“Wouldn’t you if you had a fat little daughter with my reputation? Please, don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
She didn’t get to add more as her mother was suddenly at the door, being her usual cheery self. She was an expert in turning a blind eye.
Klaus didn’t say a word, and for that, she was thankful.
Chapter Two
They walked back through the long hallways to the room where everyone had gathered to make the preparations. It looked like an art exhibit, priceless works adorning the walls, and he had no doubt Lastra was trying to show off his wealth. Nothing material impressed Klaus. He’d been brought up with everything money could buy.
What he wanted was more time alone with Isabella. To get a feel for who she was. It was bad enough being forced into an arranged marriage. Worse when you’d only known the other person for less than an hour.
Next week, Isabella would belong to him. Her father would no longer have a hold on her. His rights would become null and void once those marriage documents came into effect.
Klaus never planned on taking a wife. The necessity had been thrust upon him, and he’d agreed as a duty to his family. He could have refused, but he always played his role. His hands were stained red from all the killing he did in the Accardi name.
“She’ll still wear white,” said Eva Lastra. Isabella’s mother had books of patterns laid out on a large table.
“Darling, we don’t have time to order anything,” said Lastra. “They want the wedding to happen by the end of the week.”
She looked disappointed, sitting down on a chair without argument.
Klaus made eye contact with Isabella before turning to her mother. His father wasn’t giving them much time, and he knew how women liked to focus on the details. “Whatever Isabella wants, we can make it happen.”
No one argued with him, not even his father. Money and power talked, and he never had a problem getting his way. Impossible wasn’t in his vocabulary.
“Tradition will have to be put aside. It’s not as simple as wearing her mother’s dress,” said Lastra. “When we were married, over thirty years ago, Eva was a size two.”
Klaus was tiring of her father’s constant negativity. He was destroying his daughter physically and mentally with his bullshit. Within days, his reign would be over.
“Tradition has no part in a Lastra-Accardi wedding. Any dress Isabella wants, she gets.” He turned to his own father. “Do what you have to do. Make the arrangements. I’m done here.”
Klaus took Isabella’s hand and kissed it, everyone in the room as their audience. Her eyes were a unique gray, and he found himself mesmerized as he stared at her. He whispered, “Behave yourself. In a few days, you become an Accardi.”
He had to get out of there. This was the home of their enemies and his hackles had been up ever since they’d stepped inside. Wedding or not, he didn’t trust Lastra or his men.
His father would handle the wedding plans.
He could see Carlo and Renzo itching to get out of their suits. His brothers wanted to escape the wolf’s den, too, but he only planned to save himself. As the eldest son, he was the one being forced into this unorthodox marriage, not them. They could suffer through the rest of the negotiations a little longer.
As he walked away, he took a deep breath and exhaled. The visit hadn’t gone as bad as he expected. But he needed to clear his head. There was a lot to take in.
He just about had his foot out the front door when he heard her voice. “Wait!”
Isabella rushed toward him from the other end of the house. She was out of breath by the time she reached him.
“I’m not staying, sweetheart. I trust my father can make the decisions.”
“My grandmother wants us to get the blessing of our priest before the wedding day.”
“Whether or not he gives his blessing, the wedding’s still happening. You do understand that, right?”
She nodded. “She’s very traditional. It will make her happy. She the oldest living Lastra.”
Klaus had lost his own grandmothers long ago, and his mother more recently. It was difficult to refuse an old woman’s wish.
“When?”
“Now.”
He growled his displeasure. “I’m not taking your entourage. If we go, we go alone, in my car.”
“Okay. We should leave before my father complains.”
She mentioned the name of the church, and he knew it well. His culture was steeped in religion, and it was something he tried to break free of as an adult. Klaus was sick of men using religion as an excuse to commit every sort of evil. Everything he did was of his own accord, usually for the benefit of his family.
The first thing he was going to do was take his fiancée out to lunch. She needed some food in her stomach before she passed out. The idea of her father controlling every aspect of her life didn’t sit well with him.
His car was parked out front, and he opened the door for her. In his peripheral vision, he noted her father’s guards talking into their radios. He needed to get out of there before they had a chance to put a tail on him.
As soon as he was in the driver’s seat, he hit the gas and swerved around the other parked cars out front, including his father’s and brothers’. They’d all come separately.
Isabella held on to the sides of her seat.
“I’m not dressed for this,” she said. “I should have changed. I’m not supposed to wear pants into the church. My father will be furious when he finds out.”
“You’ll wear whatever the fuck you want.”
Soon, her father’s influence would be severed. Klaus would own her in every way.
He drove to one of his favorite restaurants on the coast, pulling up to the valet.
“Where are we? What’s going on?”
“Relax. When he opens the door, step out.”
Klaus met her on the
