Marriage by Bravery - Book 3

Chapter Seven

Kim

I had to say I was a teeny tiny bit disappointed that Luca gave in so quickly. Call me sadistic or whatever, but I had so many fun little torture sessions planned to bring him to his knees and win his surrender. Not to mention I didn't even get the chance to do any recon on the competition, although from my brief encounter I had concluded that she was really pretty but not so pretty that I'd let her have my man without a good ol' American slap down if it had come to that. The door slammed and brought me back to the present. I was still firmly planted on Luca's lap with my arms wrapped around him, which was absolutely fine by me.

However, he was now slumped in the chair with his arm thrown over his eyes, as if to say he was tired. I opened my mouth to speak but didn't even get a chance to utter a syllable.

"No, Kimberly. It's quiet time," he said without even moving his hand.

Whaaat? How'd he do that!? I wondered in bewilderment. Maybe he's been paying more attention to me than he let on. Then again if he was I wouldn't have been able to get out of the house and into his office building so easily. That thought made me smirk, his mother had turned out to be one hell of an accomplice. She had helped me plan this attack, although our plan hadn't factored in her now ex-soon-to-be-in-laws arriving so early. She had slipped me info that Luca was going to be meeting with Anabel today, provided me with a ride, intimidated the staff to let me pass without a problem, instructed the driver to wait in case I needed a quick getaway and was even waiting in the car with the driver. But my incessant craving for surprise attacking Luca with hanky panky had ruined all the elaborate plans we'd laid out. Not that I was out right complaining, because I had inadvertently accomplished my second greatest goal; the wedding was off. This meant he was fair game which meant I wouldn't have to worry about his goodie two shoes conscience fighting me off. Now all I had to do was convince him to do was marry me. As if hearing my thoughts, suddenly spoke up.

"Don't you dare think for a minute that this means I'm going to shackle myself to you, you crazy woman," he warned.

"Oh, but you will," I countered.

"Absolutely not!"

"Definitely."

He probably wouldn't have given up on arguing with me if his mother hadn't suddenly burst through the door. I could see it was becoming a habit for her to find us in intimate situations, but this time she hardly took notice.

"I just saw Signor Abruzzo! He looked positively murderous," she sang gleefully in her thick accent, " this means good things, yes?"

Her eyes gleamed with eager anticipation and I could imagine that Luca was glaring at her. So I figured I might as well put an end to the suspense.

"The wedding is cancelled,"I announced in a smug tone.

His mother shocked us both with her ecstatic cackling and clapping. Wow, she really hadn't wanted them to get married. No wonder she was such a willing and dedicated partner in crime, I shrugged the thought away. Things were going the way I wanted to and I was going to enjoy bliss while I could. I'd question his mother about her deep contempt for the Abruzzo family some other time, but for now this was my moment.

"Father, will not be pleased," Luca said gravely, as if already feeling the stress breaking the news to his father would bring.

"Oh pooh! Don't you worry about your papa, I will tell him and then invite you both to dinner when it's safe," his mother assured him.

Luca grunted in displeasure, "What kind of family head hides behind his mother in difficult situations?" He asked angrily.

She walked over to him and rested her palm on his cheek, "The kind that doesn't want to get ran over if he tries to stand in her way," she answered sweetly as she caressed his face then stepped away.

I couldn't help but chuckle, this woman was one hundred percent badass. She moved back across the room and towards the door before turning back to address us.

"Now you two continue celebrating, I need to get home to my husband before Abruzzo contacts him," she blew us a kiss then left, pulling the door closed behind her.

The lock clicked in place, signaling that we were once again alone. I twisted slightly so I could look him directly in the face. In all honesty, he looked more tired than upset which told me that my day wasn't going to end badly after all.

"My mother was already downstairs when the Abruzzos were leaving," he stated rather than asked.

I decided the best plan was to play clueless innocence. He looked at me and shook his head as if amazed at the lengths I'd gone to.

"I should have known you couldn't have gotten in here without help, you little deviant," he said, pinching my chin.

"Hey! It was all her idea! I had planned to accost you at home but then she said that you were meeting Anabel today and I couldn't have Blondie undoing all my hard work, plus I hadn't gotten a chance to size her up yet so I figured I'd drop by and kill two birds with one stone. You know, seduction and recon," I pouted, realizing a bit too late that I had not only confirmed his accusations but also confessed to a lot of other stuff he hadn't even asked about.

My eyes grew wide as he regarded me with a satisfied smirk, "Oops," I said.

It was time for major damage control. I threw my arms around him and latched on his lips, not only distracting him but also melting all my embarrassment away. This seduction thing was starting to have a lot of side effects.

Oh well.