Matéo Santiago's POV

"So when exactly will you be getting married?" Joshua, my cousin asks.

^^ Joshua Martinez.

As well as my cousin, Joshua is one of my best friends.

He is a nephew on my mom's side and we've been inseparable since birth.

He is waiting with me by the stairs, for Adeline and my sisters to come down the stairs.

Shit!

Did I even tell her, I had siblings?

Eh, she'll find out.

"3 weeks time" I respond to my cousin's question.

He whistles through his teeth.

I shrug.

"Life goes on" I say.

"Do you like her?" He asks.

As if on cue we hear a chorus of giggles.

Thankful for the distraction, we turn to the stairs.

My God.

Adeline and my sisters walk down the stairs laughing about something.

Adeline notices me and stops laughing.

She looks so good...

The navy blue dress hugs her curvy body like a second skin, emphasis her dark skin and pitch-black hair.

Her makeup is simple and it suits her face well.

It's perfect.

Not that she needs it in the first place.

Her neck and shoulders are exposed by the gown, emphasising her body shape all the more.

Grace nudges Maria and they make their way to the living room to give us some space.

She also grabs Joshua's hand who stares at Adeline open mouthed.

He looks her up and down slowly, analysing her and nudges me subtly.

"Bro..." he says, almost under his breath for only me to hear

"Hm?" I ask, dazed.

"So many damn, curves that you may just fucken crash" He tells me, teasingly with a small smirk, before one of my siblings drag him off.

Is he trying to make me even more nervous?

Clown.

I will deal with him later.

She smiles shyly and my heart skips.

Shit.

I just blink at her. I shake it off and remember the fact that I don't ever get nervous around women.

Never.

I smirk.

She walks down the stairs and towards me.

She stands in front of me. Her eyes trail over my body and I can tell she appreciates what she sees.

^^ Matéo's fit

"Mr Santiago" she greets.
Her voice is smooth and almost flirty.

It sets me on edge.

"Miss Carter." I respond.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close.

She breathes in sharply and then melts into me a little, as hard as she tries not to.

Good girl.

I smirk a little more at her and whisper into her ear.

"You look incredible" I say.

Her smile widens a little.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"You don't look so bad, yourself" she responds.

I grin. "I'm glad you think so" I say.

She pulls away and I offer her my arm.

She takes it and we proceed to the main hall.

When we get there, I search for my parents.

They sit at the bar area.

"Best behaviour" I mutter into her ear.

She nods, absent minded, eyes scanning the room.

I lead her to them, greeting a couple of people as we walk past them, my hand firmly on Adeline's hip, her arms tucked against mine 'lovingly'.

She's good at this.

When, we finally get there, I clear my throat to get my parents' attention.

My dad noticed first and smiles genuinely at us.

"Good afternoon, figlio (son), Adeline" I nod and Adeline says a curt good afternoon.

My mom turns to her.

"Darling you are absolutely glowing dear!" My mother exclaims.

She's right.

Her skin gives off this warm glow.

Adeline chuckles.

"That might just be the highlighter?" she giggles.

My mom pats her arm playfully.

"Oh, you know what I mean" she says with a laugh.

My father signals for us to leave and walks out, with us trailing behind him.

We stop as we reach the office.

He opens the door and we walk inside.

"We need to talk about the wedding" He says.

I nod and take a seat.

Adeline joins me.

My dad sits behind his desk and observes us.

I remain calm but Adeline fidgets nervously.

"I'm sure that there are questions?" He asks.

Adeline speaks up.

"When do I return to school?" She asks.

"You will return on Monday" my father replies.

She nods.

"Ok, who can I tell?" She asks.

"Only those that you really confide in" my dad responds, which surprised me I was expecting him to say

'Nobody! Nobody at all!'

I stop mimicking my dad's accent in my head and pay attention.

"When does planning start" she asks.

"We have the best planners in the country for that but I'm sure your input will be needed" he says.

She nods.

"Is there anything you want to say to each other?" My father asks.

What is this, class one?

I shake my head and so does she.

He nods and tells us that we can go.

So the aim of this was what?

This could have been put in an email for real.

I sigh and lead her back to the crowd.

We walk through and suddenly are met by Adeline's parents are brother.

She squeals and runs straight into her brother's arms, bypassing her parents.

They hug and chatter about for a minute, before she calms down again.

"Mom, dad" she greets them formally.

Her mother can't seem to take the heavy hint and wraps Adeline into a massive hug.

She stands stiffly for a moment but then thaws and hugs her mother back.

She hugs her father, who pats her back awkwardly.

Adeline pulls away and looks a little hurt at his lack of warmth.

This is clearly not how he usually acts towards her.

I suddenly feel like punching the bastard in the mouth.

But then I remember where I am, who he is and his relationship between Adeline and decide not to.

Instead my grip tightens a little around Adeline's waist.

She relaxes into me a little.

Her brother looks back and forth between us and slowly grins.

He caught me.

I shrug.

Her dad does the same but doesn't smile.

"How are you both?" He asks almost robotically.

"We're just fine" I say before she can.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, I think that you'll find we must go to dinner" I state rather than ask.

I pull her along and she follows unresistingly.

We sit at the table, my dad at the head of the table of course.

He stands up and clears his throat.

Almost immediately, the room goes quiet.

He has that effect on people.

"As you all know, my son has finally decided to settle down and get married!" He says.

A cheer goes around the table along with excited chatter.

I redden a little bit and quickly drink some water.

My father raised his hand and the room goes silent again.

He looks at Adeline and I.

"I really do, wish you both the best in this marriage" he says genuinely.

She smiles at him warmly and looks down at her lap embarrassedly.

My dad finishes his long speech, which I'm not going to repeat, because I was barely even concentrating, and the room goes back to the excited chattering.

Once we finish eating, we leave the table to be able to talk to people. I leave the room quickly to go and find something and when I get back I search for Adeline to see her cornered by one my cousins.

^^ Roberto Santiago.

Everyone knows he's a player and there is no way in hell in leaving her with him!

It's not that I don't trust her...

But I don't trust him as far as I can throw him.

His age is also closer to hers, so I knew he'd try it.

He whispered something in her ear, which caused her eyes to widen and for her to look away shyly.

He gets closer and I decided that I've seen enough.

I storm over there and grab Adeline's hand, pulling her towards me and wrapping an arm protectively around her waist.

"Hey baby, I see that you've met my cousin, Roberto!" I say through gritted teeth so that he knows that I'm pissed.

She looks up at me shocked at my sudden presence.

"Yes, we were just getting... Aquatinted" he drawls annoyingly.

He has that stupid look on his stupid face.

Even the way he talks makes me feel insecure about leaving Adeline with him.

I feel my face redden with anger and I'm just about to let go of Adeline and punch him in the mouth, when she pipes up.

"Matéo, can we just go?" She asks gently in my ear.

Almost all of the anger evaporates.

I grab her hand and lead her out of the ballroom.

I take her up the flight of stairs and to the rooftop balcony.

It's where I go to think, or get some air.

She walks in front of me and it is then, that I realise, that her dress is backless.

I gulp and I take off my suit jacket and wrap it around her.

For both of our sakes I need to cover her up.

She smiles thankfully. I see her eyes wonder down my torso and hold in some laughter.

Let me be serious!

"What did he say to you?" I ask, referring to Roberto.

"Matéo, I need you to calm down. He was just..." she starts, but I cut her off saying.

"I asked you a question!" I snap.

She glares at me for a second and I immediately regret it, remembering her earlier promise.

She decides to allow me and I breathe out.

"He was just saying that I looked beautiful." she tells me with a shrug.

I turn around ready to go back down and knock his lights out.

Adeline senses this and grabs my hand pulling me towards her.

I look at her shocked.

This is the first affectionate thing she's done all day.

She grabs me by the shirt and pulls me closer, not even aware of how that makes me feel.

"Stay" she says.

It's almost like a demand.

I walk towards her and she steps back until her back hits the wall.

I pull her closer to me, blocking any form of exit.

"You're a Santiago now, do you understand?" I ask.

"What?" She asks.

"Did I stutter?" I ask dropping my tone.

"Want me to answer that sensibly?" She asks.

I almost glare at her.

She shakes her head no, seeing that I'm serious about it.

"Do you understand?" I repeat.

"Yes" she responds.

I smile.

She looks so shy and sweet, contrary to how she's behaved in the past couple of days.

I can't wait to see how she is when we're married.

I already know it won't be easy.

But I really like the challenge.

I grab her hips and lean down kiss her.

I expect her to pull back, but she kisses me back, grabbing a fistful of my shirt as if we hadn't had an argument at the café just hours before hand.

She must want me as much as I want her.

There is no denying that I'm attracted to her.

She's beautiful.

That's one of the reasons why I suggested marrying her.

My dad is convinced that I need to grow up and behave like a man before I can continue running the gang.

He also wanted the feud between us and the dahlias to be over so I killed two birds with one stone.

I bite her bottom lip, causing her to react with a small gasp and before she can register anything else, I pull away.

Her breathing is shallow and her lips are slightly swollen.

She looks into my eyes, her own burning brightly and her pupils have even dilated a little.

"What was that for?" She asks, wiping her lipstick off of my face.

"You're with me now. As much as the arrangement is strange, we need to work together." I whisper in her ear.

"Don't ever forget that, ok?" I say.

She nods in agreement, looking away.

I reach into my back pocket and pull out a box.

I open the box to reveal a diamond engagement ring.

It was for my great grandma and I was her favourite so...

Adeline's jaw drops as I get on one knee.

"Look I'm 2 years older than you. And I know that we didn't start off well and this is all rushed but I was hoping we'd start over. We don't love each other, but I'm willing to learn if you are" I say.

"I thought I should ask the right way. Adeline, will you marry me?" I ask all in one go.

She smiles down at me.

"Do I have a choice?" She asks, giving me her left hand.

I hold her arm gently and slide my hand down to her hand before slipping the ring on her ring finger.

"Absolutely not" I respond, getting up and pulling her in for a hug.

She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses it gently.

"Thank you anyway" she mutters.

Her breath tickles my ear and I pull away before I do something that I may regret later.

I can't wait to protect her at all costs.
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