Page 105 of Matteo
“You will do no such thing,” I gritted. “And it wouldn’t matter if you did. Arianna will not marry you.”
Jesus F. Christ. I should have conjured an expedited plan and murdered this fucker. Luciano was my friend—although the tension between us was at an all-time high—but his son wasn’t suited to any of my daughters.
“Mr. Morrelli, with all due respect, Arianna and I have?—”
“Better think twice how you finish that sentence.”
“Ari and I have grown close.” Fuck.
I glared at him, seriously considering all the ways how I could murder the little fucker and dispose of him without his father learning about it.
“Close,” I finally repeated.
He held my gaze, his expression neutral. “Yes,veryclose.”
Once again, I fought the urge to put a bullet in him. Deep down, I knew whatvery closemeant, but, fuck, I couldn’t go there.
This had to be Matteo’s doing. He’d seduced her.
“Arianna has been perfectly happy focusing on her studies, and then you come along and…”
The little prick raised a brow and my finger twitched to squeeze the trigger. But before I could reach for the gun, my wife strolled into the office. Her gaze bounced between us as she strolled over, taking the heap of metal and delicately placing it in the drawer.
“Hello, Matteo. How are you?” she asked him, her soft voice matching the smile on her lips. I narrowed my eyes at him.
Another point against the fucker.
“Hello, Mrs. Morrelli. Very good.”
“I know things have been a bit tense with a… mistake your father and Nico made.”
Bianca grabbed my hand and stroked it softly, which didn’t help at all. I was a goner whenever she touched me.
“Wasn’t a mistake,” I grumbled.
Bianca smiled at him, ignoring me. “Would you like to join us for dinner? Kids are all here too, so we’ll have a full house.”
“He’s busy.”
“I’d love to,” Matteo answered at the same time. He even had the audacity to smile at her. This would not fucking do.
“It’s settled, then,” Bianca answered, ignoring me.
I took a deep breath to remain calm or risk wringing his neck.
“You’re not to speak to Arianna. Do not sit anywhere near her.” I stood up and so did Matteo as Bianca strolled ahead of us and I made anI’m watching youmotion with my fingers. “And you’re not spending the night. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
The Morrelli hospitality was officially revoked.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MATTEO
Nico Morrelli knew about my impending arrival even before I left New York City, what with the numerous security cameras tracking my every movement since I entered his state. And here I thought my father took our family’s safety to the extreme.
I would have refused the dinner invitation if I wasn’t so desperate to lay eyes on Arianna, who hadn’t replied to any of my messages.
