9. Dante
9
DANTE
If the mob ever decides to go after Victoria Waldorf, they better keep two guards on her at all times—I’ve never seen a woman climb out a window just to get away from a party.
I knew Marissa was throwing some expensive shindig tonight, so I went around the house to keep from making an appearance. What I found was a perfect, peachy ass and long, curly hair dangling from a fucking tree.
Honestly, the shit this girl does to get her way.
Yet, the pure panic in her eyes when she heard my nephew’s name urged me to keep her away from him.
This isn’t my circus or my monkeys.
But I still block her from view when I open my door and find my nephew on my doorstep, looking like a rich tool with a blue polo shirt and a fucking popped collar.
“Yes?”
Liam lifts a brow. Yeah, he already told me what he wanted, but he should know I’m too much of an asshole to give it to him straight and easy.
Plus, I want some information from the boy made in Marissa’s image.
She’s obviously paranoid about her endgame which means there’s a chance someone could fuck it up. And I have a funny feeling that someone has plush lips and blue eyes.
“I asked you if you saw Victoria,” he says again, sounding pissed as all hell that he has to repeat himself.
“Haven’t,” I reply. “However, I heard congratulations are in order. Your mother told me you two are ready to announce your engagement.”
Liam releases a tiny scoff. “Yeah…if I can find her.”
Dumbass.
“You sure she’s not in the house somewhere fixing her makeup?”
My nephew barely stops himself from rolling his eyes. “She climbed through my bedroom window.”
I bite back my smirk, although it’s difficult to repress it.
Her escape should be clue number one that Victoria doesn’t want anything to do with him, but Liam was raised to believe in an outdated no before yes culture when it comes to women. The idea that someone could say “no” and mean it is probably beyond his comprehension.
“Some women like the chase.” I lift my shoulder in a shrug as if it’s of no matter to me, as if I’ve badgered women into saying yes to me. I haven’t—I’ve never needed to. In the same breath Victoria punches me in the back of the spine.
“Victoria never makes things easy for me,” my nephew admits. “She saw some stuff and is pissed at me.”
“Have you gotten her a ring yet?” Liam shakes his head. “Diamonds make women forget easily enough.”
“Not this one. Vee would rather you buy her a fancy knife than a piece of jewelry.”
Interesting.
I’m starting to get the sense that Victoria likes fighting the system she was born into and refuses to just lie back and accept her privilege as her due. I don’t know her family, but I do know that Marissa wouldn’t have bet everything on them if they weren’t loaded.
“Well, knife or ring, figure something out soon. Don’t let this one slip away.” I wish we were having this conversation without an audience. Unfortunately, I may not get the opportunity to talk to Liam alone again for a while, and I need to know what he does. “I’ve met at least one of your problems.”
Liam’s eyes widen a bit before he catches himself, affecting an air of disinterest. “What do you mean?”
I make a point of scanning our surroundings, pretending that I’m worried someone may hear us. I lower my voice, but keep my words vague, knowing Victoria can hear everything we say. “The one your father left you.”
Liam lifts his head, almost looking embarrassed. “They found you.”
I nod. “And if we don’t play our cards right, we’ll have to fold.”
My nephew bobs his head repeatedly. “I know, I know. If it doesn’t work, I’m not sure what we’re gonna do.”
“Listen,” I mutter, giving another look around the place. “How about you and I meet up tomorrow? That way we don’t have to worry about….” My nephew quickly catches on as he takes a step back from my doorway.
“Sure, that’d be, uh…great.”
“Go look for your girl,” I urge with a jerk of my head. “If I see her, I’ll text you. Let’s do lunch. We can talk things out without your mom around. No need to stress her out more.”
That seems to appease my nephew.
“Thanks, Uncle Dante.” He turns to leave, striding back toward the house. I’d almost feel bad for him if he weren’t trying to rope an innocent girl into the mess.
Although, he doesn’t seem to have many options.
I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d found myself in the same predicament at his age.
Once I close the door, Victoria is on me like a wildcat. She gets right into my personal space, her lavender scent assaulting my senses and throwing me off balance.
“Why would you do that?” she cries out through narrowed, teary eyes. “Why would you send him after me?”
“I needed him to get out of here, didn’t I?”
“By looking for me?”
“If I didn’t, wouldn’t that look suspicious?” Victoria huffs and begins pacing the floor in front of me. She rakes her bloody hand through her thick hair and I scowl. “Are you always this much of a mess?”
I reach for her hand but she jerks away from me as if I’m my nephew. It instantly pisses me off, but I refuse to analyze why right now.
“I’ll have you know that I’m not an idiot. I didn’t get into Thronewood University because I have boobs.”
The moment she says that word my gaze immediately drops to her chest.
Not creepy at all, Dante.
“So you didn’t seduce the admissions committee…good to know.”
“You must think I’m a real moron, don’t you, Professor Moretti?” I raise my eyebrows and clamp my lips shut. She was just dangling from a tree. “Wow… you’re not getting teacher of the year.”
Who in hell would care about that? “Damn,” I sneer, “I’m not sure I should bother staying at Thronewood if that’s off the table.”
“You might as well,” she grinds out. “No one’s expecting you to teach anyways. The girls only show up because they think you’re hot and the dudes…” She shrugs. “Well, it’s an easy class.”
“You think my class is easy?” I ask, disdain dripping heavy from my voice. It won’t be, and she should know that. I put each and every one of them through the ringer with their chamber pieces this week. My class may fulfill an elective credit, but I take my music very seriously and expect my students to do the same.
“I don’t know, being called out in the middle of class on day one when I didn’t say a word wasn’t easy to deal with.”
I knew it wasn’t Victoria the moment the blonde girl behind her blanched. But I needed to set an example for the class. Switching targets mid-rant wouldn’t have served me.
“Then you should’ve said something.”
Her face scrunches up, and her tone tells me she thinks I’m the moron. “And rat someone out?” Victoria’s gaze tracks down the length of my body like she’s sizing me up, but she never returns her eyes to mine, never finishes her sassy comeback.
Instead, she lingers, soaking me in like her favorite perfume. My cock twitches at how fucking perfect a disaster she is.
There’s a small twig tangled up in her hair. Her jean shorts certainly don’t fit the dress code for Marissa’s party, I know that. She has black makeup smudged under her eyes, looking more suited for a secret mission than her own engagement party. Her lips are red, small indents showing that she’s chewed at them either out of nervousness or frustration.
I don’t know what has come over me or what I’m doing.
But Victoria Waldorf is the sexiest thing I’ve seen since arriving in the States.
And that bugs me.
I’m twice her age. I’ve seen more shit in my life than she has in action movies—which she probably doesn’t even watch. Victoria is the epitome of sass and rebellion with a splash of naivety.
That innocence only makes me want to keep her as far from Lombardi as possible. I don’t want to see her lose that, especially when it’s not her fault my family is a bunch of whack jobs without a care for anyone else’s existence. But this inconvenient desire to protect her will only complicate things for both of us.
“Did you want to snap a photo while you’re at it, Victoria, or are you?—”
“It’s Vee,” she cuts in, slicing her eyes back to mine as a blush stains her cheeks. “My mother calls me Victoria.”
“It’s a lovely name. Don’t let her take that from you.” I want to smack myself over the head the moment the soft words spill from my mouth. What the hell am I even thinking? She seems to be wondering the same, as her brows twist in confusion. Quickly, I change tacks. “Does your mother know about this engagement? Does she know that you apparently want nothing to do with it?”
“You think I’m just teasing Liam? Or that jumping out of windows is my idea of a fun time on a Saturday night?”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because she ordered me to come. Like calling a dog to heel. She knows Liam cheated on me, but she doesn’t care.” Her eyes drift to something over my shoulder and her next words are whispered, almost sad. “I’m nothing that she wants me to be. She wants to take away everything I value, everything that makes me…me.”
I can’t picture anyone wanting to change Victoria, but this glittery world of money and status has sharp edges.
“What does she want to take away?” I can’t help but ask.
“Freedom.” Her expressive eyes slam back into mine, rooting me to the spot. I couldn’t move even if I tried, not while she holds me with a fierceness that should be beyond her years. “I don’t want to be married at twenty. I’m going to be twenty-one in two weeks and I want to spend my birthday going out with my friends, not planning a wedding to a douchebag who doesn’t deserve me. I have plans…”
She stops there and I find myself leaning forward, eager to know all her deepest desires, but I don’t press. This truce of ours is too fragile.
“Like I said,” I reply slowly. “You’re too good for him. Keep it that way.”
“You’re the only person who’s said that to me besides my best friend.” She sounds grateful for the assurance, a little breathy and full of hope that she’s not alone in this.
But she is.
Because I can’t get involved. Not in the college drama and not in protecting her from my family or from Lombardi.
Yes, I saved her from breaking her neck but that’s because I apparently still have something resembling a conscience.
“Stick with your gut, Victoria.”
“Vee,” she corrects me again, shifting her weight. “I should…sneak out of here.”
She should, but if Liam is still searching for her, she’s going to get caught.
Not your problem.
“Let me see your hand first.”
Victoria hesitates, chewing on her lip. Fuck me . “I’m good.”
“I’m not going to assault you, just check out your hand.” I leer, aiming for cartoonish villainy. As much as I love an independent woman, her stubborn streak is a mile-wide and beyond frustrating.
“Well, that made it worse.”
I scowl at her before heading back to the bathroom for rubbing alcohol and a few Band-Aids. When I return, I find Victoria right where I left her. She must’ve figured that her odds of making it off the Moretti property without an engagement ring were slim to none because I see the slump in her shoulders.
I point to the couch, still half-covered by a white sheet. I’ve barely moved anything since moving in eight months ago. “Sit down.”
Victoria does what I ask—for once—and I find myself not knowing where to go.
The floor.
The couch next to her.
Everywhere seems too close, but I bite the bullet and get on my knees in front of her. She spreads her legs automatically, accommodating my body and framing my hips.
Should’ve picked the couch.
Victoria doesn’t take her eyes off me as I twist the cap off the alcohol bottle, focusing on my task before blindly reaching for her hand.
“Don’t you have a towel?” she asks as I hold the bottle over her palm.
“Nope.” I mean, I’m sure there are plenty in here, but I don’t give a shit about the cleanup.
“You’re gonna make a— ouch !” Victoria squeals, attempting to yank her wrist from my grasp, but I have it locked tight in my hand.
Pulling it to my mouth, I begin softly blowing on her skin to take away the sting and Victoria freezes.
Tension snaps between us, fraught and dangerous. This girl is like a unicorn, vibrant and spunky on the outside and soft on the inside. She knows what she wants and will fight to the death to obtain it.
And the thought of marrying my nephew obviously puts her in fight mode.
I can’t do anything but respect and love the shit out of that.
Especially when I know exactly what she’s being used for in this game. How they’ll reduce her to a pawn. And I’d like nothing more than to keep her off their board.
“You’re making the right choice,” I tell her, keeping my words as vague as possible. “Liam will only drag you down.”
“I don’t understand what his problem is,” Victoria admits softly. “Normal people break up and move on. They don’t try to force the other to marry them.”
“Liam is an only child. The little shit doesn’t understand the word ‘ no’ .”
“Why didn’t you give me up when he asked?”
“Why would I?” I lift my eyes away from her hand, trying to gauge the expression on her face. “Did you already change your mind?”
“No.” She studies me, her eyes full of desperate emotion. “Can you please talk to him? I’m not trying to be rude or mean, but I can’t marry Liam.”
“I’ll mention it tomorrow.” I grab a bandage and carefully cover her cut.
I’m not sure how I’m going to get Liam to forget about marrying Victoria, but I obviously need to help him find another solution.
And then I need to get the hell out of the States.
I have just over three days to make it happen.