“Why don’t you take some coffee up at least.”
“I’m not her servant.”
“Don’t be stubborn,” she tells me and shoves a second cup toward me.
“Fine.”
She nods, pleased with herself, I guess.
“I’m only doing it because I need to talk to her about the wedding anyway.”
“Sure, Cristiano.” She doesn’t say it sarcastically, but I hear her. Lenore knows me well. Better than anyone else. “Do you want me to show your uncle into the study?”
“No. Keep him here. Put Cerberus with him.”
She nods, grins because she knows how much Cerberus likes my uncle. “It’s good you’re going to ask Father Michael to perform the ceremony. Your parents would be pleased.”
Father Michael married my mom and dad too.
Without a reply because I don’t know how to reply, I walk out of the kitchen, leaving Cerberus to have his breakfast.
I’m not sure what to expect this morning. That’s the thing with her. I never know what to expect. She’s unpredictable to the point of being reckless. I’m surprised she survived Marcus considering his temper, but I guess her brothers stood between him and her. Hell, I don’t know how she survived them.
I get upstairs to find Alec standing outside her door and the sound of women talking inside. They’re speaking in Italian so it’s probably the women doing her hair and makeup.
“Where’s the brother?”
“End of the hall in one of the guest rooms.” The house is coming together slowly, one room at a time.
“Good.” Pushing the door open, I stop to take in the scene.
Scarlett’s wearing a robe standing with her arms folded across her chest obviously refusing something. She doesn’t have a stitch of makeup on and her hair hangs in loose waves down her back. She looks pissed. Again.
“What’s the problem?” I ask.
They all turn to me and the women start. Scarlett just watches as they tell me she won’t let them do her hair or her makeup.
I turn to her, raise my eyebrows.
“I can brush my own hair and put on my own makeup.”
“That’s it? You want to do your own hair and makeup?”
She narrows her eyes, juts her chin out, then nods once.
“Fine.” I turn to the women, thank them for their time and tell them to leave. Tell them they’ll still be paid.
Although irritated, they pack up the few things they’d unpacked and are gone in a few minutes.
I sip my coffee.
Scarlett eyes the second cup.
“Lenore says you won’t eat. Is this another hunger strike? Because I thought we talked about how effective they are.”
“I remember. You’d have to be of some value for it to work. I know my worth to you, Cristiano.”
My jaw tenses. I set her mug on the nightstand. She can drink it or not. I could give a fuck. I need to get this girl out of my head and out of my system. She’s fucking with me. Tonight will do the trick. Fucking her will do it.
“All right. You got what you wanted. We leave at five this evening. Be ready. And fucking eat something for Christ’s sake.”
“And my brother?”
“Will walk you down the aisle if you like.”
She appears surprised.
“If you don’t plan on being an idiot about it.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“No, you’re not but you sure can act like one. Give me your word, Scarlett. Tell me you’re not going to give me any trouble.”
“Is this all because I told you to stop drinking?”
I take a deep breath in, sip my coffee and count to ten. She is right. I was the idiot last night.
Not to mention being an asshole to her.
“Are you going to give me trouble or do you want your brother there tonight?”
“My brother.” She folds her arms across her chest.
“Good.”
“Why? Why are you being nice?”
“I’m a nice guy.” I give her a smile that’s more a baring of teeth than anything else.
“Or is it that you fucked your whore last night like you wanted, and you feel guilty?”
That stops me. “What?”
“I heard the chopper go out. After you dragged me upstairs, I mean.”
“And you think I went off the island to find a whore to fuck?” Is she serious?
“Did you?”
“Would you care if I did?”
“I don’t want any diseases.”
I snort, put my mug down and go to her. “I didn’t fuck any whore. I didn’t even leave the island. That was two of my men who went to the mainland.”
She looks at me, studies my eyes. Maybe she’s trying to gauge if I’m telling the truth. Then she shrugs a shoulder like she could care less but I know better.
“I used my hand.”
It takes her a moment to catch on and her mouth falls open when she does.
I grin. “I used my hand to jerk myself off. Is that what you wanted to know?”
“More than I needed to know, actually. Spare me the details.”
“Virgin ears can’t take it?”
“You know what? Fuck you. Our marriage is just a front anyway. You can fuck anyone you want. You don’t have to explain anything to me.”