Chapter 6Sofia
Chapter 6
Sofia
I rush back to my rooms where I do a quick outfit change out of my pants, and collared shirt into a Chanel skirt and jacket I wore only last week to a public engagement at the National Headquarters for Track and Field Sports, where I represented Alex in his absence. As with all my clothes, it’s modest and elegant, the skirt falling just below the knee, the jacket doing up to my neck, the precise way I prefer to appear to the world.
I reach Father’s office door, where I pause before I knock. My nerves are bouncing around like the Boston Celtics have gotten a hold of them, playing a frenetic game of basketball.
“Come!” Father calls, and I take a deep, steadying breath before I push the door open and step inside the familiar wood-panelled room, with its high ceiling and large windows that overlook the gardens.
But there are three people in the room, not two.
Enzo Rivera’s assistant , my mind tells me.
Immediately, my eyes land on a tall, handsome man with thick dark blonde hair, his face tan. He’s regarding me with striking eyes that instantly make my heart beat just that little bit faster, his shoulders wide in a white buttoned-up shirt that actually fits him this time.
Wait, what? Duck is here?
I’m thrown. The man who rescued me from that drunkard’s proposal at the ball, the man who had my hormones doing Olympic-speed laps with his velvety voice and intense gaze, is here in my father’s study?
What’s more, he’s looking at me the way he did that night, making me feel all tingly and nervous and… I swallow.
Is it getting hot in here?
I blink at him a few times in disbelief, the machinations of my mind clunking and whirring as I try to make sense of his sudden and unexpected appearance. It’s as though he somehow read my mind since I met him at the ball, knowing he elicits certain feelings in me, and turning up here today to… what? See me? Rescue me once more from an unsolicited proposal?
I open my mouth to say something when my eyes land on the man beside Duck. Shorter, stouter, with a thick mustache, his eyes not nearly as blue, and certainly not eliciting any such heartrate increases .
Enzo Revera.
“Ah, there she is. My beautiful and accomplished daughter,” Father says, greeting me with a kiss to both cheeks.
“Good morning, Father.”
“I have Lord Strozzi here to see you, as you see.” Father gestures at the men.
I manage to pull myself together. I might have been momentarily thrown by Duck’s unexpected presence, but I’ve been a princess my entire life. I’m very well-rehearsed in masking how I feel with a perfectly poised fa?ade.
I stretch out my hand to shake Enzo’s. “It’s so lovely to see you again, Lord Strozzi,” I say with a pleasant smile.
“And you, Your Royal Highness,” Enzo replies smoothly.
I turn to Duck. “And it’s lovely to see you again, too, Mr.—” What do I call him? He’s been Mr. Disheveled Manliness in my head since the moment we met, but I could never call him that. There’s Mr. Duck, of course, although that makes him sound like a cute little character in a Disney cartoon, and this man is about as far from a cute little Disney character as you could get.
I flip through my memories from meeting him and his companion at the ball, searching for an actual name for this man and land on… absolutely nothing.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe I know your actual name,” I say pleasantly.
Duck bows his head before he lifts his eyes—which, now that I see them once more, are more intensely turquoise than anything else—to mine, sending nothing short of a bolt of electricity through me.
Pull it together, Sofia.
“My name is Marco Revera, your Royal Highness. I’m Enzo’s general dogs… His personal secretary. ”
“And brother,” Enzo adds.
Duck’s smile is relaxed and easy, as though being here with me doesn’t faze him in the least. “That too, Enzo.”
I blink at him in disbelief. Duck—or rather Marco—is Enzo Revera’s brother ?
Which could potentially make him my future husband’s brother.
Which would also make him my possible future brother-in-law.
My brain feels like it’s fraying at the edges.
Isn’t there some kind of law that says you can’t lust after your potential future husband’s brother? Or is it in the Bible? Something about coveting your neighbor’s oxen… which would make Enzo Revera my neighbor, and Duck… an ox.
Oh, my. That’s one messed up, farm animal-related metaphor right there.
Best we move on.
“I was most pleased to receive your invitation today, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, and I do apologize for being early,” Enzo is saying, and I drag my gaze, kicking and screaming, to focus on him.
“Early. Yes,” I reply, struggling to regain my equilibrium. Because what the heck? Duck is here and the two of them are brothers?
Surreptitiously, I throw my gaze over the two of them, searching for familial similarities. Where Enzo is shorter, Marco is taller; where Enzo has an oval face, Marco has a jawline with which he could cut rocks; where Enzo sports a perfectly coiffed mustache that bears some resemblance to a furry caterpillar, Marco has scruffy five o’clock shadow covering his jaw, clearly in need of a good shave; where Enzo’s hair is receding, his brother has the sort of long lush locks one’s fingers itch to run through, luxuriating in its fullness.
Not that there will be any fingers running through hair going on here today, especially not when it comes to the hair on Marco Revera’s head.
I press my lips together.
“I have quite a number of business meetings today, as I do most days, and I’m certainly glad that you found it fit to accommodate us in this way,” Enzo continues, totally oblivious to the fire raging in my brain. “I do hope I haven’t upset the applecart, as they say.”
“Not at all,” I reply smoothly. Applecarts are the least of my concern.
“Yes, well, shall we all sit back down?” Father says. “Tea and crumpets should be here shortly, and we do have a few things to talk about. Don’t we, my dear?”
“Yes,” I agree.
I don’t look at Duck. Err, Marco. My potential future fiancé’s brother.
Geez.
We wait for Father to take his seat, as is the custom, and I purposefully sit in a chair to the side of Marco, so that he’s nowhere near my line of sight.
Way too risky.
Father rests his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. “There’s no point beating about the bush. You attended the ball last Saturday evening here at the palace, and my daughter, the Princess Sofia—” he clarifies, as though he’s meeting a bunch of men this morning to arrange more than one of his daughter’s marriages, “—has expressed an interest in getting to know you, Lord Strozzi, with a view to entering a formal engagement at some point in the future.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Enzo Revera for his reaction. He’s sitting back in his chair, his lips pressed together, his bushy mustache twitching slightly— don’t think of hairy caterpillars —his head nodding as Father speaks, as though pondering whether to have fish or chicken for dinner tonight.
“Yes, yes, I see,” Enzo says.
Marco turns to look at me, his face aghast. I choose to concentrate on his brother.
“What say you, Lord Strozzi?” Father prompts.
“Are you saying you want my brother to marry your daughter?” Marco questions. “Sir,” he adds as an afterthought.
“I’m saying that my daughter has tasked me with finding her a suitable husband, and Lord Strozzi is currently being considered,” Father replies.
“As a husband for the princess?” Marco asks.
“As I said,” Father snaps.
Marco gawks at me. “You can’t possibly agree to this, Enzo!” Marco exclaims before catching himself and adding, “I do apologize, Your Royal, err, Kingship. It’s just… shouldn’t Enzo want to marry your daughter? And for her part,” his gaze flicks to me. “Shouldn’t the princess be in love with the person she marries, too?”
“This isn’t about love, young man. It’s about forming an alliance, a partnership. Love may come further down the line,” Father replies curtly.
Marco guffaws. “Enzo? Surely you want to love the person you marry!” He turns back to me. “Princess Sofia?” Marco’s head is bouncing between us, like he’s watching a tennis match.
I open my mouth, but no words come. He’s looking at me far too intently, his stark turquoise eyes like lasers, cutting through my layers, like they could see into my very soul .
I give an involuntary shiver.
“I don’t recall asking for your secretary’s opinion in this matter, Lord Strozzi,” Father says pointedly, saving me from having to reply.
Not that I could reply right now. It’s all rather a lot.
“Marco,” Enzo warns.
Marco blows out a breath, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying I know I wouldn’t want an arranged marriage, and I wouldn’t have expected my brother would, either.”
Enzo raises his hand to silence his brother, who quite frankly, needs to be silenced. No one asked for his opinion, and nor do I want to hear it.
“I would like a moment, sir,” Enzo replies as Marco gapes at him.
“Take all the time you need,” Father says.
I chew on my lip, my nerves clanging. Will Enzo accept Father’s proposal? Or will this whole thing come crashing down around my ears in a deeply mortifying way?
And what’s more, who does Marco think he is butting in on something that doesn’t concern him? Isn’t he here simply as his brother’s personal secretary? That would mean Enzo calls the shots, not Marco.
And the fact I can barely look at him without utterly inappropriate feelings zinging around me has got absolutely nothing to do with anything whatsoever. Nothing at all.
“To clarify, we are agreeing to a get-to-know-you trial period, and if that is satisfactory to both parties, we will become engaged at some point in the future?” Enzo asks.
“Correct,” Father replies.
“But we’re not in an official relationship now?” he asks.
If I had been asked this question before the ball, I would have responded that there’s no point in waiting. That we should become engaged as soon as Father’s “getting to know one another” idea is over. But then I met Marco, and things changed. I never expected to feel drawn to a man as easily as I find I’m drawn to him, which rather creates a kink in the plan. But it’s a kink I’m certain I can smooth out without too much bother. I just need these silly feelings to fade, and then we’ll be right back on track where we should be.
“What do you think, Father?” I ask.
“If you both agree to it after a month, we will announce the engagement then,” he says. “This may be an arranged marriage, but we want it to be a successful one. My daughter feels you are the right match for her, Lord Strozzi, but let’s give it a little bit of time.”
Enzo pinches his lips, his moustache twitching. I’m on the edge of my seat. Will he agree to this frankly unusual proposal? Will he see that he and I are perfectly matched the way I do?
Eventually, after what feels like a lifetime, Enzo clears his throat. “I can’t say I wasn’t expecting this, sir, what with the Husband Hunting Ball I attended last week.”
I bristle at the name.
“That is not to say it isn’t a welcome opportunity, one which I believe could benefit both the princess and myself in equal measure. I have always been a firm believer in doing what is sensible and what is right, and this idea certainly appears to combine both attributes in a somewhat desirable package.”
I blink at him. Was that a yes? And, more importantly, is he referring to me as a “desirable package?” Because surely that’s a touch offensive. Isn’t it?
Father appears equally confused, as well as irked. “Are you telling me you will get to know my daughter with a view to becoming engaged in a month or not, Strozzi? ”
I hold my breath. This is it. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, the moment in which I find out whether the man who checks more boxes on my spreadsheet than anyone else, the man who my father approves of, will say yes.
The edges of Enzo’s mustache curve upward as his eyes alight on me. “I do believe we have an understanding, sir.”
“What?!” Duck exclaims, rising to his feet, at the same time as Father replies, “Congratulations! An excellent decision,” and I feel a mixture of happiness, foreboding, and guilt. It’s a heady cocktail, and definitely not what I was expecting to feel on this momentous occasion, an agreement to become engaged to be married to the man who checks all the boxes on my list in only one month’s time.