glass to signal a server.“I need another drink if you expect me to understand what you just told me.”
“This doesn’t have to change anything,” I insisted.“We can see each other.I want us to keep talking.I like our conversations before bed.”Although I was usually the one going to bed while he was normally getting ready to go out.
“Me, too, though I’d like them a lot better if we were face-to-face.”His dark blue eyes crinkled at the corners when he tried to smile.“What are the chances of that happening now that you’ll be married?”
“Please, don’t make my head explode,” I begged, rubbing my temples then taking another sip of my wine and wishing I had chosen something stronger.“I already have so much to think about.All I can say is I’m going to have my own life.They are not going to tell me what to do.”
His handsome face fell a little before he frowned.“It sounds like they already are.”He closed a hand around mine, squeezing gently, and the simple gesture almost brought tears to my eyes.For the first time all day, somebody cared about how I felt.“I’m not abandoning you.You don’t have to be alone in all of this.”
“Thank you.”Still, I sighed miserably.“I’m going to need all the help I can get.You understand why I have to do it, right?”I asked, desperate for affirmation.
“Oh, sure.I guess.”He shrugged.“I guess my plans for showing you off around town and taking you home with me tonight are…”
“Not going to happen,” I concluded.“Sorry.I’m just not in any mood.”His disappointment was obvious.
It was something we had in common.
3
CLAY
“Ilike this addition to your office.”Standing in front of a bank of screens, I watched the action on the main floor of Dante West’s club.Unlike the private rooms where two or more people could disappear for private fun, the main floor was devoted to socializing, dancing, and virtually any sort of activities customers felt like indulging in.There was plenty of skin on display and virtually every kind of fetish gear imaginable.
Several leather-clad patrons cut through the crowd on hands and knees, led on a leash by their masters.A pair of luscious blondes felt each other up in one corner of the dance floor while a masked man stroked himself, sitting in a chair against the wall to watch the performance.For the most part, though, the real action was reserved for the rooms lining three walls of the dance floor’s perimeter.There was no pressure for anyone to participate in the action.In fact, there were plenty of fully-clothed clientele sipping drinks at the bar.
