Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Nell
Dressed in cream linen pants and a navy camisole with thin straps, I join Romeo’s mother Renata and the women from his family, plus his bitch of an ex, for our nail appointment.
Apparently, it is tradition for the family of the bride to get a mani-pedi for the wedding, so here I am with my feet being pampered, while a lovely young Hawaiian girl does my toenails, as my hands are already done. We opted for navy and gold as it will match my dress.
“So, tell us, Nell, how are things with my nephew?” Romeo’s aunt asks; she is the mother of the bride.
I sip from the glass in my hand, a mimosa to help me deal with these women, not Renata of course, she is lovely, such a sweet lady. It is the bride and Romeo’s ex who are being bitchy, but his aunts and cousins are just pushy and nosy.
Swallowing, I ignore the stares that are filled with hate that Daniella is sending my way. She purposely took the chair opposite me to try and intimidate me.
It is freaking working, but I will not show her that.
My inner bitch is rearing her head, wanting to drown her in the foot spa at her feet. She cheated on Romeo, she lost him, and she only has herself to blame.
I reach inside to my inner tough girl and pull up my big girl panties, and not let it show that she is getting to me.
Romeo has told me all about what she was like when they were together.
It makes me wonder what he was thinking, and I question his motives for shacking up with a woman like her.
She is vile, and he deserves someone better.
Am I that someone better?
He has dropped hints that he likes me, and ever since yesterday when we left the restaurant, his touches have become more frequent, and I am not going to complain about that because that man can make my body respond with a simple touch or his two favorite words for me ‘good girl.’
Damn that man.
“Things are going good,” I remember to reply. “He is so attentive with me and makes me feel beautiful,” which is not a lie.
The women make swooning noises that make me smile brightly.
“I am so glad that he found you that day, Nell. Seeing my son smile more these days is a great thing.” Renata taps my arm with her free one.
“He makes me smile too,” I reply.
“These De Massy men are hard headed, I can tell you that now, dear. There will be times where you will want to suffocate Romeo in his sleep, but then you will want to love on him the next.” One of the aunts winks at me, making me giggle.
Daniella makes a throaty noise from across the room, but I ignore her. Renata’s gaze flicks to her, but she says nothing. I see a hue of warning in her eyes set for her son’s ex.
Did they get along when she was dating Romeo? I will have to ask him when I get back to the hotel.
Romeo is out with the boys today, playing golf. Who knew that Mafia men golfed? I would have thought that they spent their time sipping whiskey, smoking cigars around a table, plotting a mass takeover and murder.
“There has been a time or two when I have wanted to cut Bruno’s balls off.”
“Oh, sister, preach.” I giggle and snort, making the women laugh harder.
The mimosas are getting to me; I am on my second one but so are the other women. I even saw one of the cousins slip her mother a flask that I have no doubt had some good liquor in it.
All the women here are pushy, nosy Italian woman, but they are a hoot and fun to be around. Romeo was right when he told me that I would have fun today, that also his mom would not let anything happen to me.
“Darling, this wedding has been so stressful, for all of us, so for my sake and your father’s, make this marriage work, yes?” The bride Mia gasps, a smile on her face.
“Of course, Mother.” Her mom nods to her, then sips from her drink, holding her hand out for a refill.
I am from a small family. Both sets of grandparents are no longer with us, and I have a few aunts and uncles on both sides of the family but not many. So, seeing these women bond is heartwarming to watch. They interact with all the trust and loyalty a family should have.
“How much is he paying you?”
A few gasps go up around the room, and my nail tech freezes before looking up at me, shock and unease clear on her face.
“Daniella, do not start.” Renata comes to my defense but it is not needed.
I have dealt with bully girls like her most of my life— a lot while I was married to Keith.
Lord knows why women flock to that piece of shit.
Her type scares the crap out of me because they can be so fucking unpredictable and go overboard with their bullying; believe me, I have seen it in both high school and college.
Resting my hand on top of Renata’s arm, I look at Daniella and smile sweetly.
“Romeo is not paying me anything. Yes, he paid for my flight here to be with him as his date for the wedding.”
“So, he has paid for you to be here to pretend to be his date?” she snaps.
“At what point did say I that he was paying me to be his date? You need to stop drinking, Danika, because you are hearing things that are simply not there.”
“My name is Daniella and you know it,” she snaps.
“Romeo will get bored of you, and he will come running back to me when he is done. He knows that I belong in this world, unlike you. Then you can go back to that pathetic little store that you own with Mommy and Daddy,” she snipes with a smug grin on her face.
Little does he know that I am fucking proud to be close to my parents and run a business with them. I also know that Romeo and his parents, plus the De Massy family, value hard work and success.
“In the case of Romeo, maybe. We are new, after all. There is no telling what tomorrow or next week will bring.” I lower my voice so she hears this part good and clear.
“As for my business and my family, they are not your concern. But I am proud to work with my parents; we are a close family, and that is something that is important to me. Family, not money or lavish items. Family.”
She huffs, glaring at me.
“Daniella, anyone can see that Romeo is smitten with Nell. If you have any feelings for him, surely you would be happy for him,” an aunt says, but Daniella just fumes harder.
“No. He is mine.”
“Then you should have kept your legs closed,” slips from me, and I slap my hand over my mouth in shock.
“Says the woman whoring herself out to a man. He will spoil you, shower you in gifts and clothes, and then dump you like yesterday’s trash. It is what Romeo does. You are nothing special. You are one of many.” Her words hit me in the chest.
I know that what she saying is not true but fuck, I can’t help but question if that is what some of his family thinks. That I am with him for his money.
Of course they do not know about our deal, but the only money that he spent on me is the flight, via private jet, the accommodations, the clothes and—
My thoughts stop and I realize she is right.
He is spending money on me. Okay, so we are not having sex, but fuck, it still looks bad. Also, what Romeo has done for me, has he done for anyone else? It is not like he will broadcast that he is paying a woman to be his date.
His reputation with the women is solid from what I have read. Surely this is not a thing for him, but he is rich; he has the money and means to shower different women with whatever he pleases.
Suddenly, I feel sick. I cast my eyes down to the young woman who is looking at me with sympathy.
“Thank you, but I think I need to go back to the hotel.” I pull my feet back, praying that they look half decent, so I can leave.
“Nell, no, please stay,” Renata pleads as the young woman dries off my feet.
Slipping on my sandals, I pick up my purse.
“God, Daniella, you can be such a bitch,” one of Romeo’s cousins snaps, but I keep my head down.
“Thank you for today,” I say to Renata, her frown saying that she is not happy that I am leaving.
Without saying anything else, I flee the salon, knowing that my treatment is paid for—by Romeo.
My stomach lurches, and I make my way back to the hotel. I ignore passersby, which is rude and I am not a rude person. I fight back tears that are trying to spill over.
I am not entirely sure why I am upset; it is not like we are dating, and once we get back to the mainland, I know that Romeo’s plan is to make up a story saying that we broke up but are remaining friends. All his idea.
He feels nothing for me. He is caught up in the whirlwind of this wedding, Hawaii and being here with a date… that he paid to be here with him.
Fuck, I am going to be sick.
Reaching my room at top speed, I slump down on the bed, kicking my sandals off, and sighing, grateful that my toenails match my fingers. Thank fuck.
I am going to have to go back before we leave to give that young girl a tip.
My body suddenly feels heavy, as tears fall down my cheeks.
It is silly that I let that cow get to me. She is nothing but a nasty bitter woman who threw away an amazing man. I may have only known Romeo for a very short time, but I can see that he is sweet, caring, and loyal. His respect for his family exceeds my expectations of a man.
Being around him makes me jealous of all those female characters that I read in books, who get that Mafia or biker man. Romeo De Massy is the epitome of a Mafia bad boy with a soft side.
Stripping from my day clothes, I have a quick shower before slipping into a set of satin pajamas, then slip between the cool sheets on the bed.
I huff, thinking it was Romeo that bought these pajamas for me. I can’t fucking escape it, can I?
A nap sounds good. I need to shut everything out from today. Not all of it, just the nasty words that are still jumbled in my head.
Hopefully when I wake up, I will be in a better mood, and since there are no wedding plans for tonight, I can lock myself away in here while Romeo goes and spends time with his family.
I sigh, sinking into the bed, as sleep takes me into a sweet, yet sexy dream.