Page 14 of Plucking His Daisy

I close my eyes for a moment and then open them to look at my brother, pleading with him to understand, to listen, to hear. “Nothing happened before last night,” I reveal honestly.

He grimaces, his voice devoid of any emotion, “How can I believe you? How do I know you’re not covering for him?” He narrows his eyes. “You just told me you loved him for a long time.”

Lorenzo shakes his head and runs his fingers through his hair, the only indication that something is terribly wrong and he’s nervous. He’s always so composed, so contained. My heart flutters because of the hint of vulnerability he’s showing.

“I tried to deny it for as long as I’ve known that she had a crush on me.” Lorenzo looks Elio in the eye. “Nothing happened between us until last night. I swear to you. I would have never done anything before she was 18 and even then, when I realized how much she meant to me, I’ve kept my distance.”

Elio is shrewd as fuck, one of the things which makes him the man he is. He leans back in his chair with an air of calm composure, but I know it’s not real, it’s all a farce. “What changed last night?”

Lorenzo shrugs one shoulder and covers for me smoothly. “I couldn’t hold back anymore. I couldn’t stop myself from claiming her because I know she’s mine. I love her. I can admit it now. I can’t live in fear anymore.”

Elio’s eyes widen slightly in surprise, but he covers it as quickly as it appears. “Fear?” He scoffs, “What do you fear?”

“You,” Lorenzo responds simply. “Losing you and losing who I am because I have been an Agosti soldier for my entire life. I was afraid to risk it, to throw it away.” He shakes his head and looks over Elio’s head at the wall for a moment. “Maybe it’s the way Constantino found Lily, the way he went after her and risked everything to do it because he knew it was what he needed, even if he had to manipulate the situation.”

“You manipulated my sister,” Elio growls making what should sound like a question into a foregone conclusion.

“No,” I snap at him again as my anger sharpens. “He didn’t manipulate me.” I know Lorenzo was trying to avoid telling Elio about my choices and what led us to here, but he can’t protect me from the judgement of my brother. Not if he wants us to walk out of here unscathed—with him alive and with me free of my gilded cage. “Lorenzo found out that I entered myself into an auction. Instead of a stranger winning a night with me, he out bid them all.”

Elio looks at me with a blank face, blinking a few times as he processes my words. Lorenzo’s back goes rigid. It’s a fair reaction, considering telling the truth may be worse in the long run, but how else do we explain why anything changed last night.

“You bought my sister,” Elio’s voice is low and cold.

“I did,” Lorenzo sighs, shooting me a look which is a mixture of resignation, chastisement and pride.

“You didn’t have to make good on the buy,” he looks at his friend, the man who has stood by his side for most of their lives with disgust. “You bought her like a fucking whore,” he sneers.

Lorenzo stands up immediately and leans toward Elio, his words laced with venom, “Talk about Daisy like that again and I won’t give a flying fuck that you’ve been like a brother to me for more years than I can remember, and I’ll fucking kill you. You might be the head of this family, but you will not disrespect her like that. Never,” he growls.

Damn, that is hot and…it is entirely inappropriate for me to think such a thing right now.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Elio’s voice is calm and serene as he looks up into Lorenzo’s eyes, not flinching at the threat still hanging in the air.

“I’m tired of being caged,” I breathe out, my confession making my brother’s gaze snap to mine. I look him in the eye, pleading with him to understand. “First it was dad and now it’s you. You keep me in this golden cage and shelter me while I’m a prisoner in it. I’m tired of it. I have been for so long, but my love for you both and my loyalty kept me from rattling the bars. I knew it wouldn’t mean a damn thing if I did, it would only turn out badly, but I just,” I sigh and my shoulders slump. I shake my head and swallow hard and try again, “I was exhausted and heartbroken because I knew nothing could happen with Lorenzo because he has put the business first. He’s putyoufirst.”

Elio whispers, “You felt caged?”

I nod slowly. “Caged. Helpless. Trapped. Dreamless.”

Elio gasps at my last word. I know why. I’ve always presented myself in an entirely different way. I’ve made it seem like I was so damn happy. It was to ease their burden because I knew they had enough on their plate, they didn’t need some wayward teenager to add to it. I knew the risks and I didn’t want to chance it.

“Dreamless,” my brother’s whisper is so low I almost don’t catch it, but it floats on the wind, and something settles inside of me.

“Yes,” my voice breaks a little. “I know you were never allowed to dream either, Elio. You were always supposed to be exactly who you are—the head of this family, the one to make the tough decisions and to bear the burden. I know you can understand this.” I glance at Lorenzo who is softly looking at me with love in his eyes. I say the next words to him, “I only had one dream, but in the last six months I realized it was never going to happen.” I shrug and try and dismiss the heaviness which has wrapped around me. “So, I came up with a way to find a little bit of freedom.”

“You could have been auctioned off to someone cruel, someone horrible,” Elio’s voice is soft now. “What would you have done then? What if our enemies had found out and bought you? You would have delivered yourself on a silver platter?”

I look to my brother and give him a small smile. “It was worth the risk.”

“Just like being with Daisy last night was worth the risk,” Lorenzo’s deep voice cuts between my brother and I, but Elio’s face smooths out instead of filling with anger again. “I am loyal to this family, always have been, but my loyalty rests with Daisy above anyone else.” He eases back into his chair and grabs my hand, twining our fingers together and bringing our hands up to rest on top of the table.

Elio closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. It’s not like we’re fucking on the table in front of him, but I can also understand how difficult this is for him. I can feel him trying to understand, to accept. It’s one of the things I’ve always loved about my family, my brother’s especially, when it’s about me they’ve always tried to understand. Even if they didn’t agree.

I’m hoping it holds true right now.

“Fuck,” Elio curses under his breath. He shakes his head and opens his eyes, the anger and the betrayal gone, and I let out a breath I must have been holding for fucking years. “I don’t want to know any fucking details,” he shoots both of us a pointed look. When he looks at Lorenzo, “I hope I don’t need to warn you about hurting her and how no one will find your body.”

“Tazio already warned me as well,” Lorenzo jokes.

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