Page 55 of Toxic Things I Love About You

“Do pay attention, girl.”

I did my best to sit forward and open my eyes. I over exaggerated everything and made my eyes so wide he couldn’t mistake my attention.

“I’m so sorry, Vinny. Please tell me more.”

I sat back and rolled my eyes the next second.

“Ah, yes. Well. I can beat this petulant child act right out of you. I gave you a sedative to get you here. Do you think it would be hard just to keep you sedated long enough to get papers signed and a marriage certificate drawn up, leaving me the last heir to Rossi Holdings?”

I blew little raspberries with my lips.

“This is just so awkward. As you said, I’m already engaged. What would the rich people think?”

Vinny was starting to look a shade more purple than I thought normal.

“Vinny, you okay? That’s not a good color on you.”

I’d give the man some crazy props because he seemed to blow off my jabs and regain his composure. It was highly disappointing. I was also really missing Roman. He would have risen to every jab, and maybe if I was lucky, I’d be riding him right now and joining the mile high club. I met my would-be uncle’s gaze, and that dried up any lingering desire that had tried to creep its way back into my mind.

“Emilee, I just need a marriage certificate and then a death certificate. I will get the first one. You can choose if you want the second one.”

I shut up. Not because he scared me, more because he might have been just a bit crazier than I anticipated. This was going to take some thought.

“Okay. Let’s say I decide to just go along with this, the question is why would I go along with this?”

There was a jolt, and I looked out the window. Sure enough, we’d landed. I recognized this airport.

“We flew what would normally take an hour to drive?”

He chuckled.

“I merely wanted to throw off Roman and Parks. Besides, I’m a bit strapped for cash these days. This plane is on loan from a dear friend of mine.”

On loan.

“Alright, what have you got on me that would make any of this attractive? I have my own plane. In fact, I have two. I also have like three houses and five buildings and who knows what else. The support of the Demarco’s might be appealing too.”

The plane circled around until we stopped. The door opened, but he didn’t come get me before leaving and he didn’t undo the handcuffs. He didn’t even check to make sure I didn’t release the seat belt. So I did the obvious and pulled on the seatbelt and started to run toward the exit.

I had regrets as something pulled at my ankle and I flew toward the floor, lucky to miss cracking my head on anything.

“Oof,” was all I said, and I laid my cheek on the carpet as I waited for my lungs to remember how to work.

“Oh dear. My, my, my.”

I lifted my head and glared.

“Where’s the trust, Uncle?”

I winced at the clucking noise he made. Disapproval. The one thing that I hated in my life.

“I believe my trust level is exactly right, isn’t it, Emilee? I wasn’t going to wait for you to try to stab me in the back. Or push me down the stairs. Not until we had some agreements in place. Now, let me finish business and we will have a more serious discussion in one minute.”

I laid there for a few more minutes, shaking off the weird and overwhelming memory of what it felt like being the letdown of the family. I knew my brother was the true letdown. He was, if you asked me anyway. But Daddy hated everything I ever did. He’d hate me fighting all the marriages picked out for me. And I hated him for trying to fit me in a tiny little box.

I was never fitting into a box, but I could fit everything I ever felt back into my little box of unwanted emotions. That is something I’d had years to perfect. At least Daddy taught me one helpful skill.

How to not be human.

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