Mountain Man's Accidental Surprise - K.C. Crowne Page 0,11

but I had a bad feeling about this meeting, and a weight in my stomach made me feel nauseated.

Antonio had been flirting with me for months, and I’d tried to avoid him at all costs. I could see the way his beady little eyes looked at me, watching my every move like I was his prey.

“Emilia?” my dad’s voice called from the bottom of the stairs. I heard his footsteps as he began the ascent.

I took a deep breath and continued walking down. There was nowhere to run right now. There was only one way out of the house, and that was down these stairs.

Through my father.

“There you are,” he said, frowning so deeply I thought his face might get stuck like that. “Hurry along, dinner is about to be served.”

I wasn’t hungry in the slightest. In fact, the very thought of food made me ill, but I nodded and followed him into the formal living room.

It was hard to believe that at one time, my family had lived in a moderate home in Liberty, that we were once a normal family before my mother died and my dad moved us to Vegas and got into the casino business. Before he began networking with the likes of the Lombardos.

The formal living room was as large as our home in Liberty had been. A marble fireplace was the centerpiece of the room, and where my eyes fell instead of on the man waiting for me just off to the side. Photos of my parents lined the mantle, along with baby photos of me. My favorite photograph was one with my mother holding me close to her chest, a smile on her face that radiated utter joy. I was only about six or so in the photo and she died a couple months after it was taken. I’d always felt cheated when I looked at the photo, because unlike my father, I was certain my mother had actually loved me.

“Emilia, darling, you look stunning,” Antonio said, crossing the room from the bar in the corner.

Antonio might have been considered a good-looking man by many, but I assumed that was the money talking. Anyone wealthy and powerful enough could look handsome in a custom Armani suit and a Rolex. The man was tall with lean muscle, and his black hair was styled by an expensive stylist. The threads of grey at his ears added a distinguished look to him. His face was a little too chiseled for my liking - all rough edges that looked dangerously sharp to the touch. His eyes were slightly too small for his face and reminded me of a rat’s eyes. They were dark, nearly black, which only made his stare more unnerving. His nose was rather large on his face, and I often wondered why a man of his wealth wouldn’t have fixed such a large nose on an otherwise relatively handsome face, but I didn’t dare ask. It seemed to be a family nose, shared by his father and likely his father as well.

Antonio took my hand in his and placed a kiss on the knuckles. Feeling his lips against my flesh filled me with unease. My hand was shaking as he continued holding it.

“Are you cold, darling?” he asked, rubbing my hand between both of his.

“No, I’m fine,” I said, pulling my hand away as gently as I could.

I knew my greeting was less than suitable for a man like Antonio. He expected me to fawn all over him, to flirt back. But I had no interest in entertaining the likes of him. As soon as I could, I planned to move out of my dad’s home and leave this life behind. I didn’t agree with any of it, and now that I knew exactly what my father was up to, I had no intention of being part of it.

“Dinner is served,” our maid called from the doorway to the dining room.

“Thank you, Angelica.” I was often the only person who acknowledged she existed.

My father motioned for us to follow him into the dining room. Antonio let me lead the way. Only one reason for that - I could feel his eyes on my ass as I hurried to take my seat.

Antonio pulled out my seat for me, and I eagerly sat down, hoping it would keep his eyes off my assets. He took a seat next to me, sitting far too close for my liking. His cologne was making me sick to my stomach