Part I
The Past
1
Natalia – Age 17
“Let me look,” Francesca says, tugging on my elbow in an attempt to pull me back from the window.
“Be careful.” I step away to let my best friend sneak a peek at the five men hanging out by the pool. “Make sure they don’t see you.”
Frankie keeps hidden behind the curtain as she looks. “Damn.” She whistles under her breath. “Mateo gets hotter every time I see him. Has he been working out more? I swear his abs are even more droolworthy.”
“Don’t be gross. You can’t drool over my brother. There’s some universal law about that, I’m sure.”
“Mateo would say the same if he knew how badly you are pining for his best friend.” She arches a brow, daring me to challenge her.
“Me lusting after Leo is as futile as you lusting after Mateo,” I concede, staring longingly at Leo’s broad shoulders and toned chest as he lies back on a lounger. Closing his eyes, he tips his head up, letting warmth from the sun beat down on his stunning face. Leonardo Messina has always been drop-dead gorgeous, but he’s getting even better looking as he matures. At twenty, he is three years older than I am, and he’ll never see me as anything more than his best friend’svirginallittle sister.
“True,” Frankie says, flopping down on my bed. “Which is why you should agree to the double date with Vaughan. Archer says he’s crazy about you.”
Reluctantly dragging myself away from the window, I throw myself down on the bed beside Frankie, turning on my side so I’m facing her. “You know I’m not permitted to date.” I let out a long sigh, hating that I’m denied the simple things most girls my age take for granted. I’m the only senior who hasn’t even been kissed. It’s pathetically embarrassing.
“No one has to know. You can say you’re staying at my place. Mom won’t tell. She hates you can’t enjoy the normal high-school experience.”
“I love your mom, but I don’t want to get her or me in trouble. If Papa finds out, he’ll ground me. I’ll never be allowed a sleepover again.” It’s a miracle he even lets me spend a few nights at Frankie’s apartment in the city.
“Your father adores you. You’re hisprincipessa. What’s the worst he could do?”
I tuck my dark hair behind my ears. “Make me marry that monster the second I graduate next year.” A full-body shudder works its way through me as Carlo Greco’s hideously handsome face appears in my mind’s eye. Acid crawls up my throat, and knots twist in my stomach like they do anytime I think of my despicable fiancé.
Frankie reaches out, taking my hand. “This sucks, Nat. You can’t marry thatstronzo. He gives me the creeps, and I hate the way he looks at you.” Her face contorts unpleasantly. “You need to tell your father how he accosted you at the engagement party.”
“I can’t.” I sit up, sighing in frustration. “Carlo is the Greco heir, and they are one of the five families. This marriage contract is a solid arrangement between our fathers. A commitment to continue doing business together. Even if I did tell him, I doubt it would make any difference. Carlo didn’t touch me in a way I could complain about.” A shiver creeps up my spine at the memory of how he shoved me into my father’s study and pinned me against the wall. My flesh crawled as his gaze ran over me from head to toe. It was a miracle I didn’t puke in his face. He wasn’t shy about making his feelings clear, and he’s not inclined to wait until we are married before taking my prized virginity.
I briefly squeeze my eyes shut as familiar panic attempts to strangle me.
“Yet.” Frankie sits up behind me, pulling her long blonde hair back into a ponytail. “He threatened to fuck you before the wedding. That’s against our revered traditions and a huge disrespect to you and your father.”
“He will have little opportunity to get me alone before then, and a date isn’t being set until I graduate.” I’m grateful for small mercies. Every day I have without being chained to that monster as his wife is a blessing.
But I’m running out of time. The first two weeks of senior year has already flown by. This time next year, I’ll be Mrs. Carlo Greco, and the thought makes me want to flay the skin from my bones.
“He’s the type of man to create his own opportunities,” Frankie says, concern flitting across her face. “I think you should at least tell Mateo.”
My eyes pop wide. “Are you kidding? He’d blow a gasket and make things worse.” My brother is utterly reckless, and he acts before he thinks. “The very last thing I need is Mateo threatening Carlo. That sick bastard would see it as a challenge.” I shake my head, and my long wavy dark hair tumbles over my shoulders. “No, I can’t tell anyone. I’ll just have to deal with thestronzomyself.”
I wander to the window as if on autopilot. Whenever Leo is around the house, I’m drawn to him like he’s my gravity. Hiding behind the net curtain, I slowly retract it, watching as the guys get up from their loungers, making their way inside. Leo is the last to leave the pool area. He cricks his head from side to side and stretches his arms out. The movement causes all the dips and curves in his stomach to pull and tighten, and it sends a stream of liquid warmth flooding to my core.
“I can see the attraction,” Frankie agrees, coming up behind me. “He’s beautiful.”
“He truly is.”
We are both silent as we watch him stride toward the French doors leading into our living room.
Leo has this way of commanding the air when he walks. Like the particles realign to shift around his body, acknowledging his magnificence. It gives him an almost godlike presence. It’s as if Mother Nature is conceding to the power of his beauty.
Or my obsession has become a little unhealthy and I’m seeing things that don’t exist.
