Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
He couldn’t help but smile when he heard a knock at the door. He should have known his little truth tale would spark her interest.
“Come in,” he said.
The moment they entered his home, Vanessa hadn’t even said good night. She’d gone straight to the stairs and ran away from him. He figured he’d give her the night, but soon she’d come to him.
She entered his office, complete with a carton of ice cream and a spoon. All the makeup Susan had used on her was gone, her hair damp from her shower, and she wore an oversized shirt with a rubbed-off slogan he couldn’t quite make out. She also wore a pair of socks.
He didn’t know how she could look so cute and sexy at the same time. He wasn’t used to anyone seeming so familiar to him. People feared him and he relished it, and did everything he could to enhance that fear.
This was refreshing and he didn’t know if he liked it or not.
“I can’t believe my dad would do that.” Then she snorted. “I don’t even know why I’m shocked. He was always so angry when men refused to marry me. It was like he didn’t realize the walls were thin. How does a guy like my dad, a mafia man, not have money?”
“He lives outside of his means,” Diago said.
“It’s all the parties, right, and the crap, and all the other stuff in between.” She removed the lid off the carton and pressed the spoon into the ice cream, only for it to be rock solid. She growled. “Typical. You know, I was banned from eating this stuff. And pasta, and potatoes, and from living my life because I’m so fat and ugly.”
“You’re not fat or ugly,” he said.
She pointed to the scar at the side of her face. “Don’t you know, this is what defines me? This is all people can see, all they want to fucking see.” She gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. “I just said a naughty word, but there is no one here to reprimand me.” She giggled. “That felt good.”
“Are you drunk?” he asked.
“No. I’ve never drunk alcohol.” She glanced down at his glass. “I’ve never been allowed to drink alcohol, but seeing as my parents are not here to tell me no—”
“I’m not giving you drink.” He was rather entertained by her sudden anger and irritation, but that didn’t mean he was going to give her anything more to help ease those inhibitions.
She wrinkled her nose. “Whatever. I’m going to eat this whole carton of ice cream, and I am not going to care if it goes straight to my ass, and I’m going to say naughty words. Ass, bitch, fuck, asshole.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “I think I’m going a little giddy.”
He raised his glass to her. This is the most anyone had ever spoken to him at one time. Even Susan didn’t speak to him this much.
“So, you’re the one that saved me?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“For payment.” He didn’t take the payment, but Vanessa didn’t need to know that.
“That … it’s a little foggy. I don’t know, everything was okay, you know, when I was first taken. They were kind of sweet, I think. I mean, I’ve looked back and had to wonder if I imagined it all, you know?” She frowned.
“I know.”
“Then it went bad, and then I got cut, and it was just a nightmare.” She blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about this. My parents have been telling me for years to just shut up. That it was all in the past. Those men are dead.”
“They are dead.”
“Because you killed them.” She laughed. Did you even realize you were doing my dad a favor by killing them?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“This sucks,” she said. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what is happening here. Even if you do give me back, I don’t want to go back. I’ve got absolutely nothing to offer you. How did I get here?”
He didn’t like this. Diago stared down into his glass and finished the final shot of whiskey.
“Did I do something wrong?” Vanessa asked.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” He put his glass on the table and walked toward her, lowering himself onto the coffee table opposite her. “I have a solution.”
“You do? Is it anything better than hoping a whole carton of ice cream will land on me and take the decision out of my hands?”
“Marry me,” he said.
Vanessa had the spoon in her mouth and stared at him. “Marry you?”
“Yes.”
“But, how is that going to solve anything?”
“It won’t solve all of your problems, but it will be the start of a new life for you,” he said.
She frowned. “But … do you even want a wife?”
“No, I don’t want a wife, but I’ll take you.”