Page 29 of The One Night Match

“Anyone you want to say goodbye to, Kitten?” he murmurs against the top of my head.

I shake my head. I should probably go say goodbye to my parents and sisters, maybe even the head of the family, but I don’t have it in me to be social anymore, and I don’t think I could deal with their questions about whether I’m ready for tonight.

The consummation of our marriage.

Little do they know, I already know exactly what to expect from what Cruz has packing in his perfectly tailored pants.

He takes a quick look around at our guests, scanning the room to make sure no one is paying attention to us, before he pulls me toward the side door we slipped out of earlier.

Without a word, he guides me through the maze of hallways. I’m tempted to ask if he knows where we’re going, but then we’re stepping into the cool Seattle night, and I feel like I can finally breathe without the weight of everyone else’s expectations.

Without a word, he shrugs out of his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders as he taps out a message on his phone. “Ben’s parked around the corner.”

I nod, tugging his jacket tighter around me and enjoying the combination of his warmth and his cologne a little too much.

This is temporary,I remind myself.

It has to be.

I can’t be what Cruz De Luca needs. I just have to convince him of that.

The limo pulls up in front of us, and he opens the door for me, helping me slip inside before he joins me on the soft leather seats.

And then we’re alone in the dark.

I swallow heavily, my body trembling slightly. This is the part of the arranged marriage I didn’t let myself think too hard about.

Going home with a stranger.

Moving into a house that’s not my own, that has none of my own flair to it.

Being controlled by a man I don’t even know.

Admittedly, it’s probably the part that I should have spent most of my time accepting, but I chose to live in denial for a little longer.

Cruz takes my hand in his and rests them on his thigh. The move is innocent, like he can’t stand not to be touching me, but that can’t be true.

How could it be?

“You’re thinking real loud over there, Kitten.” He tilts his head to face me, a soft smile on his lips.

“It was a long day,” I whisper.

“It was,” he sighs. “But it’s just us now. You can relax.”

If only he knew that’s exactly why I can’t, why I can’t let my guard down.

The drive through the city is quiet, and I take to watching the world go by outside the tinted windows. True to Seattle’s reputation, it drizzles the whole way, rain droplets streaking the windows as the city lights get further away and the trees grow denser.

I expected he would live in the heart of the city, in a penthouse or something similar, but when we pull up to what can only be described as a wooden mansion, I try to stifle my gasp.

It’s beautiful, and it takes me long seconds to realize Cruz is holding my door open for me.

“Do you like it, Riley?” he asks softly. “If not, we can find another house, something you’d like better.”

My brows furrow at that. He’s just met me, and he’s willing to sell his house and move just because it’s what I want?

What kind of parallel universe did I step into where this big bad Mafia boss is falling over himself to make me happy?