Page 12 of Twisted Throne
I turned to see a man that I vaguely remembered passing by at Angelo’s office the other day. He stepped into the living room, his arms full of several garment and shopping bags, and stood there awkwardly.
“What is this?” I asked.
“A selection of clothes and shoes for you to select to wear tonight,” he answered.
“I have my own clothes,” I said. Although I could tell without even opening the bags that whatever they contained would outshine anything of mine by far. But I wasn’t a charity case. I’d told Angelo I wasn’t after his money and I meant it. Paul eyed me up and down then raised one eyebrow at me.
“I’m aware,soubrette. But I’d suggest you look through them anyway,” he said, smirking.
Soubrette. Hmph.
“We’ll be back to pick you up at five-thirty to escort you to dinner. Until then,” he said. The other man, Carlos, put the bags down on the loveseat and they both turned and left me standing there, speechless.
I locked the door back up, then carried the bags back to the bedroom and placed them on my bed. Unzipping the first garment bag, I saw a satin gown in a deep blue. Beaded accents ran from the bust down to the hips. It was gorgeous. But when I unzipped the second bag, I knew instantly it was the one. It was the most beautiful gown I’ve ever seen, made of heavy silk in a dusty rose color. When I held it up to the light it almost seemed to glow. Setting it reverently back down on the bed I opened the remaining bags, all boasting a bold “Jimmy Choo” embossed across them in gold foil. There were four pairs of shoes, two different options to match each dress. I settled on a pair of dainty kitten heels that matched the rose dress perfectly.
Looking over at the clock, I realized that I have just over an hour to get ready. I doubted that Paul would be happy if he had to wait on me—which made it tempting to linger in front of the cracked bathroom mirror. But if he’s expecting me to fall short of his standards, too bad. He was going to be in for a big surprise when he saw how well I clean up. Maybe that would wipe that stupid smirk off of his face.
Chapter Seven
Paul
My nose wrinkled as I slid out of the car in front of Gia’s building. This was no place for anyone to live. Especially a woman alone. And especially her. I’d skulked my way through any number of seedy lobbies and halls just like these, and I knew exactly what she dealt with here. I would talk to Angelo tonight and let him know about her living situation. I’m sure he’ll want to get her out of here and established somewhere elsewhere immediately. Somewhere that she doesn’t have to keep a damn couch in front of the door to keep out the scum that filled this neighborhood.
“I’ll be back in a minute, make sure no one steals our hubcaps,si?” I said to Carlos, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. The car door shutting cut his laugh short.
Even in shithole neighborhoods like this, the local riffraff knew to keep a distance.
Gia opened the door before I had a chance to knock. I had to take a moment to just soak her in. She was stunning. Her hair was cascading down her back in loose curls. Her only makeup was a touch of color on her lips and cheeks, the simplicity complementing her dress. The silk folded and clung to the curves of her breasts teasingly.
I tore my eyes away and cleared my throat before speaking.
“You look wonderful.” I offered her my arm. Same as I would have done for any other woman en route to a formal dinner.
Her chin lifted at a defiant angle. “Thank you.” She hesitated, then rested her hand on my arm as we walked to the car.
As soon as we stepped outside, a gravelly voice called out to me.
“Paul! We finally meet,amico!”
My arm shot out automatically to push Gia behind me as I turned to face the speaker.
I heard a car door slam and didn’t have to look to know that Carlos was already out of the car and moving to us. I didn’t recognize the man until I noticed the pale, white scar that streaked across his right cheek. He was smiling and the skin was stretched taut. I’d heard rumors about what happened, but he was notoriously close-lipped about it.
“So we finally meet in person, Emilio. Although I’m confused as to why,” I said, keeping my voice even. Emilio looked over at Carlos, who had circled around us to flank him.
“No trouble here, I promise, gentleman. I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Sabitino was less than pleased about the sudden demise of our friend in Customs,” he stated. His smile dropped, and his eyes narrowed. “As you can imagine this has caused a few business problems for us.”
“And I should care about this why?” I replied.
When I tried to push Gia further back behind me, he shifted his gaze over to her.
“This young lady must be Angelo’s daughter. Pass on my congratulations, yes? I’ve heard good things.” He smiled again, but a different, darker sort of smile. The way he was looking at her sent a chill down my spine.
I took a step to the side, trying to block her from the fuckers sight completely.
“Don’t be so selfish, Paul. Surely there’s enough of her to go around. She looks like she might enjoy a bit of fun, one way or another. Maybe we can spend some time together soon, dear,” he said to her. Then he looked back to me. “And I’m certain that you and I will meet again sooner than you think.”
My jaw clenched, and I stepped forward. I wanted to bash his fucking face in. I knew very well from the rumors from the girls at the club what he considered a bit of fun with a woman. Thinking of him being anywhere within a mile of a LaRosa woman made me want to murder thestronzowith my bare hands. But this wasn’t the time or the place. I motioned to Carlos to let him pass.