4. Leora
CHAPTER FOUR
Leora
I wake up with a smile on my face. I feel as though the world is full of possibilities right now and they are all in my favor.
Rolling over, I bury my face against my pillow, giggling to myself.
I’m still high on all the emotions left over from that kiss. Wow! That kiss.
I can’t believe my first kiss ever was with the hottest man on the planet, Masaccio Vece.
Rolling onto my back, I stretch my legs out, yawn, and assess my body. I don’t have a hangover - which is pretty impressive considering how many shots we had last night.
Wow. That was so much fun. That was the best wedding I have ever been to.
And I kissed Masaccio Vece - and he kissed me back .
That means he likes me.
I wonder why he didn’t want to take my phone number.
Maybe he was just being cautious. It’s the right thing to do. Maybe I should be cautious too. I can’t just go around messaging him whenever I feel like it - I have a sneaky feeling dad is tracking my phone. It wouldn’t surprise me, considering how controlling he is.
Taking a deep breath in and letting it out with a happy, dreamy smile on my face, I throw the blankets off me and hop out of bed.
Oh, my word.
I am so in love with that man.
We kissed.
I want to tell everyone. But that would be a terrible idea.
I can’t wait to see him again. Even if we have to date in secret. It will be worth it. I would do anything for him. He’s my dream man.
I skip down the stairs and into the kitchen to make a coffee.
It’s a bit later than I expected it to be. I guess I slept off what would have been the hangover, so I can’t complain about that.
“Daddy?” I call out into the house while I’m making my coffee. But there is no reply.
He must be in the West wing, or maybe out somewhere already.
I press the button on the coffee machine, and it shoots rich dark coffee into my mug, followed by a creamy froth of milk.
I love starting my day with a cup of coffee, but it has to be made right.
Daddy doesn’t drink coffee, but he got this coffee machine for me anyway and I went on a fun little barista course to learn how to use it. So did the house staff - just in case I ask one of them to make me a coffee.
I carry my mug out onto the patio, blinking against the warm morning sunlight. It feels brighter than usual. Maybe I do have a teeny tiny hangover.
I don’t care though. I’m so happy.
“Poppet. You’re awake. Good. I need to talk to you.”
My father steps through the patio doors and walks towards me.
“Morning daddy. Did you have a nice evening last night?” I ask.
“Mm. Not really. I spent it with the family accountant, going over the financial records.” He says in a stressed tone.
“Is that bad?” I ask, feeling a little anxious because of his demeanor. I put my coffee down on the nearby table and turn my attention towards him.
He’s going to tell me I can’t get that new Lexus I’ve had my eye on. He always starts these dramatic sounding conversations about money - and then tells me I can’t have something I want.
“Listen, Poppet.” He clears his throat and swallows hard as though his mouth is dry. Then he sits down on the outside sofa and pulls me down to sit next to him. “Leora, I lost a large portion of my territory last week. I was trying to save it, but I couldn’t. It’s gone. The whole stretch along the docks. Right by the shipping yards. Valuable land. It went to a rival family. Now I am about to lose my two warehouses on the other side of the docks and if that happens, I won’t have any space that allows me to ship products out—” I’m not sure what to say.
He sighs and presses his fingers into his eyes as though he has a headache.
“I’m sure you can fix it daddy. You always fix things.” I say.
I reach out and touch his knee, trying to comfort him.
“No, not this time. This time I had to make some tough decisions. And it’s a decision that involves you.”
I sit up a little straighter, feeling tensed by his words. “Me?”
“Poppet, I need to keep my place at the table. If I don’t - we will lose everything. The house, the cars, everything. I had to—”
“What is going on daddy?” I blurt out, not able to take the suspense anymore. I wish he would just tell me instead of dragging it out like this.
“Leora, I’ve had to agree to an arranged marriage. The marriage will be between you and one of our rival families.”
“Who?” I shout in horror. “You can’t do this.” My heart is pulling and pushing at the same time, and I feel nausea building in my stomach.
“I have a meeting this afternoon with the family - it will be finalized by the end of the day. I’m sorry poppet but I had no choice.”
I stand up, fuming at how ridiculous this is. He can’t force me to marry someone. I’m in love with Mas. Him and I are meant to be together. He kissed me last night.
“You can’t do this daddy. I won’t marry whoever you’re making this arrangement with. I want to get married for love.” I sound like a complete brat, throwing a tantrum. But trust me - you would too if you were just giving the same news.
“Sit down poppet, please.”
“Who is it?” I demand, with my arms folded across my chest as I glare down at my father.
“I am meeting with Vincent Vece. It will be one of his sons.” My father’s voice is filled with regret.
I stare at him in disbelief. Did I hear that right?
Vincent Vece.
Masaccio’s father.
“Are you serious?” I blurt out.
My father’s guilty expression morphs into a frown. “Yes.” He says, watching my expression.
Shit.
I’m forgetting that the Vece’s are our enemies - regardless of what is happening between Mas and me.
“Daddy, you have to do what you have to do for the family.” I say, sitting down at taking his hands in mine. “I understand and I won’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”
My father chews at the inside of his cheek, watching me.
I pout a little. Trying to look at least a little upset about this whole thing.
I mean, Mas is not the only single brother. It could be any of them.
This doesn’t automatically mean I am going to end up marrying him. All of his brothers are super-hot though - but he’s the one I want. I think that as soon as he finds out about the arrangement between our fathers, he will jump at the opportunity to marry me.
I purse my lips to hide the smile touching my face.
“I’m going to go shower.” I stand up, needing to get away from my dad. “What time is your meeting? When will you know?”
“I’ll be home at five this evening and we can talk about what was arranged over dinner tonight. I’m really sorry about this poppet. You know - if there was any other way - I would have taken it.”
I reach out and squeeze his shoulder. “Daddy, it’s going to be ok. It won’t be so bad. Whatever keeps our family safe is all that matters to me.”
He pulls me into a hug.
“Thank you, Poppet.” He says, sounding relieved.
I rush upstairs, taking the steps two at a time.
I can just feel it in my heart. The universe is giving me the most beautiful gift. Mas and I are going to get married. It’s destiny. He must be my soulmate. It all started aligning last night when we danced together - the kiss just sealed our fate - and from that moment on there was nothing in the universe that could keep us apart - not even the fact that our fathers are enemies.