Page 1 of Tease

One

Rina

The sunlight dappled across the page I was turning just as a car pulled up outside. My eyes were drawn to it. I was sitting in my reading nook. My father had built me a bench in the bay window of my bedroom when I was a teenager. He’d turned my room into a library because he knew how much I loved to read. I missed him. My heart ached whenever I thought about the fact mypapáwas dead and had been for over a year.

Out of the car stepped a man who made my breath catch in my throat. The breeze ruffled his dark hair as he shut the door behind him. My cheeks grew warm, as they always did whenever he was around. His brown eyes searched the street before he made his way up to the front door of my house, where I lived with my mother and two older sisters.

The doorbell chimed. I set my book down on the seat and dashed out of my bedroom. By the time I reached the top of the stairs,Mamáwas opening the door. In walked my cousin Zayn’s right-hand man, Arlo Turro. A man who made my pulse spike and rendered me unable to speak, not that he seemed to notice. He was always polite to me, but that only made me miserable. He would laugh and joke with my mother and my sisters, but me? I was just the shy, bookish girl with glasses no one looked twice at.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked being inconspicuous. I wasn’t a people person. I preferred hiding away with my books, my computer, and my two cats, Merry and Pippin. I just wishedhewould notice me. Wished my cousin’s extremely attractive best friend would pay attention to me. But he had no idea I’d had a crush on him since I was old enough to understand what a crush was. I wasn’t like my sisters, Verona and Sofia, who were both confident and sure of themselves. I was insecure, shy, and hardly able to get my words out at times, especially around him.

Arlo was so far out of my league, it was laughable.

“It’s so good of you to come,”Mamásaid, brushing her auburn hair off her shoulder. “I’ll have to thank Zayn again for generously offering your time.”

Arlo gave her a smile that almost stopped my heart. It should carry a warning because it utterly ruined me every time I saw it. To be honest, he should come with cautionary tape wrapped around him, not that it would help me be better prepared to see him. I always came apart at the seams when he was near me.

“It’s my pleasure, Martina.”

She led him away into the living room, spurring me to rush down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I paused. Would I look overeager if I ran in there like I’d been waiting for him to arrive? I mean, I had, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Are you just going to stand there like a lemon?” Verona asked as she sashayed along the hallway in a hideous peach dress I’d love to burn for its crimes against my eyes. Her dark blonde hair was up in a ponytail and her brown eyes were full of disdain.

“Shut up,” I muttered, not that she heard me. Too busy rolling her eyes over my appearance.

I looked down at myself. Didn’t see what was so wrong with slippers, jogging bottoms and a hoodie. Not like I was going anywhere today. If I dressed up because Arlo was here, Verona would notice and tease me. No one knew about my crush. I wanted to keep it that way.

I pushed my glasses up on my nose and shuffled after Verona into the living room. Sofia was already in there chatting to Arlo. An irrational stab of jealousy surged through me. I should not be jealous of him talking to her, only that Sofia and I looked the most alike. We took after our father with dark brown hair and tanned skin. She had brown eyes rather than grey like me. Plus, I was the only one who wore glasses likePapá.

I pushed the jealousy down, hurrying to my armchair in the corner. Curling up in it, I peered at Arlo, who’d stopped talking and was staring right at me. My cheeks burned so much that I thought I might combust on the spot. I wanted to press my hands to them, but it would only draw more attention to the fact I was blushing up a storm.

My mother cleared her throat, but I didn’t look at her. How could I look away from him when his eyes were gluing me to my chair? I dug my hands into my sleeves, hoping I didn’t look like an idiot.

Why are you staring at me?

“Girls, Zayn and I have decided after the incident we had two days ago that it would be best if you had some protection,”Mamásaid, her grey eyes darting between me and my sisters.

The incident she’d referred to was the abduction attempt. The four of us had gone out to dinner at my mother’s insistence. I didn’t leave the house all that often since I worked at home. Sofia worked at a famous clothing shop on Oxford Street. My eldest sister was an executive assistant to some big wig financier in Knightsbridge. I worked in cybersecurity. I didn’t like people very much, so the less I had to deal with them, the better.

After dinner, we’d been walking to the tube when some van came out of nowhere and two guys tried to snatch Sofia. They were on the receiving end of a high-heeled shoe to each of their heads courtesy of Verona. They’d dropped my sister after someone shouted at them from behind us and ran before anyone could do anything about it.

“Protection?” Verona asked. “I would have punched their lights out if they put their hands on me. I don’t need protection.”

My gaze darted away from Arlo to my sister, who was looking smug as usual.

“That may be, Verona, but I would feel better if you had someone to watch out for you.”

“Is that why he’s here?”

Verona waved at Arlo, who stood up, his gaze finally leaving me. Just as well, not sure I could take any further scrutiny from him today.

“Zayn sent me here to protect you. Given the fact Gennaro is dead, we can’t afford to take any chances while he establishes himself as head of the family. So, you will accept my presence whether you like it or not.”

I shivered at his deep voice. What would it feel like if he was right next to me, whispering things in my ear like the men in my books? It was stupid to think like that. I read about mafia men, but it wasn’t anything like real life. Arlo was a made man who killed without compunction for my cousin. I wasn’t blind to the realities of being a Villetti even if I lived a quiet, peaceful life far away from any hint of the mafia. I was no princess waiting to be married off for an alliance. My father kept us out of it, not wanting his daughters to grow up in a world of crime.

“From now on, you’ll be driven to and from work by one of my men who will watch over you there. If you want to go out in the evening, I will personally escort you. No one leaves this house without me or one of the men.”

Verona looked at Arlo like he was mad. I knew better.Mamáhad agreed to these terms with Zayn before Arlo even came here. She didn’t look remotely surprised by what he’d said. I knew the attempted abduction weighed heavily on her. None of us had any idea why we’d been targeted. At least she hadn’t shared any suspicions with us. Being Villettis gave us a high-profile name and, with Uncle Gennaro being dead, things were precarious for my cousin. I wasn’t worried about anything happening to me, but my sisters were at work every day. They needed to be looked out for in case someone tried to take them again.

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