Page 14 of DeLucas After Dark

He paused and I thought I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. It dissipated and then he cleared his throat. Damn, even that made me want to jump his bones. I should not be feeling like this for a man who I barely knew.

“Sheree, can we have a seat? I will tell you how long I’ve been here, but there is a long story behind it. I need you to hear the entire story, so you’ll understand what I have to show you.”

“Wait, stop being cryptic. I hate that.”

“I don’t mean to be. Sorry, can you please just sit down? I promise you’ll understand soon enough.”

I sat my happy ass down and he began spilling the most delicious tea I have ever tasted. If it hadn’t been about me, I would have been kee-keeing and laughing my ass off. However, since it was the sad story of my love life, it hit differently. I was angry instead of being amused.

“That motherfucker! I knew he was lying his ass off. Thank God I never slept with him. I am so going to fuck him up! Nobody tries to play Sheree Raymond and gets away with it.”

I reached for my phone, but Mario came over and took it from my hand. He ended the call but didn’t return the phone to me.

“That’s not a good idea, Sheree. I know you’re angry, but I need you to keep your wits about you. How do you feel about revenge?”

“Didn’t you know, revenge is my middle name? Now, what’s the plan?”

A vindictive smile graced his handsome face as he sat on the couch next to me. He handed my phone back to me and leaned in to explain what he had in mind. I couldn’t wait to see what was in store for that lying piece of shit. I knew he was too good to be true.

“So, this is what Nicolo and I have in mind. We want you to move forward with the wedding. Continue to go out with him and pretend to be the blushing bride. Nicolo has offered to host the nuptials at his home, so we need you to insist on this. Don’t take no for an answer. If you need to turn into a bride-enstein then do that.”

“Turn into a what?”

“A bride-enstein. You know, the combination of a bride and Frankenstein’s monster. It’s a thing.”

I laughed my ass off. He actually said that with his whole chest. Lawdamercy, he was such a cutie. Once I caught my breath, I replied to him.

“Do you mean a bridezilla?”

“That’s what I said. Anyway, we need you to make sure that bastard gets his ass to Nicolo’s house for the wedding. We’ll handle it from there.”

“Am I expected to marry this butthead?”

He chuckled at my outburst. Mario had the best smile.

“Don’t worry. You will never walk down the aisle to him. I would never let that happen.”

“That’s all well and good, but what do I do in the meantime? You want me to continue seeing this deranged man. I don’t feel comfortable doing that. What if he tries to hurt me?”

“That will never happen. I have been watching over you since I arrived, and I will continue to do so. If I get even the slightest sense that something is off, I will intervene. You can trust me to keep you safe.”

And somehow, I did trust him. I had only met the man once before, but I felt safer with him than anyone else I knew. There was just a protective vibe that emanated from him. Giorgio, Johnny Lip or whoever this psycho’s name was, wouldn’t get a chance to harm me. Not with Mario watching over me like an avenging angel.

The next few weeks were filled with me ripping and running all over the island getting inspiration for the wedding. I decided for the reception, we should recreate the patio from the restaurant where Giorgio and I first met. Since it would be in the middle of winter in Charlotte, we would erect one of those very expensive tents, complete with heaters.

“Giorgio, honey, I need your credit card to pay for this tent.”

“Here you are, sweetheart. What else do you have planned for today?”

“I am busy, busy, busy! Next, I have my final fitting for the wedding dress. I am video chatting with my mom, auntie, and cousin. Then I need to finalize the flowers and make sure they will be able to fly them to Charlotte in time for the ceremony.

“Later tonight, I’ll be doing another video chat with my family so they can choose the menu for the reception, and the cake flavor. Do you have a preference? If you don’t, I was going to go with limoncello cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing.”

“That all sounds insane. I will go with whatever you choose.”

“That’s great. I may as well hold onto this card because I need to make payments as soon as the choices are made. Thanks, babe.”

Giorgio looked like he wanted to growl, but he plastered on a fake ass smile, and agreed to anything I said. He must really hate Nicolo to put up with my shenanigans. I ordered the most expensive shit for this wedding. I mean I was getting stuff I did not need. And since everything was on a rush order, he was being charged extra.

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