Page 12 of Checkmate

Did I though? I mean, it’s almost as if I could feel him slipping further and further away on a daily basis. He was growing away from me and the memory of our mother—who might have married into this mess, but didn’t condone what they stood for—and more toward our father. “You know it is, Leo. You may not want to admit it, but you and I both know it’s true.”

We come to a stop at a red light and Leo scrubs his hands over his face and releases a little growl of frustration. “Let’s just change the subject.”

Silence descends upon us. I hate moments like this, especially when it’s between Leo and me. I look over at him. “What’s the compromise?”

Leo chuckles and instantly, the atmosphere in the car changes. “I’ll pick a song and then you pick a song, but the other can’t bitch about the song while it’s playing.”

“Deal,” I tell him, as I eagerly wait for the song to end. My hand is on the seek button the moment it does until I find the pop station. I Want You Back by NSYNC is playing. It could have been better, but it’d do. I started to dance and sing along and before I knew it, so was Leo. I looked over at him surprised by his reaction. He shrugged. “Care to explain how you know the words to this song?”

“Well, if you really want to know…”

“Oh god! Maybe I don’t!” The way he was saying things made me wonder, but at the same time, I didn’t need nor did I want to know about his love life.

Leo cracks up laughing. “It’s not like that, and if it was, I wouldn’t tell you. I just know the lyrics because for one, this crap is all you listen to, and it also impresses the ladies.”

“The ladies?” I ask, before I bust out laughing. I was pretty sure my brother had never even had a serious girlfriend, so to hear him talk about impressing the ladies… well it was funny as hell.

We drove around Las Vegas for hours jamming out to songs. His music grew on me, and I think secretly he loved mine, but didn’t want to admit it and ruin his badass reputation. We stopped for ice cream before finally going home. I climbed into my bed thinking that this was a memory I’d want to keep forever.

I take in a shuddering breath, the world around me comes back into focus. I can feel eyes on me, so I scan the area trying to figure out who is assessing me, but I’m shocked when out of the corner of my eye, I see Luca’s sapphire blues staring at me. The crease between his eyebrows like he’s concerned. I stand a little taller and straighten my shoulders and chin. Don’t let them know how difficult this is on you, I remind myself.

The priest from the church I grew up in calls my father and Matteo up to the front. I’m completely taken aback as I watch them walk around to stand in front of the empty casket. No one was actually buried in this cemetery. It was just headstones out here. An empty casket was rented for funerals, but nothing would be buried because we cremated our loved ones. In my dad’s line of work, it wasn’t uncommon for things to be toyed with or vandalized, so we didn’t take chances with our deceased.

My father begins speaking, his voice even and void of all emotion—just like always. I never knew if it was an act or if he honestly just didn’t care about any of us. He starts off by talking about how much Leo sacrificed for him, including his life. I wanted to scream at him, but I bite the inside of my cheek until the metallic, coppery taste of blood fills my mouth. My father went on and on about his son that he clearly knew nothing about, not really. All he was talking about was the person that Leo tried to be for him. Leo was so much more than what he was saying.

My father stepped away and Matteo took his place. Anger burned like a red-hot fire in my body. Why the hell was Matteo making a speech at Leo’s funeral? No one had asked me to speak about my brother, not that I would have because I owed these people nothing. They didn’t deserve to know the real him, but to let Matteo stand up there and talk about Leo makes my skin crawl with anger and jealousy. I was his sister. I’m actually family and yet, I’m being shunned.

I want to scream, but I don’t. I stand there like I’m expected to and do my best to not cry or slap someone. Finally, Matteo shuts up and the priest dismisses us. Now, everyone—friend and foe—will head back up to the Giordano mansion and be served food and alcohol because that makes sense. Someone leaves the world and yeah, let’s get drunk. My anger is about to boil over. I stomp toward the limo and then realize that there’s no way in hell I can ride back to the mansion with my father and Matteo. I watch Luca’s back as we move forward. “I’m not riding with them,” I barely manage to get the words out of my mouth without screaming.

When he turns around, I'm not sure what he sees. I’m trying my best to keep myself together, but I’m so close to falling apart. I can’t. I won’t, but I can feel it right there just threatening to take over. I chew on the inside of my cheek again. “Okay, what do you want to do?” Luca asks. His voice is soft and kind, his eyes sincere, but it’s the fact that he asked what I wanted to do that shakes me to my core. I mean, no one on my father’s payroll has ever asked me what I wanted. I just get told how it’s going to be.

“I’m going to walk back.” Luca’s eyes immediately go to my shoes which causes me to laugh, but it comes out more like a scoff. “I was born in heels. I live in New York City and walk most of the time. I can handle this. You don’t have to follow me. You can ride back with them," I tell him. I know my tone is harsh, but I don't even care. I'm going to scratch their eyes out if I have to share space with them right now.

Luca shakes his head and closes what little distance is between us. “I’m going with you," he tells me. I can see that he really just wants to come with me. I don't know if it's because he feels like I'm his responsibility or if it's because he cares. I guess he can see I'm about to give him an excuse as to why he doesn't need to come with me when he adds, “I won’t speak at all. I just don’t want you going off by yourself with all of these people around. I know you can take care of yourself, but I feel better if I come with you… please.”

He said please and it went straight to my heart. I keep that organ under lock and key and he's managing to poke at it. After a bit, I finally sigh and say, “Okay.” I turn on my heels and start to make my way back to the house. I can hear Luca's footsteps coming from behind me. A part of me likes that he's willing to come with me, but the other part of me hates it. I don't live in the world of rainbows and butterflies, and I feel like that's where he'd fit in.

Luca keeps good on his word. He doesn't speak. I kind of wish he would though. I hate being lost in my thoughts the way I am right now. We're not even halfway back to the house when my feet begin to protest. It starts out as a dull throb that grows with each step I take. Finally, sharp pains start in my feet and radiate up my calves, until finally my feet go numb. I may walk in heels a lot, but New York City is the concrete jungle. Most of my walking is done on a level ground. Out here, I'm fighting for each step. My heels sink into the soft ground with each step.

Thunder roars overhead and I stop to look up. Seriously? It's going to storm now? I look up to see the sky darkening above. I groan in frustration. I yank my foot up, assuming it's stuck in the grass, but it's not. I go flying backwards. I try to stop myself, but I can't because I stumble on my other heel. The ground is coming up toward me... quickly. I brace myself for the impact, squeezing my eyes shut, but it never comes. A pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me back against a hard chest.

"Whoa there, pretty girl," Luca whispers in my ear. His breath skating across my skin causes goosebumps to form on my skin. There's a heat in the pit of my stomach that's taking over my body. It's different from what I felt earlier when I was angry. This heat is something I haven't felt in so long, completely foreign to me.

I look over my shoulder and stare at the tanned skin of his face, those sapphire blue eyes, there's even a little scar on the left side of his forehead. I want to ask where he got that from, but my words are stuck in my throat. My hands skim across his rough skin, the contrast of soft to rough is not unnoticed. His eyes dilate at my touch, nostrils flare and jaw ticks. I think he's feeling what I'm feeling. "Thank you," I whisper, just inches from his mouth. A part of me wants him to take control in the moment, throw his rules about meaningless shit out to the wind, and kiss me like I haven't been kissed before.

Fifteen

Luca

I scold myself as my eyes roam over her curves, and the way her dress hugs every inch of her, as if it was molded onto her. I didn’t need to be a typical guy around her. That would get us both in hot water and neither of us needed that. I was trying to stay close enough that I could protect if need be, while trying to give her some space. I could tell that the funeral had weighed heavily on her. She was fighting with her emotions, that much was obvious, but I doubted most of these people noticed. They seemed to be here to impress Gio. Most of the people hadn’t even glanced at Vivianna, I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. I on the other hand, knew how to read people. I’d been doing it my whole life and it was one of the reasons I was so good at my job.

I had to walk behind her, watching her struggle to make her way through the grass. I don’t think she had considered that this area was nothing like New York when she insisted on walking back to the house. New York was all streets and sidewalks, but this was far from it. The gravel road that we had followed to get to the funeral was no better than the grass she was currently sinking her heels into. I’m just about to offer her a piggyback ride, when I notice her yank her unstuck heel up with so much force, that it sends her flying backwards. Thankful for my quick reflexes, and how close I am to her, I dart forward and wrap my arms around her waist just before she hits the ground.

I pull her back against me and she fits so perfectly that for a minute I forget our roles in this whole situation. I lean toward her, the scent of her pulling me in, like a siren calling me home. Her warmth against me is another thing fogging up my mind right now. She is soft in every place that I’m hard, the perfect match; the yin to the yang. I need to say something, so I lean down, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo, and whisper in her ear, “Whoa there, pretty girl.” I watch as goosebumps coat her skin and I get a slight thrill that I caused that reaction.

She looks over her shoulder, her stormy gray eyes meet mine. Vivianna is the type of woman that is a game changer. She makes me want more than I can have, but damn it if I don’t want to try. Her feather-soft touch grazes over my hand and it lights my entire body on fire. She whispers, “Thank you.” Her soft, plump lips are just inches from mine. How easy it would be to just close that distance and get lost in everything that is her. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, and I swear that one small movement is enough to break the strongest willed man. My head leans down and I lightly graze her lips before the sound of commotion yanks us apart.

The sound of an oncoming car has us pulling away from one another instantly; like two kids caught in a compromising position. Mentally, I release a string of curses. My lips are on fire just like the rest of my body and when I finally meet Vivianna’s eyes, I see the same heat in them. The car pulls to a stop beside us. Matteo rolls the window down. “Your father wants you at the house, now.”

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