His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 19

Sienna burst into the apartment in a vibrant swirl of energy.

“Where is she? You can’t hide her away anymore!”

I rubbed my hand down my face. It was only eight in the morning and I was exhausted.

“Haven’t seen her this morning,” I said with a shrug.

“What do you mean you haven’t seen her? Did she go somewhere?”

“What? No.”

“Then, didn’t you wake up next to her?”

Shit.

If we were going to convince people this was a real marriage, I needed to be more careful. But this was Sienna, and she was sure to replace out eventually. I took a sip of my coffee. It was black and bitter and made me crave something sweet.

“Matteo,” she hissed, voice full of reproach. “What’s going on?”

“This marriage is about the alliance. You know that.”

“But…” Sienna was, for once, at a loss for words. “You are being nice to her, right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

A noise down the hall stopped her from responding. Sofiya entered the kitchen using her walker.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so good to meet you, Sofiya,” Sienna gushed. “My brother has been keeping you all to himself.”

Sofiya blinked and furrowed her brow as she looked between my sister and me, as if trying to understand how we could possibly be related. Sienna and I shared the same dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin, but the resemblance stopped there. Sienna was friendly and extroverted and everything else I wasn’t.

Sofiya’s voice went soft as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Here, come sit down. Do you want coffee?” Sienna asked.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Sofiya sat down on one of the kitchen stools, but her movements were stiff, jerky. There were dark shadows under her eyes. Was she in pain?

Sienna poured her a large cup of coffee. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Both, please.”

“I’m so mad I missed the wedding,” Sienna huffed. “Matteo didn’t think it was safe for me to go. Tell me all about it! Wait, I have to see your ring.”

She reached out and grasped Sofiya’s hand, but her smile faded as she took in the plain gold band. Her disapproving gaze landed on me. “Where’s the engagement ring?”

“We weren’t engaged,” I said, finishing the last of my coffee. It was true, but as Sofiya gently removed her hand from my sister’s grasp, her smile falling, an uncomfortable tightness settled in my chest. I glanced down at my plain gold band. I hadn’t given the rings a moment of thought. Romeo was the one who’d reminded me I needed to get them in the first place.

“I like it,” Sofiya said softly.

Sienna scowled at me again before turning towards my wife. “I came over to see if you wanted to go shopping.”

“I have work to do,” I said gruffly.

Sienna just rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t inviting you, brother. As if you’ve ever gone shopping in your life. I want to go with my new sister-in-law.”

Sofiya blushed and looked at me as if asking permission. I had the sudden urge to run my thumb along her lower lip, to feel the softness of her pink skin. I broke eye contact and gripped the countertop.

“You will take guards and be back by lunch,” I said, turning away from the two women.

“We’ll be back by dinner,” Sienna called after me. My jaw clenched, but I kept walking, tearing the front door open.

Angelo stood at attention in the hall.

“They’re going shopping,” I growled. “Anything happens to them, it’s on you.”

“Yes, Boss.”

I huffed as I headed to the office, unsure why I was so unsettled.