Chapter Two
“You’re staring at the youngest daughter,” Vincent said. “And I mean creepily a lot.”
Daniel took a deep drag on his cigarette. He rarely smoked, but he used it as a tool to get away from situations. “Anyone else find anything strange about her?”
“You mean the way she’s dressed?” Ronnie asked.
“Not just that. The way she is with everyone.”
“She’s Alfie’s favorite, no denying that. You can see it, even if he does try to hide it. If her brothers and sister could have killed her with a single look, she’d be long dead,” Vincent said.
He dropped the cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out with his toe.
“What do we know about her?” Daniel asked. He couldn’t get rid of this intrigue with her. That one look and he needed to know more.
“You’ve seen the file,” Ronnie said. “There’s not a lot on Natalie Valenti.”
“I want to know why.”
“I can make a few calls,” Vincent said.
“Do it.”
His friends nodded and began to make the call as Daniel headed back to the house.
He stepped inside and was rounding the door when someone crashed against his chest. She fell back, and he quickly reached for her hand, holding her close so that she didn’t fall and bang her head.
“I’m so sorry. You appeared out of nowhere, and I’m not usually such a klutz.”
He stared down into the brown gaze of Natalie. Her eyes were so expressive. He wondered if she even realized how much.
Quickly she pulled away from him. “I’m so sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.” He offered her a smile.
Her hands were clenched at her sides, and he wanted to know everything about her. Why was she here? What did she do? How did she fit in with the rest of her family?
“Hurry up,” her mother said, capturing her arm and pulling her into the rom.
Daniel watched as Natalie gasped. The pain was clear on her face, and without thinking, he reached out to where her mother touched her arm.
Everything froze as she looked at him, alarmed.
“Let her go. I’ll take her inside.”
The moment her mother let go, Natalie covered the spot, rubbing her arm. She clearly didn’t like showing pain, and he didn’t press.
Now was not the time or the place to be causing a scene. “Shall we?” he asked.
She nodded, taking his arm and smiling as they made their way into the room. “Thank you.”
He’d already swapped Louisa’s place setting with Natalie’s before he headed out for a smoke.
“Oh, look, we’re sitting in the same spot.”
They were near the center of the table, away from all parents. Of course, this was supposed to be for Louisa and him to get close, but he had no interest in that.
Holding out her chair, she stared at the table, then at him. “Ladies first?”
“She’s not a lady.”
He heard someone mutter the words and wondered if she did. Natalie gave no sign that she had, sitting down. Her cheeks however, were a shade redder, and he knew she’d heard it.
“That’s not where you’re supposed to be sitting,” her mother said.
“It is,” Daniel said, speaking up.
All gazes fell on them.
“That’s Louisa’s seat.”
“Someone made a mistake then,” he said, staring at the woman who clearly hated Natalie.
“I’ll just move.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “Your name is there, and you’re going to sit there.”
“Everything is settled,” Alfie said. “There’s no problem with her sitting there.”
After another few seconds of arguing, Natalie stayed there, and he smiled at everyone. Daniel was used to getting his own way.
“You moved the card names, didn’t you?” Natalie asked.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Mom always does the cards and where people sit. It’s the one area of control she likes to take.”
“Yeah, well, I’m supposed to be married to Louisa for the next fifty years, so I’m sure I can sacrifice another day.”
Natalie glanced toward Louisa. “You saved me, to be honest. My brothers would have made my life a misery.”
“Yeah, I had noticed there’s not a lot of love lost there.”
She shrugged. “Bad childhoods, I guess.”
He stared at her and waited to learn more.
The first course in the Thanksgiving dinner came out.
Natalie was the only one to say thank you for her meal, and Daniel did the same. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She enchanted him. There was no other word for it.
“Are you looking forward to your marriage?” she asked.
“Nope. This is not a marriage that I ever want to take part in but more a duty.”
“That’s … sad.”
“Do you believe marriage should be for love?” he asked, wanting to know her thoughts.
“I think marriage for normal people in the normal world should be for love. I’m not an idiot. I’m aware that in this life, marriage tends to be more of a business contract.”
“Or an agreement to keep the peace. It’s harder to start a war when half of your family would be on the hit list.”
She nodded her head. “Exactly. It’s not pleasant, is it?”
“You don’t have a problem with what your family does?”
“It’s not that I don’t have a problem with it. I just learned a long time ago that if they want to do something, they’ll do it regardless of if someone wants you to or not. I can’t help who I was born to.”
Once again, he glanced down at her attire. She wasn’t wearing any fancy gowns or anything like that.
“You’re not dressed like a Valenti.”
She smiled, and that completely blew him away. “I’m not really a Valenti. You’ll not see me dressing like one.”
“Now why would that be?”
“It’s top secret. I’d have to kill you if you ever found out.”
He leaned in close, and she didn’t pull away from him. “I like to live on the edge. I’m sure I could survive.”
“Ah, but you see, Mr. Solano, I’m not.”
“Daniel. My name’s Daniel.”
She smiled at him again. “Then call me Natalie.”
Again, he leaned in close so his lips were near her ear. “I intended to.”
She pulled back, and someone cleared their throat.
“How are the days of scrubbing?” Louisa asked.
Daniel watched as Natalie’s cheeks heated.
“I mean, you were working as a cleaner at one of Dad’s offices, right? What is it now? Are you being hired out?”
Daniel’s hands clenched into fists. He didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but the insult she’d just dealt out to Natalie would not go unpunished.
His cell phone vibrated, and Natalie spoke up.
“I’m actually working at a diner. I waitress five days a week, and I do part time in the library. I’m able to get all the studying in to be ready for college.”
“I’m going to say it. You’re more of the intellectual type. Not wife material, or anything else,” one of her brothers said.
Daniel couldn’t believe what the fuckers were saying.
Vincent: Natalie Valenti is also Carmichael. She’s not part of the family anymore.
That didn’t make any sense, but he didn’t have time to put anything into words.
“You don’t need to be a wife to enjoy life, Anton, you should know that,” Natalie said.
“How is the life outside treating you?” the other brother asked.
“Enough,” Alfie Valenti said.
All heads turned to him, and thunderous rage covered his expression. He looked ready to kill all of them, and Daniel had a lot more respect for him.
“This is a family dinner.”
“Then she shouldn’t be here,” his wife said. “She’s not family, remember?”
“I can just go and eat—” Natalie went to stand, grabbing her plate.
“Sit your ass down,” Alfie said, getting to his feet. He slammed the palm of his hand against the table. “She’s a Valenti, and this is a private moment. She will be part of it.”
His wife looked ready to say something else.
“Say one word, wife, and believe me, you’ll regret it.”
Daniel glanced over at his parents, who had been watching the interaction. This was not normally something two families would ever share. The discontent was clear, and Natalie looked miserable.
Conversation struck up again, and he didn’t like how withdrawn she was. No matter what he tried to say to her, she just smiled, and offered him polite, one-word replies, which only served to piss him off. He didn’t want that. He wanted to know what she was thinking, feeling, and to find out what the fuck had just happened.
****
After helping with the dishes, Natalie stepped out into the garden. She didn’t bother with a jacket or anything. The fresh air helped to numb all of her thoughts. Most of the time she was home, she ate in the kitchen unless her father demanded her presence at the table. Today had been … horrible.
She’d not been able to eat much. Her brothers had taken a few more jabs at her weight, her appearance, and everything that always made her feel less of a woman. She liked the way she was. Her curves were part of her, and she had no intention of changing that just to please her mother, not that it would matter regardless. Her mother would just find another excuse to not like her.
Pushing her sweater down over her stomach, she moved toward the pool and took a seat in one of the chairs.
She loved the garden. Eric, the man who maintained it, would often let her help him weed out the flower beds, or plant new seeds. He’d often tell her that she was a hardy plant. One that was beautiful, but only ever really seen when you chopped down all the other flowers.
A lot of the staff at the house were aware of the family’s hatred of her.
“Should you be all alone?” Daniel asked, surprising her.
He lurked in the shadows, and she thought he’d be having after dinner drinks or something, at least spending some time with Louisa.
“I just wanted some fresh air.”
Daniel nodded, taking a seat opposite her.
“I’m sorry about dinner,” she said.
“It’s fine. That was not your fault. Does this have anything to do with sibling rivalry or something like that?”
She shook her head, chuckling. “No. Nothing like that.”
“Your brothers and sister hate you.”
“I know. My mother’s not a huge fan either.”
“Why is that?”
She opened her mouth to respond and then closed it again. Her life as a Valenti warned her off revealing everything. Biting her lip, she stared at him. “It’s nothing.”
“I just sat at dinner, and I’m going to be family. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know something is going on there.”
She sighed. “Not a lot is going on.”
“You work. You don’t wear expensive clothes. Your mother looks ready to hurt you.”
“Kill me, more like,” she said, laughing.
But the laughter sounded false to her own ears. She didn’t know why, only that overwhelming sadness filled her. “My brothers and sister hate me because my dad likes me.” She shrugged. “Not a lot I can do about that.” She sighed. “Mom … I don’t know. Maybe she just snapped or something. I’m not really sure of her reason, I only know that she has a reason to hate me.” She ran fingers through her hair. “When I was little, I don’t really remember a whole lot. I only know what I heard in whispers. Mom was supposed to take me for a bath. Babies can drown, or something like that. Mom watched as I lay in the bath, and she kept filling the tub. Dad barged in as my head was submerged. There was another incident where she tried to smother me with a pillow. This has something to do with after giving birth, I think. Postpartum depression, maybe? I don’t know. Either way, Mom has never liked me.”
“That’s her loss.”
“Then we move on to my brothers and sister. Now, I think that’s because Dad was around a lot more. He didn’t really have a choice. On two occasions that I know of, Mom tried to kill me. I think for anyone that’s a little … crazy. He spent a lot more time with me whereas my brothers and sister didn’t get all that much time.”
“So, jealousy?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged. “Either way, I don’t really fit into the Valenti life.” And it was why she was willing to work hard not to be part of it. No matter what she did, they always found a reason to hate her.
From doing too well at school, they’d accused her of being an overachiever. When she put weight on, her mother would make her life hell, buying clothes that were too small and making her wear them, mocking her. All of this was done behind Dad’s back.
She was surprised she hadn’t snapped before now.
Oh, well, she couldn’t do anything about it.
This was her life at the moment. One day, she may stop coming home. She’d thought about cutting and running a long time ago. She lived her own life for the most part, except for the guard that her father had on her. The man tried to pretend he was just a friendly neighbor, but she knew differently. Her father kept a watch on her at all times.
Running away was so tempting.
“What about Carmichael?” he asked.
This made her pause as she looked at him. “What do you know about Carmichael?”
“That you’re Natalie Carmichael.”
Her heart began to pound, and she didn’t like that. “Are you looking forward to being married to my sister?”
“Nope. She holds no interest for me.”
“Maybe you should go inside. Talk to her a little.”
“All that woman wants to do is shop, talk about gossip, and screw her guard.”
This now made her gasp, and she looked toward the house. Ben was a nice guy. Sure, once he started screwing Louisa he’d been an ass to Natalie, but before then, he was nice.
“You knew?”
“It’s not hard to see. I’m not blind, Natalie. I’m guessing he’s not the first one either.”
She didn’t say anything. What was the point? If he knew about Ben, then he knew about others.
Running fingers through her hair, she stood up. “I have to go.”
Daniel caught her wrist and pulled her back to the chair. She didn’t like how easily he got his own way. It didn’t impress her, and it never would.
“You can’t keep pushing me around.” She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
He removed his jacket, placing it across her shoulders. “I can do what I want. I could kill you right now and no one would know it was me.”
She glared at him. “Then do it.”
“You’re asking me to kill you?”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Daniel smiled. “You’re an interesting woman, Natalie.”
She shook her head. “I’m not interesting. I’m really boring, actually.”
He tilted his head to the side. “You and I have different views on what we consider boring.”
She didn’t say anything.
“Will you be married off to one of the men in this game? A peace toy?”
Natalie shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I figured I knew everything about the Valentis. Then you walked into the kitchen today. The spite your family has for you. Not to mention how you stick out like a sore thumb. It’s all very confusing. I’m wondering if I should call off the wedding.”
She knew this wedding was important. Her father had been planning it for a long time. Peace between the families was necessary.
“I’m … I made a deal,” she said.
He tilted his head to the side again, and she knew he was handsome. He had a scar down one side of his face, but that didn’t detract from his sexiness. The scar made him look deadly, sinister. He was the man in charge, and could do whatever the hell he wanted, and no one had a choice but to fall in with his demands. It was kind of scary.
“You made what kind of deal?”
“I knew what my family did. I knew I didn’t want to be part of that, so I struck a deal. I hold the Valenti name within these walls, but outside I’m a Carmichael. I make my own way. I work. I work a lot, and I don’t have to be put on the marriage chopping block. I gave up the name, the money, and the luxury.”
She also gave up the loveless marriage, and everything else. She shouldn’t be coming home at all, but her dad liked to see her as often as he could. Thanksgiving and Christmas were two occasions he wouldn’t allow her to stay away.
They agreed he could visit her for her birthday, but that was it.
So far, everything had worked out perfectly. “Don’t … ruin this marriage. I know it means a lot to him.”
Daniel looked at her. “You don’t want to get married?”
She smiled. “Someday I do. I’d love to be married, and have a couple of kids, but I don’t want this kind of wedding. Something that has been written down on some paper with the knowledge that it would bring two families together.” She shrugged. “I guess I just want to be a normal person. Didn’t you want to be that before you became this?”
He shook his head. “All I’ve ever known is the Solano way. I will take over, and the blood will be on my hands.”
She shivered.
He gripped the lapels of the jacket and closed it around her. “We should get inside. I don’t want to be accused of killing you.”
She chuckled. “There’s a long list of people trying.”
He shook his head. “That’s not funny.”
“What you need to do is find the funny in it.”