“Your boss can buy me whatever he wants, but he can’t buy me. I’m not some doll you can dress up and put on a shelf. I bet you are enjoying this, aren’t you? You’re probably running off to tell him about all the things you let me buy to keep me complacent. You’re probably both just laughing at me. The young, naive girl from Italy has no idea what she’s in for. Tell me, Frankie,” I spit out my words. “Will my new husband beat me into submission? What horrible things am I in for? Is he having you build me up just to destroy me later?”
For a second, I see something flicker in his eyes. Surprise or maybe guilt? It doesn’t matter because it’s gone before I canpin it down, replaced by something darker that makes my skin crawl.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grits out. There’s a warning in his voice, but also something else. I can sense the frustration. Good because I’m frustrated too.
“Then tell me!” I’m practically shaking and my books are clutched so tight the corners dig into my arms. “What am I supposed to do all day? Stare at the walls? Count the hours until I’m married off to a stranger who can’t even be bothered to show up? Why can’t I talk to my family?”
His jaw clenches, and for a second I think he might explode as his gaze pins me in place.
“You’re acting like a fucking child,” he snaps, and the words cut deeper than I want to admit. Because I know I’m young and I know I have no real world experience. But also because…I don’t want this man to see me as a child. It hurts but it also pisses me off.
“And you’re acting like an asshole,” I spit back before realizing I might have taken things too far.
The air between us crackles and the tension is so thick I could choke on it…if he doesn’t choke me first. He holds my gaze for a single, scalding heartbeat, then turns on his heel and storms up the steps. The front door slams behind him, hard enough to rattle the whole house.
Confusion. That’s what I feel as I stand there, breathing hard, my chest tight as anger and fear battle it out inside me. I don’t know what I was expecting but It wasn’t him walking away. The thought of being left alone again, really alone, makes my skin crawl.
“Where are you going?” The words slip out weakly as I rush inside after him.
He stops so suddenly I almost run into him and when he turns, his expression is pure fury. I step back quickly and look up at him.
“I have shit to do.” He jerks a finger at the hallway off to the right. “That wing is off-limits. Got it? Off. Limits.”
Before I can answer, he’s gone. The echo of a door slamming somewhere deep in the house is the only reply.
“I already knew it was off-limits,” I growl under my breath as I stand there fighting back the tears that threaten to spill.
‘Don’t cry, Liana.’
Sucking in a shaky breath, I head back to my room and toss all my new books on my bed. I grab my current read and turn away to head for the only place that feels remotely safe…the little garden behind the house, where the sun filters through the leaves and I can escape reality.
Chapter Seven
Liana
Iwake with a start, disoriented by the unfamiliar softness beneath me. This isn’t the stone bench I was reading on earlier. This isn’t the garden I escaped to after my day of shopping with Frankie. My eyes snap open, and I’m staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, watching the streaks of light that shoot across the walls.
‘How the hell did I get here?’
A memory flashes through my mind. Strong arms lifting me, the steady thud of a heartbeat against my ear. The scent of cedar and something sharper, like gunpowder and sin. I was carried like a child. Like something precious. I don’t know whether to be appreciative or annoyed.
‘Annoyed. Definitely annoyed.’
I sit up too fast and the motion causes my head to spin. That’s when I see them…all my shopping bags from earlier, lined up against the wall. Not dumped there, but organized neatly. Clothing bags in one row, accessories in another and shoes all stacked from the smallest to the largest box. On the nightstand are all my books. But not just the ones I bought earlier. Three more I’d lingered over, running my fingers along their spines and putting them back because I’d already picked too many. Books I didn’t buy. Books Frankie must have gone back for. My heart skips a beat.
I reach out and touch the top one, sliding my finger across the smooth cover. It’s a dark college romance. One I’d held for five minutes before giving up on it when I realized I probably shouldn’t read about college…somewhere I would probably never get the chance to be. I wanted it though. I wanted it so bad, I just couldn’t bring myself to be the one to get it. And he’d noticed. He’d watched me that closely and for some reason that makes me want to read the book even more.
“Bastard,” I mutter, but there’s no bite to it. How am I supposed to stay furious at someone who carried me to bed and remembered which books I couldn’t stop looking at?
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and pad across the room.
‘Might as well make this place feel a little more mine.’
I start unpacking dresses and placing them on hangers. I line my new shoes neatly across the shelving in my closet. The routine calms my nerves. It lets me pretend I’m in control of something. I’m so calm I even unzip my suitcase, the one thing my uncle allowed me to keep. I’m reaching in when my fingers rustle across something smooth and soft and my eyes catch on the sparkle, making the corner of my mouth tilt upwards. Pulling out the white teddy Sasha gave me puts a smile on my face. It’s so beautiful I can’t stop looking at it. It would make the perfect piece for my wedding night if I actually married someone I wanted to. I scowl as I imagine some ugly bastard getting to see me wear this but my scowl falls when Frankie enters my mind. What would he think if he saw me in this?
‘Stop it, Liana. You’re engaged to another man.’
I’m halfway through my thoughts of putting the teddy onwhen I hear a knock on the door causing me to shove the piece back into my suitcase and close it quickly. Before I can answer, Pita sweeps in with a tray that smells like heaven.
