14. Matteo
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MATTEO
“ W hat the fuck am I seeing here, Matteo?” Francesca hissed. “Please tell me you aren’t actually interested in the wrong twin.” There was no mistaking the reprimand in my little sister’s hushed voice.
“You’re not imagining it,” I declared, not missing a beat, my eyes still locked on the woman I would marry. “And she’s the right twin.”
So fucking right that my heart trembled in my chest whenever I was near her. It had been like this since I stole her first kiss.
“She has zero interest in you,” Francesca hissed, glancing around as if she was scared someone would hear. Not that it would matter… Soon the whole world would know.
My father informed me he’d discussed the matter with Nico Morrelli, and unconventionally, he would leave it up to his daughter to accept or refuse the marriage proposal. So I’d work for it. For her . The challenge was nothing short of thrilling.
But I also had other matters on my mind.
I got a piece of information from our captive that I knew was just the tip of the iceberg. It would require me to dig deeper to unveil the truth behind the Yale shooter.
“Matteo, are you listening to me?”
“Honestly, no. You’re worrying too much, Francesca. I have it handled.” I grinned at the pinch between her brows. “Ari will be mine. No further discussion needed.”
“I love you, brother, but you can be an asshole sometimes.”
I laughed, genuinely amused. “Less than a month at Yale and you’ve turned brave on us.”
“I was always brave, jackass.” She grabbed my hand and yanked on it, over and over again. “Why do all men want what they can’t have?”
Alert shot through me at her words and I narrowed my eyes on her. “Did someone try?—”
She shook her head. “Stop changing the subject. Just promise me you won’t stir shit up with the Morrellis. I’ll never forgive you if you jeopardize my friendship with Gianna and Arianna.”
“But not Hannah?”
“I like her too, but she’s too wild.” She rolled her eyes. “And judging by what I saw today, she’s pazza too.” Crazy . My sister and I reserved our fluent Italian for special circumstances—like now, when she was trying to scowl like an angry little nonna but ended up looking like a cute little girl.
“Yet you’d rather I marry her than Arianna?”
“Shhh.” She glanced around again, then added in a hushed voice, “You only want Arianna because she’s not interested in you.” She was so fucking wrong. “But mark my words, Matteo. She won’t forgive you if you cause a rift between her and her twin.”
I ruffled my little sister’s ponytail knowing how much she hated it and bent low to peck her cheek. She’d always been pint-sized, like a 2.0 image of our mother.
“Don’t worry, sis. That’s not gonna happen.”
Before she could say anything, Gabriel Santos appeared, pushing himself between us.
“What’s happening, chico ? And little chica .” He winked at Francesca. “Tell me everything.”
“Needy, nosy man. Tell me, are all Latin men like you?” she muttered under her breath. “ Dio mio , save me.”
“She can’t even name my nationality. Or my language! Oh, my poor heart.” Gabriel clutched his chest theatrically. “It’s Dios mío , bella Francesca. Get it right. And no, I’m quite unique.”
Francesca glared at him with arms crossed. “Whatever, I don’t give two shits about it. Annoy me… Get on my bad side… And Amara will be hearing tales. None of which will paint you in a good light.”
His expression flashed dangerously at hearing Amara’s name, but I knew he’d never hurt my baby sister.
“I can’t say that I missed you too much, Miss Vitale,” he muttered. “Your first night back and you’re already starting trouble.”
“Hardly. I’m saving my brother’s reputation.” She nudged my shoulder, but I ignored her. “In fact, you two should discuss the impacts of unsolicited attention directed toward your female counterparts.”
“Unsoli—?” He broke off with a huff. “All females want our attention.”
She smiled sweetly, but I knew her next words would slash him. “Amara doesn’t want yours.”
My sister could be the sweetest, purest soul, but when she threw her daggers, blood was bound to be drawn.
Gabriel grinned at my sister.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, sweet, innocent Francesca.” My sister actually blushed as Gabriel patted her head affectionately. She made a face at him and he grinned wider. “My princess wants my attention. She just hasn’t come to terms with it yet.”
“Your funeral.” She pinned us both with a look. “But don’t expect any of us to attend.”
Then she whirled around and left us both in the dust.
“I guess she got wind of your infatuation with the wrong twin,” Gabriel stated coolly once she was out of earshot.
“How many times do I have to say that Ari is the right twin?” I gritted, suddenly annoyed.
He shrugged. “Tomayto, tomahto.”
My gaze fixated on the group of girls we grew up around, but I didn’t see any of them except Arianna. She pretended to sip on a drink, listening to whatever Hannah was going on about. She smiled discretely when she caught Penelope, Anya, and Amara rolling their eyes, but she said nothing.
“Man, I thought I had it bad, but you take the cake,” Gabriel interrupted.
“I don’t have it bad,” I stated, grabbing a bottle of beer from a cooler. “I’m just tired of waiting. Speaking of, how is it going with Amara?”
“It would be going somewhere if it wasn’t for her family. Ah, speaking of—” He forced a smile and waved his hand, his eyes focused on the DiLustro bunch. They were a breed of their own, the assholes in line to inherit their status as kingpins.
“I mean, why are they even here?” Gabriel continued, the eldest one of us. “It’s fucking summer, and suddenly everyone wants to be on campus during this break.”
I shrugged. “We’re here too.”
“I’m wrapping up my doctorate’s thesis,” he pointed out.
I snickered. “And stalking Amara.”
“ Exactamente, I’m multitasking. And all these schmucks…” He waved his hand in the general direction of all our friends. “What in the world are they doing here?”
“Some are taking summer classes,” I reminded him. Most of us in this group took online classes, but there were a few who attended the major in-person classes that St. Jean D’Arc exclusively offered.
A laugh rang in the air, and I turned to find the woman who occupied my every thought tipping her head back at whatever Nikola was saying. He was pointing at a tattoo on his bare chest, and Ari’s furrowed gaze locked on it.
My eyes narrowed on my friend, going through the list of all the tortuous ways I could make him pay. If only he wasn’t one of my best friends.
Gabriel chuckled next to me. “Easy, Matteo. They’re just talking.”
“I don’t want him talking to her, especially half naked. Tell him to start wearing goddamn shirts around women.”
The need to murder my friend clawed at my chest.
She should only be interested in me and my tattoos.
Jesus, Matteo. Are you listening to yourself? I dragged a hand down my face and chuckled, ignoring Gabriel’s odd look. I’d always had a dominant streak… craved control… but even I had to admit this obsession was starting to fray me at the edges.
“In his defense, he didn’t know any girls would be around.” He tilted his head pensively, then added, “Well, Hannah being the exception.”
I gave my head a subtle shake. “I’m still not sure allowing Hannah to run with the Legacies was a good idea. I know she wants to help with human trafficking, but she’s too impulsive.”
That was where my baby sister and I agreed.
“There’s no stopping her,” he drawled. “This way we can at least keep an eye on her.”
I heard another peal of laughter, and I saw red. “The fucking audacity…”
“Why don’t you just go over there, scoop her up, and kiss her senseless?” Gabriel, the ever-smooth Colombian, suggested.
As if sensing my attention, Arianna’s eyes found me, those glittering coral-blue eyes clashing with mine, and an instant calm washed over me. Fuck, she had the most captivating eyes. Whenever she looked at me, I swore my knees shook.
“I promised I wouldn’t kiss her again until she begged me to,” I stated, never breaking our eye contact. Her full, pouty lips fell open, and even from here I could see her cheeks staining crimson.
You never said anything about kissing her elsewhere, the devil on my shoulder whispered, and I gave a resolute nod.
It was time the gloves came off.