“The one who committed suicide?” he asks.
I keep quiet for a while, the thought of Kyle taking his own life and leaving me behind haunt me still.
“That’s what they tried to convince me. My parents accepted it. Me…not so much,” I say, not asking how he knows about my brother. Mateo Ricci is a man who takes his job seriously. If he was sent to fetch me, he probably knows most of my secrets. Well, all the ones that I may have ever revealed along the line. There are some I’ve never shared with anyone. I barely think of them myself.
“I’m sorry,” he says gently, and I feel his hand slide over to squeeze my thigh. It’s the smallest movement, but it makes my chest tighten.
“It’s okay,” I answer in a voice that seems too small to be my own. My mind is racing a mile a minute as I try to make sense of my new reality. Mark Whitlock has his sights set on me. More than simply being the pig who took my virginity and then discarded me in a rain of public humiliation. An act that was little more than rape, since I’d been a drunken child at the time.
He’s a fucking animal. And he thinks he owns me.
As far as my family is concerned, I’m their property to do with as they please.
But they’re wrong. There’s no way I’m going to let them use my life as a bargaining chip. I’m nobody’s pawn.
I put my hand over Mateo’s, where it’s still resting lightly on my leg. I press it down firmly, and he shoots a look at me.
“Mateo…” I say, licking lips that are suddenly too dry.
“Yes?” he says, turning his eyes back to the road.
“Will you marry me?” I ask.
The car swerves for a moment before he rights it quickly. He’s staring at me again.
He’s pulled his hand away from my leg, but I keep my fingers firmly twined through his.
“Sure,”he says.
Chapter 2
Mateo Ricci
What the hell did I just say?
“Are you certain?” Andy says from beside me. “I mean…really?” I can feel her eyes on my face, though I keep my attention fixed firmly on the road ahead.
Say no, goddammit! Now is the time to change your mind!
“Sure,” I repeat. “It’s probably the best way for you to get out of this mess.”
That’s it. You’re out of your goddamn mind!
I hear her heave a deep breath. A sound not dissimilar to the sighs she made as I was touching her last night. Okay, maybe this could have its benefits…
“So, you’ll marry me?” she says yet again. She has to be aware of the turmoil within me. Must be pressing to see if I really meant it.
“Yes,” I reply. “I’ll marry you.”
And just like that, I’m screwed.
“Thank you, Mateo,” she husks out, reaching for my hand and squeezing my fingers. Suddenly, it all feels worthwhile.
Yip. So screwed.
“If we’re hitched, there’s no way they can force you to marry that bastard,” I add, as if I need to provide some explanation. Of course, she knows all this. It’s definitely the reason she suggested it in the first place. There’s no love lost between us, after all. I spent months keeping distance between the delectable doctor and myself. Knew she was trouble from the first time I lay eyes on her. She’d practically propositioned me in the children’s ward of the hospital where she worked. If it hadn’t been for Nikki and Dario, I’d have run for the hills right then. And then last night’s little sex marathon…
Bad idea, Ricci. Bad fucking idea!
