Page 21 of Vicious Kingdom (Dynasty of Queens #3)
T he newspaper article sat on the counter. The main image was me—surprised and smiling. The dress dipped low, showing my chest, while the lines formed to my figure. Had it been too much? Probably. But every detail helped catch the headline that stared back at me.
The mysterious businessman bid an enormous sum for the daughter of the media mogul—and then he kissed me as though his life depended on it.
“Let me get this straight. You like Leonardo?” Penelope held up a wooden spoon coated with cookie batter.
Slugging back the icy milk, I sighed. The frosty cup, partially frozen, nearly stuck to my lips. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m really good at working out other people’s problems.” She grinned. “I have lots of siblings.”
“Didn’t know that, but it makes sense.” I smiled back.
“Yup! Big sister complex. So…Leonardo. Shoot.” Penelope continued to form cookies, and I fidgeted with the glass.
“Five years ago, I wanted to date someone my parents wouldn’t approve of, but who wouldn’t mind their objections.”
Penelope pressed her lips tight, nodding along as she processed the information.
“I selected Leo on a whim, but as I got to know him, I realized I liked him—liked him a lot.” Loved him with all my heart. My stupid, pathetic heart. The damn organ had the gall to make me believe things would work out.
Logic dictated otherwise.
“And…?” Penelope slid the tray into the oven before rounding on me.
I shrugged. “He found out who I was. The age gap probably didn’t help, plus there was a leak in his company at the time, and he suspected me of spying on him for my father.”
Penelope’s brows knit in confusion.
“They were business rivals,” I clarified.
“Ah, I see.” She came around the island to lean against the corner where I sat perched on a stool. “What happened?”
I shrugged. “Leonardo never spoke to me again.”
Penelope arched a brow. “That’s not all.”
“Nope.” My lip popped the consonant. “Serena confided in me that he was her brother. Since I knew her family was the mob, I realized that Leo was keeping secrets too. But I would never have used those against him!” I rushed to add.
“Oh, of course you wouldn’t.” Penelope waved her hand dismissively. “But this speed dating business I read about in the paper? What’s up with that?”
I dropped my head on my forearm. “I didn’t ask him to bid on me.”
Hoped. Gave Fate a nudge. But the three million? That outrageous sum! That was all him.
Forty-eight hours later, and I was still reeling in shock. I didn’t know what to make of it. At least it sent a message to anyone else that I was off limits—including the mistake from Germany. I hadn’t heard from David since that night.
“You know what I think,” Penelope started to say, her voice striking a conspiratorial chord.
“That my brother is a fucking idiot.”
I blanched.
Alessandro Mancini, don of the most powerful Italian mob, stood in the doorway, watching us.
Penelope rolled her eyes, completely unfazed. “I was going to say that it was a romantic gesture, lupo.”
“Leo doesn’t do romance.”
The eldest Mancini was right—and wrong. Leo had been sweet, even caring once. He had the potential to sweep a girl off her feet. But not me.
No, he hated me. I tasted it on his lips. I felt it vibrate through his body as he fought the urge to pull me close.
He carried you over the fairway. I tried not to dwell on that happy coincidence.
Alessandro stalked into the room and swiped a cookie. He sucked in a sharp breath, tossing it from hand to hand.
“It’s hot, genius,” his wife muttered.
The glare he shot her would have caused a grown man to faint. She merely smiled sweetly.
“So let me get this straight, Leonardo doesn’t know that you are aware of our family’s situation?” Mancini pinned me with a focused look.
“That’s correct.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Serena said—before she left on her grand adventure—that she never told him that we were besties. Leo’s oblivious to that connection.”
The don drummed his fingers against the countertop. “I see.”
I waited.
Physically, I was safe from any repercussions. He wouldn’t hurt me, especially with his wife wielding a wooden spoon. But to think the Blood King was my friend, that would be the stupidest thing I thought yet.
“Here’s what I’m going to do,” Mancini started to say.
“Alessio,” his wife warned.
I wanted to hug her.
“I’m going to stay out of your little situation with my brother.”
Relief swept through me. At least I didn’t have to count Alessandro as another obstacle to my plans.
An ally would have been nice.
But this still counted as a win.
“I want to know if you’d ever help me with some projects?” Mancini continued.
My teeth sank into my tongue as I forced back an automatic response and gave my brain the much-needed time to process the information.
Mancini nabbed another cookie. “I can put someone like you to use.”
Here I was, sitting in the kitchen of a known criminal, watching him eat cookies, while his wife filled another frozen glass with the pitcher of icy milk. Surreal? Something I couldn’t have written if I tried to compose a more ludicrous situation? Precisely.
“What can I do for you?” I finally managed to ask.
“I have some ideas, but nothing concrete. The notion just came to me as we sat here,” he mused, dunking the cookie in the frothy white liquid. “I’ll let you know when I think of it, yes?”
I gulped. “Yes.”
He nodded and made to move for the door but paused on the threshold. “For what it’s worth, Leo hasn’t dated anyone these past five years. I wouldn’t read into it; he’s not a Casanova. But it’s the truth.”
My heart fluttered. Possibilities I had no business hoping for sprouted, and the damn joyful butterflies flew about, pollinating the mess.
I’m going to win him back! It didn’t make sense why this revelation gave me more hope of success than the small gestures compiled by the object of my obsession over the past few days. The intimate relationship between brothers was a deeper insight.
To hide my reaction, I scrolled through my phone.
Only to see an official email from Baldwin Acquisitions. My heart fainted. Fingers shaking so badly that it took three tries to tap the notification, I scanned the contents. The formal tone and signature at the bottom swiped a touch of glee from my veins.
“What’s up?” Penelope’s voice made me start.
“Oh, just a survey from Leonardo’s secretary,” I lamented, the don’s words ringing in my ears. Leo was pragmatic. He’d clearly instructed the secretary to do his dirty work, seeking out my likes and dislikes instead of contacting me himself.
At least he bothered to find out in the first place.
That optimistic part of my brain was going to be the death of me.
While Penelope continued to bake an obscene number of cookies, I filled out the survey. We laughed at the questions, debated funny answers to see what the businessman with billions to his name would make of them. But in the end, I was more confused about my position with Leo than ever.