Page 14 of Claiming His Mafia Princess

I hand her the box with a beautiful diamond bracelet I had made specially for her, a rushed order that cost triple what it should have, but I don’t care.

Lucia takes it from me. “Okay, I’ll give it to her. Now go away.”

A low chuckle rumbles through me, and I resist the urge to turn and look towards Dalila again.

In a matter of moments - she will be mine.

Chapter Nine

DALILA

Lucia’s driver pulls into a parking space outside the beautiful old church building with its massive hard carved wooden doorways and quaint iron vine balustrades leading up either side of the white stone steps.

My heart is pounding in my chest when I see Mas talking to Nevio. He came. My brother came. He will explain everything. Maybe he will tell me this was all some crazy joke. Maybe I don’t have to get married and I can go back home.

“I told you your brother would be here.” Lucia says.

I don’t reply. I’m too lost in thought, staring at the men talking.

A weird pang of anxiety twists in my stomach when I think about leaving Nevio. I’ve only known him - properly for a few hours. But the thought of leaving him makes me feel weird.

Why? I don’t owe him anything. I don’t have feelings for him -

I take a deep breath as the kiss flashes through my mind.

Then his lips, traveling over my body, the way he touched my skin, his tongue.

Perhaps, just maybe, you can know someone deeply in a few hours. Perhaps, just maybe, all of this was meant to happen, and the universe just put me in the right place for a reason.

I force a smile onto my face, ready to accept my fate, but then when I look out the window I see Mas getting back into his car.

“Wait, no, where is my brother going?”

“Oh. I don’t know. Maybe he forgot something?” She pulls her mouth tight, knowing that isn’t true.

I lean towards the door to grab the handle and pull it open. Lucia moves faster and grabs my hand, pushing it away. “Don’t. You can’t let Nevio see you.” She says in horror.

“I have to talk to my brother.” I retort. Why does no one understand this? I don’t know what’s going on. I’m about to marry a man I’m not in love with. And no one has told me why.

But it’s too late, anyway. Mas is already driving away. His heavily tinted windows hiding him from my eyes.

I blink back tears. What did he say to Nevio? What did they talk about?

Nevio is walking towards our car. He leans down to open the door and Lucia screams. “What is wrong with everyone? Do you want bad luck forever?” She opens the door and climbs out, closing it behind herself and standing in front of it to block Nevio’s access.

Lucia scolds Nevio. They have a brief conversation, and he hands her something before she sends him into the church to wait.

My eyes follow him. He is massive, a beast of a man with broad shoulders that pull tight against his tuxedo. His high collar shirt is hiding some, but not all, of his red mark. As he walks up the church steps, I watch him pulling his hair over the side of his face. A habit I have seen him do it so many times since yesterday.

It’s strange, but since last night, since that first time that I really looked at him. I mean at him, not at his devil mark — I can’t unsee how beautiful he is. I can’t not notice it now that I’ve noticed it.

He disappears into the church, and I bite my lip nervously.

So why was Mas here and why didn’t he just take two minutes to say something to me?

Lucia pulls the car door open. She has a massive smile on her face. At least someone is happy.

“Come on, you can get out now.”

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