by V. Sousa
Fourteen
Rose
I woke up alone and still in my wedding dress.
At least I could say I got my money’s worth, although it was kind of depressing. Normally, people woke up naked after their wedding night, definitely not still in their dress.
I tried to undo the back of the dress to take it off, but my arms didn’t reach.
I was starting to think my arms were getting shorter. I’d never had these problems before.
I looked into the bathroom and the walk-in closet for Emmett so he could help me, but with no luck, I bunched up my dress and just made my way to the kitchen. I had no idea how to get there, but I was sure I would find it eventually.
After two dead ends and one spin, I found Lorenzo at the kitchen counter, reading a newspaper.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He lowered the newspaper and frowned. “What do you mean, what am I doing here? I’m always with you.”
“You’re still my guard?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
I’d been worried that when I married Emmett, Lorenzo would no longer be my guard because he was one of my father’s men, and considering I was now a Rossi, I’d just assumed I would get one of Vincent’s men. I wasn’t complaining, though. Vincent was such a terrible person that I could only imagine what his men were like.
“Where’s Emmett?” I asked, changing the subject.
“He had an early meeting this morning, so he left about an hour ago.”
“What does he even do for work? Do you know when he will be back? I need help getting out of this dress.”
“No idea. All I know is that he has an office, and maybe he’ll be back in a few hours. I can call him if you want.”
“Don’t worry about it. Can you just unhook the back for me?”
He gave me a horrified look in response and fumbled for his phone. He put the phone to his ear—calling who I assumed was Emmett—and stuttered, “Yeah, she needs help getting out of her dress.”
I would have paid good money to find out what Emmett had said or done to have Lorenzo so scared of touching me.
Lorenzo hung up and let out a long breath. “Emmett will be here in five to help you.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Okay, Lorenzo. I don’t understand why you can’t do it since it’s only a little bit of bare back. Are you forgetting I saw your pasty white ass full moon style when you were fucking my friend?”
“Fair point, but I value my fingers, thank you very much,” he said back with a wink.
“Whatever. Tell my husband I’ll be in the closet.”
Exactly five minutes later—I couldn’t stand the punctual bastard—I was sitting in the closet, playing on my phone, when Emmett walked in.
I looked up and forced a smile. “Good morning, darling. How was your meeting?” He wanted a trophy wife, he was going to get a trophy wife.
He rolled his eyes at me, ignoring my question. “My father wants us to attend dinner with him and his wife on Sunday.”
Fake or not, my smile was instantly wiped off my face.
“In New York?” I groaned.
I’d never been comfortable around Vincent, but in New York, I would be in his territory, which was ten times worse.
“Yes. Is that a problem, darling?”
I put my game face back on. “Nope.” I made sure to pop the P. “That’s perfectly fine.”
Emmett went behind me and unhooked the back of my dress, zipping it down enough for me to reach it. “Anything else you need?”
“That’s it, thanks.”
“I’ll be seeing you later tonight then.” He stopped at the door. “If you need anything, there’s a room downstairs near the front door with a few security guys, and Lorenzo will be with you all day.”
“Everyone but you, dear husband,” I said when he walked away.
I spent the next few days looking around and getting used to my surroundings.
On the third day of me living with Emmett, I went into the kitchen, where I found Lorenzo talking into his cell phone. He looked up at me and quickly hung up.
“Emmett will be late tonight. He told me to tell you to eat dinner without him.”
Surprise, surprise.
I rolled my eyes and started taking out all the stuff I needed to make lasagna.
“He couldn’t tell me that himself?” Lorenzo gave me a shrug, so I continued, “Can you hand me my phone please?”
Lorenzo got up from the counter and handed me my phone while looking at all the ingredients. “What are you making?”
“Lasagna,” I said while opening my text app and typing a message to Emmett. “Don’t worry. I’m making enough for everyone.”
Rose: Busy with the Governors daughter?
I put my phone down and started prepping the food. Once I finished, I checked my phone to see if he’d answered, but there was nothing. I knew I was being petty, but we’d never talked about how she was all over him at the wedding, and to be honest, I was still hurt about it.
When the lasagna was done, I took out six plates and put a generous portion on the guys’ plates and a smaller one for me.
Lorenzo already had a fork in hand, sitting at the island, ready to eat.
“Not yet. You have to help me take these to the security guys.” I slid two plates to him, and I picked up the other two. “Take those to the guys outside, and I’ll give these to the guys inside.”
The door to the security room was open, so I walked in and handed the guys their plates. When they saw what it was, I could almost see the drool coming out of their mouths.
I’d made dinner for everyone every night. The first night, they were confused and thought it was some kind of test, but after I assured them it was not, they dove right in. I tried to get them to eat with me in the dining room, but they politely declined, so it had just been Lorenzo and me eating dinner together every night.
I hadn’t spoken much to the guys outside because they were at the gate, which Lorenzo didn’t allow me to go near—you would think I was in danger or something. I’d had more freedom at my parents’ house.
It was the same guys every day—Dom and Damon outside, and Raphael and Lucas inside.
Raphael was quieter, the “no speaking without being spoken to” type, but Lucas was the funny, talking all the time type. He was always making jokes about how wonderful I was and how he wanted to run away with me. I never took it seriously, though, and the way he looked at Raphael told me that I wasn’t the one he wanted to run away with.
Lucas took a huge bite and looked up at me with a moan. “You’re my favorite wet dream—beautiful and knows how to cook. Marry me, Rose?” We both started laughing, but then his laughter abruptly stopped.
“You won’t be able to if you’re dead,” came from behind me.
I spun around to find Emmett behind me with his black eyes and emotionless face. If it weren’t for his threat, you would never be able to tell he was annoyed.
Lucas looked at me, then Emmett with wide eyes and started to stutter.
I got on my tiptoes so I could get Emmett’s attention and gave him a death glare. “He was joking. You should take the stick out of your ass and try it sometime.”
He ignored me and continued to stare at Lucas. “You will not talk to my wife like that again, or you’ll find yourself with a bullet in your kneecap very quickly.”
I swear I wanted to choke the life out of him. “At least he doesn’t rub his hands all over my body. I guess you’re the only one allowed to be hit on and groped. Noted.”
I left the security room and went into the kitchen to grab my lasagna. Lorenzo had already finished his first piece and was grabbing another slice.
Not wanting to drag Lorenzo into yet another situation, I took a seat in the dining room alone and was about to take a bite when Emmett walked into the room, looking pissed.
This was the first time he was showing emotion, so I must have really made him angry. Good.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t flaunt your little girlfriend in front of my face. She was all over you at our wedding, and you didn’t stop her. How would you feel if I was walking around with a guy that I fucked? Letting him touch me and kiss my neck. I’m sure you would love it.”
“What did you expect, for me to never have sex again? We broke up, Rose. It’s been three years,” he said with a huff.
That made me laugh. “You’re right, Emmett. I’m so sorry for thinking you could wait a little longer before sticking your dick in someone else.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming down before opening them back up and continuing, “You’re right, I shouldn’t have allowed her to do that at the wedding, and I won’t let it happen again. I have not slept with anyone for a few months, and I swear I will not cheat on you.”
I was stunned silent for a little bit. I definitely wasn’t expecting that response.
“Okay.” That made me feel a little better. It still didn’t help the sting, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
He gave me a tired look. “I don’t want to fight with you. I’m not trying to be stuck in a miserable marriage, so how about we drop it and try to get along?”
I hated that he was right. We should make the most of this instead of being at each other’s throats. “Fine.” I sighed. “I made lasagna if you’re hungry.”
I hoped Lorenzo had already eaten it all.
It had been a whole week of me living here, and I’d successfully walked through Emmett’s entire mansion.
It was beautiful and judging by the family portraits hung up in one of the studies, this house must’ve been in Emmett’s mother’s family for generations.
Emmett had never told me about this house, though judging by the big sign that said Montgomery Mining next to all the family portraits, I was starting to feel that there were a lot of things about Emmett that I didn’t know.
I was in the library when Emmett came home, and he found me sitting against one of the shelves on the second floor. “I had a bet with Lorenzo that you would find the library in the first week of you being here. He said you wouldn’t find it unless someone told you there was one, so he owes me a hundred bucks.”
I had to admit, ever since our kind of truce, he’d been surprisingly pleasant, still very distant and cold toward me, but at least now he didn’t act as if my presence repulsed him anymore. He still didn’t smile or laugh, but at this point, I’d take what I could get.
I looked up at him and laughed. “Well, you’re barely here, so I got bored. Besides, how else am I supposed to find out all the things you’ve kept from me? I have tons of questions. Why didn’t you ever tell me your mom was rich?”
“I had no idea she was until my eighteenth birthday. My mother’s lawyer called me and told me I needed to come in for a meeting about my inheritance. At first, I didn’t believe him because I’d never heard of him before, and I didn’t know my mother even had a lawyer, but then I got to thinking about how Mom never talked about her family, so I thought, ‘screw it’ and went to meet him a year later.
“He told me that my mother’s parents were the owners of Montgomery Mining and that the company had been in the family for years. He then went on to tell me he had strict orders to not talk to my father about Mom’s secret will and that I had inherited everything.
“After he told me all that, I laughed and said, ‘You must have the wrong guy because my mother never mentioned any of this when she was alive.’ But then he started pulling out papers, and right there on the bottom was my mom’s signature. Mom always had a perfect signature and wrote her e’s a different way, so I knew everything the lawyer had told me was true. I always assumed that Mom took Dad’s abuse to keep us safe and because she needed the money, but I’ll never understand why she didn’t just take me and run away, why she would let Dad constantly beat her down when she didn’t even need him.”
Emmett never spoke of his mother. When we were together, I always tried pushing him to talk, but he would just lash out and walk away.
I’d always felt bad for Emmett. He only ever had his mom, and before she’d died, he started working a lot and saving up money so that his mom could cut ties with his father. He must’ve been devastated to find out years later that she could’ve run away with Emmett if she’d wanted to. Money was never the issue.
Things can always be different. You can always hope for a different outcome, but even though you know it’s not possible, it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
“I’m sorry, Emmett.”
He gave me a shrug, looking down at the floor. “It’s fine. It’s in the past.”
Not wanting to push him too much about his mother, I quickly changed the subject. “So, what do you want to do for dinner? I can make pizza.”
“Pineapple?” He lifted his head and quirked an eyebrow.
“Still your favorite, huh? How about half?”
“Deal.”
In the kitchen, I started grabbing all the ingredients I needed while Emmett grabbed me an apron and some drinks.
I slipped on the apron, and Emmett started mixing different drinks and juices into a glass for me. When he was done with my drink, he poured himself a very generous shot of whiskey.
He handed me the final product of mine, and I had to say, the man could make a mean drink. Whatever he put in this made it delicious but dangerous. It tasted like juice, and I was already halfway done with it before I’d even made the pizza dough.
After about an hour and two drinks later, I put a pizza with half-pineapple and half-pepperoni and two pizzas with everything into the oven.
We were both sitting on the counter with our drinks when I turned to Emmett. “I’ll never admit this again, so don’t ask me to, but I’m glad it was you. I’m still hurt by what you did to me, but if I was going to be forced into marrying someone, I’m glad it was you.”
When he didn’t answer, I looked up to find him staring at me with a smirk on his face.
Here he goes, getting cocky.
I dipped my fingers into the bag of flour beside me, grabbed a pinch, and flicked it in his face.
He gave me a shocked expression and shook his head at me. “Oh, you’re going to regret that one, Rosie.”
I didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that this was the first time he had called me Rosie in so long because he made a move to grab me. I dodged his hands, hopped off the counter, and with lightning speed, I booked it out of the kitchen, laughing my ass off.
I didn’t make it far because the next thing I knew, I was being lifted off my feet and spun.
“You think you’re funny, Rosie, but you wait until I get you back,” he said as he carried me back to the kitchen and sat me on the counter, caging me in with his arms.
And that was when I spotted the egg in his hands.
I reached for his ticklish spot so I could run, but it was too late because, in the same moment, the egg cracked and ran down my hair and face.
I guess he wanted to play dirty, so I checked my surroundings and found the butter right next to one of my hands. Not only was it spreadable butter, but it was super soft from being out of the fridge. He was making this too easy for me.
I grabbed a handful of butter and slowly smeared it down his face. The look of pure confusion he gave me had me laughing so hard that tears mixed with egg whites were running down my face.
“Where the fuck did you get butter?” He looked around and found it behind me. “Shit.”
I was still on the counter, caged in and laughing when he looked at me. “You think you’re so funny, don’t you?”
I stopped laughing, and he leaned into me like he was about to kiss me but stopped right before our lips met, waiting for permission.
I gave him a small nod, and he pushed forward. I was thankfu
l I was sitting on the counter because his mouth still had the ability to make me weak.
I gripped his face and was about to deepen the kiss when he pulled back to look at me. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when my wrist caught his eye. I looked at my tattooed wrist and realized this was the first time he’d seen it.
“I got it after Sammy died. He gave me a birthday card before he left just in case he wasn’t home when I woke up. It’s the last thing he wrote to me, so I found someone who could replicate it and got it tattooed. Anytime I feel sad or lost, it helps me remember.”
He pulled away as if I were on fire and looked in every direction except for the one I was in.
“We should check on the pizza and see if it’s done.”
I wanted to ask him what happened for him to pull away from me like that but decided against it—one step forward, two steps back.
I looked into the oven and pulled the pizzas out, deciding they were ready. I put them on the counter and yelled for the guys, telling them their pizza was ready.
I’d lost my appetite, so instead of eating, I walked up to the room where I’d been sleeping.
As I lay in bed, I reflected on the past couple of days and how, after our truce, things had started getting a little better between us, but he’d just flipped the switch again, and it felt like we were back to square one.
Fifteen
Rose
Today was Sunday, which meant we were having dinner at my lovely father-in-law’s house.
Emmett and I hadn’t really spoken since he freaked out about our kiss, but maybe our mutual dislike for his father would bring us back to neutral ground.
The only plus side to going to Vincent’s house was that I got to ride in a helicopter to New York. The views were amazing, and we landed just as the sun was setting.
The excitement was short-lived though because now we were pulling up to the devil’s castle, and I had to play nice.
And it was a castle. The place was huge.