6. Isa #2
I shot him a look, and he laughed. I shook my head, even though I was smiling.
That seemed to break the tension I had felt earlier when I realized I wouldn’t be alone on the balcony like I had hoped.
But not enough for me to let my guard down.
He was a stranger, after all. And if his mom was trying to find him a wife here, then his family, or he, was a part of this life.
No matter how harmless he looked now, I knew that wasn’t the case.
But this would solve all my problems, wouldn’t it?
It would get Dad to back off on trying to set up an arranged marriage for me, one that I knew he would only set up when he thought it would benefit him somehow, and it would get me out of the house.
Valentino wouldn’t have to worry about me so much, and I could finally, finally get over my silly feelings for Elio.
I stepped closer to him.
His eyes flared a little from the move, but he didn’t back away from me. If anything, there was a challenging glint to them that suddenly made my heart race.
“Do you think this is a good story, then?” I asked softly. I subtly wiped my sweaty palm on my dress, wondering why it felt like there was this sudden pressure on me.
His smile widened. “I do.”
I moved in a little closer. “We might not have any chemistry.”
“No? I find that hard to believe.”
“And why is that?”
He shrugged casually. “Just a feeling.”
“A feeling,” I repeated. He thought we would have chemistry. But it seemed… he was the only one feeling it, and I was… I was spiraling.
“Only one way to find out,” he said, moving his head down closer to me.
My heart thudded loudly in my ears, and for a moment, I was afraid he could hear it, but that wasn’t the case, was it?
And I was about to have my first kiss.
A kiss that I was the one deciding to give away. Not the other way around.
His lips were no more than a few inches away from mine. I closed my eyes, but then light brown eyes flashed through my mind, halting me.
I pressed my hand on his chest and pushed him away before his lips could make contact with mine.
He pulled back, and I opened my eyes and looked away.
I shook my head. “Sorry.”
I took a step away from him and leaned my back against the railing, afraid my legs wouldn’t be able to hold me up.
I looked sideways at Nico, pulling up short when I found the dark look on his face. I stumbled back a step, and he followed me. My heart was racing again, but for a completely different reason.
“You’re such a tease, aren’t you?” he said, trying to make his tone sound light. He failed. And the way he was looking at me… There was nothing light about it.
I blinked in surprise and backed away from him. “I think my brother is looking for me.”
He moved fast. Faster than I would have thought he’d be able to, given his size, and pretty quietly.
One moment, he was standing with his back against the railing, and the next, he was on the other side of me, his back to the only exit, preventing me from leaving.
“What’s the rush? I’m sure no one will miss us for a while. ”
I could feel my heart racing as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. He didn’t look mean or threatening, but there was just something about him that gave me a bad vibe.
I tried not to show how nervous I was and shook my head, offering him a small smile I didn’t feel. “My brother would definitely know I’m missing.”
He moved in a little closer to me. “Let him wait.”
I took a step back, and another one, then one more.
But he only closed any distance I might have been able to put between us quickly until my back hit the railing, and there was nowhere else to go.
I looked back for only a quick second, but I realized my mistake of not keeping my eyes on him when I turned around and noticed his face was mere inches from mine.
“What are you-you doing?” I asked with a nervous laugh.
“Isn’t it obvious? Testing our chemistry.”
I put my hands on his chest and tried to push him away when he moved in even closer to me. He barely budged. How could I not notice just how much stronger he was than me?
“No.” I tried to sound firm.
He laughed, the sound menacing. “I don’t think you have a choice.”
“I think she does,” a voice said behind us.
I took in a broken breath of air at the familiar voice. Nico pulled away and turned, taking in Elio standing there. Nico visibly paled.
“Elio. We were just…”
Elio held up his hand. Nico might have been stronger than me, bigger than me, but standing in front of Elio, he suddenly looked weak and pathetic.
My cheeks burned with shame. Had I really thought Nico would have helped me get over my feelings when it came to Elio?
The thought was nearly ridiculous, and just as pathetic.
Elio moved his eyes over to mine. “Come here, Isa.”
I hesitated, afraid my legs might not work if I tried to move.
I blinked back tears, and Elio’s face softened marginally.
He held out his hand. I focused on that, then his eyes, before slowly making my way over to him on shaky legs.
I nearly stumbled, but Elio’s hand was there.
He pulled me in close to his side, and for the first time all night—all day—I finally felt settled.
I moved in closer to him, seeking his warmth as Elio turned back to Nico, his voice losing any of its softness from before.
“Get out of my fucking sight.”
“Y-Yes, sir,” Nico stuttered and quickly ran out of there, giving me a wide berth as he passed.
And then it was just Elio and me on the balcony. I couldn’t look at him. Shame was like a heavy weight I couldn’t escape from.
Elio grabbed my upper arms and turned me around until I faced him. I looked down at his black tie. As usual, Elio looked good in anything he wore, including this suit. And I hated how it felt like I couldn’t possibly match up to him, no matter what I did.
“Please don’t,” I said softly when it looked like he was about to open his mouth to talk to me.
“Don’t what, Isa?”
I closed my eyes briefly before opening them, keeping them on his tie. I wasn’t brave enough to look into his eyes. Not just yet. “Lecture me. I’m already thinking about all the ways I was stupid, walking onto this balcony and staying behind with a strange man.”
He let out a small sigh, and I felt the air on the top of my head. “I won’t lecture you. For now.”
I nodded. “And please don’t tell Valentino.”
“Isa…”
“He’ll just want to find Nico, and things will be messy, and you know it.”
“As he should. That fu— man would deserve nothing less than the beating coming for him.”
Yeah, only I was afraid it wouldn’t be just a beating he would get. And I didn’t want to spend my time arguing about it with Elio.
“You haven’t asked me if I’m okay,” I said.
I saw his chest rise and fall. “Fuck. You’re right. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Tell me what I can do to make you feel okay,” he said.
“Hold me.”
He hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second, before I felt myself being pulled into his big, strong body, felt his arms go around me tightly, and felt him engulf me in my entirety. Tears pricked my eyes. If only I could stay like this with him forever.
I felt so fucking stupid. It was like everything Valentino had told me and warned me about had been thrown out the window. I had put myself in that situation.
I moved in closer to Elio and felt his arms tighten around me marginally.
I didn’t know how long we stood like that, but it was enough for me to get my bearings under control. At least it didn’t feel like I was about to lose it all over again when he finally pulled away and hooked his thumb under my chin, lifting it until I had no choice but to look at him.
“Okay?” he asked softly.
I nodded, even if the last thing I felt was okay . I didn’t know how I was feeling.
And I didn’t know how to put that into words.
Elio nodded, his eyes roaming my face for a brief moment before he pulled away from me. I instantly felt cold and then shivered.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get back inside before Valentino realizes you’re missing and goes looking.”
Right. That was a very real possibility, and the last thing I wanted to do was explain to my brother why I was out here.
I walked past him and through the door into the building.
Elio followed closely behind. I could feel him near me, but not close enough that we touched.
I took a deep breath when we got to the entrance of the ballroom.
My legs froze. It suddenly felt like too much to try to go inside with everyone else…
with people I didn’t even know very well, and some I didn’t know at all.
And they were all laughing and looking like they were having the best time, while I felt like I was drowning, dying , and no one even realized it. What was wrong with me?
“Coming in?” Elio asked.
I tried to swallow, but it felt like there was something stuck in my throat.
“You go in first,” I said, my voice no higher than a whisper. I sensed him hesitate. I turned around and smiled at him. “I’m really fine. Thank you for saving me. Go. I’m sure there are some men that Massimo wanted you to talk to.”
I knew I guessed right from the look on his face. I forced my smile to widen a bit.
He nodded slowly. “Come find me if you want to go home.”
I shook my head. “Valentino will take me home. Or my dad. You don’t have to worry.”
He frowned at me. I kept the smile on my face and didn’t feel like I was breathing properly until he finally nodded and slowly turned away. I watched as he made his way further into the room.
Aldo Valachi stopped Elio, with Chiara at his side, and it felt like my heart turned into coal at the sight. I didn’t need to hear what they were saying to see what was going on. Aldo was trying to reintroduce his daughter to Elio as someone he could consider for a fiancée.
What would I do if that turned out to be the case? If Elio and Chiara ended up engaged, and I?—
I shook myself out of the horrid thought.
There would be nothing I could do. Once an engagement was agreed upon, very little could be done to break it, especially with a De Luca.
Please don’t agree.
As if he could hear my thoughts, Elio turned and looked back at me once more. I froze when our eyes connected, and it felt as if my heart had slowed, and my breathing became heavy as everything else in the room slowly vanished. Until it was just me and him.
Please be mine.
An impossibility, I knew that. Elio De Luca could never be mine, could he?
Chiara pressed her hand on his chest, bringing his attention back to her and breaking our eye contact. I felt like I had just lost something, and I didn’t know why that was, or what it was that I had lost in the first place.
I walked over the threshold and into the ballroom, going back to my small corner, waiting for this night to just be over so I could finally bury my head under my covers and pretend for a small moment that I was ceasing to exist.