Chapter 104 Flames at the Moretti Farm
POV Maya:
Dominic’s eyes as he stares at me look like blazing flames. I feel they’re capable of incinerating me alive, without a shred of remorse. In the few times I’ve seen Dominic, I’ve witnessed the many different kinds of looks he’s cast in my direction, but none of them compares to this one. I swallow hard, not knowing what to say to dispel that stare. Maybe if I cracked a joke it would break the tension, right?
“Look, baby, it’s my favorite villain.” I smile, but my smile dies the moment I realize Dominic’s eyes remain… lost.
“Is everything—”
“What are you doing here?” he cuts me off.
“I found a bracelet lying on the floor of the flower shop.” I take the bracelet out of my purse and show it to Dominic, who for the first time since I arrived shifts his expression to surprise. “It says—”
“For Norah Moretti, with all my love.”
“That’s right. I believe it might belong to your mother.” I say it, and a forced smile appears on his lips, but his expression hardens before the smile can fully bloom.
“Yes, it’s my mother’s. It’s her favorite bracelet. I don’t know how she hasn’t realized yet that she lost it.”
Dominic doesn’t thank me, nor does he say anything else. Maybe this is my cue to leave and try another trick to get closer to these brothers.
“I just came to return it. I’m leaving now.” I turn my back on him and start to walk away.
Not this time, but I’m not giving up. I just need to better understand how they choose the bride candidates. I need to call David and ask. I can’t go on without knowing how to proceed. To be honest with myself, I don’t know what I was thinking when I jumped into this madness. Loneliness really is a bitch.
“Maya!” I hear Dominic shout my name, and I turn back to him. “Come in, please. My mother will want to thank you personally. Would you like to come in?”
Well, look at that… He’s not as rough as I thought.
“I’d love to.”
He makes room for me, and as I pass by his side I catch the musky scent that radiates from his skin. I take a deep breath, wanting his scent to linger a little longer in my airways. I wait near the door, letting Dominic lead the way, and that’s exactly what he does. I follow right behind him. I smell the wonderful aroma of food being prepared, and it competes fiercely with Dominic’s scent, but the food wins by a landslide.
“Dane, he needs to step out and think for a bit. He’ll be back soon.” I hear a sweet voice and instantly recognize its owner.
As we cross the wooden threshold, her eyes go from surprised to glowing. Her husband smiles too when he sees me, and that sets off an alarm in my head. Is Dominic adopted? Because I haven’t gotten a genuine smile from him since the day I met him.
“Maya, what a pleasant surprise,” she says, and I didn’t even know she knew my name. “Come in, my dear. Please, have a seat.” I look around, unsure whether I can put Louis down on the floor.
“Can I put my baby down on the floor?” I ask, and I hear Dominic snort behind me. “I think he wants to do number one.” I say it, and a thought of revenge flashes through my mind in bright letters. “Dominic, can you take my baby to do number one?” I hear a muffled laugh behind me and look, surprised, at Mr. Moretti, who is laughing—until his wife promptly whacks him with a wooden spoon.
“Number one? Are you fucking kidding me?” he growls, and I roll my eyes.
“Dominic Moretti, that’s no way to treat visitors.” I smile when I see him grimace at being scolded by his mother in front of me.
“Take her baby and walk him around the garden.”
It wasn’t a request. I loved Mrs. Moretti.
“Hold him carefully,” I say, handing Louis over to his strong arms. “And he doesn’t like being watched while he does his business.” I warn him and hear him curse me out. I hold back the laughter threatening to escape. “You can go.” I kiss Louis, and Dominic storms off, muttering under his breath.
As soon as Dominic is out of sight, I burst into laughter, joined by Mr. Moretti. Mrs. Moretti shoots her husband a disapproving look, but it doesn’t take long before she’s laughing with us too. The sight of that brute holding Louis was priceless. I should have taken a picture to blackmail him for the next few days.
“Sit down, dear,” Mrs. Moretti says, and I sit beside Mr. Moretti. “What brings you to our farm? Do you need anything for the flower shop?”
“No, it’s just that I found a bracelet on the floor of my shop.” I remember that the bracelet is with Dominic. “I gave it to Dominic.” She looks down at her wrist and covers her mouth with her hand.
“My God, my bracelet.” Mr. Moretti raises an eyebrow at his wife’s distress. Does he find this funny?
“How did I not notice sooner?”
“It’s all right. I found it. There’s no need to get nervous,” I say, but she immediately raises a hand and goes back to stirring her pots. What am I missing here? “Is everything okay, Mrs. Moretti?”
“Please, call me Norah,” she asks. “And everything is fine.”
“Would you like to have lunch with us?”
“My love, be more subtle,” Mr. Moretti says, and before I can ask what he means, four men enter the kitchen and stop short, surprised, as soon as they see me sitting at the table.
Without an ounce of shame, I blatantly check each of them out. The first one is tall, with expressive blue eyes. He wasn’t here the day I came to the farm. The other three I remember very well—but I prefer them without shirts. Oh, how I do. All four of them assess me, and their eyes drift behind me. When I turn around, I see Mrs. Moretti smiling from ear to ear.
“Mom, Dad,” the blue-eyed one greets his parents as he approaches his mother and kisses her forehead. The other three do the same, and my heart softens at the affection they show her.
“Boys, let me introduce you to this beautiful woman,” she says, making me a little embarrassed by all the attention.
I’m not shy. I’m the kind of person who’s been bold since birth, but having all of them staring at me makes my face heat up. Only one of them smiles at me; the others remain serious. I swallow hard, suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to run far away. They’re so tall and strong—would I be at risk of breaking if they grabbed me too hard? Oh shit, why am I thinking this with all of them watching me?
“This is Maya. Maya, these are my sons. Luca,” she says, pointing to the tall blue-eyed one. “Adrian,” the one with short hair and an easy smile. “Mikhail,” who looks very much like Adrian, almost a copy—the difference is his shoulder-length hair. Are they twins? “And this is Sebastian.” Sebastian is the most youthful among them. His face has a thick beard and a hard expression. I hadn’t noticed it the day I was here before, but now I do—he looks sad.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say, swallowing hard as the realization of exactly what I’ve gotten myself into finally hits me.