My Future Brother-In-Law

Meralda’sPOV

I opened Isabella’s room door stopping dead in my tracks. Her room is like a circus, the ringmaster had left all the probs behind. The mess was totally chaos, feathers, hats and masks were thrown everywhere and a giant rabbit head sitting dead center on the bed, tf! It wa so random I almost laughed. Almost

The scent of her floral perfume filled the place mixed with laundry detergent like the combination of fresh and forgotten, she sat on the floor folding her clothes like her life depends on them except that she did it in slow motion. She didn’t even look up when I walked in, just kept folding the same shirt over and over again like it will fix the s**t in her head. I didn’t say anything just picked up one of her crop top, shook off the feathers on it and hung it back in the closet. She looked at me for a second but didn’t speak. Two could play this game

“What’s with the wads of toilet paper everywhere?” I finally asked looking at the crumpled bits scattered on the floor. She sniffed loudly and pointed then ignored me. Classic Isabella with attitude.i kept picking up random things, silently hanging or folding as she packed. We were so quiet and this ain’t peaceful. It was heavy like we both knew something was coming but we didn’t wanna bother about it

“so where are you going” I said trying to reduce the tension

“Cuba. Saudi Arabia. North Korea” she said, het tone flat. Pick one”.

I raised an eyebrow looking at the pile of bathing suits she stacked next to her. “Saudi Arabia Is out princess if you’re planning on wearing this bikini.”

She inhaled finally cracking a mile. “Good point sis.”

I hung another blouse eyeing her with the corner of my eye. She look like a total mess wearing an oversize bird shirt with mismatched Christmas sock.

“You met him?” she asked suddenly, her voice quieter now.

“Yeah” I said hesitating, this is probably going somewhere. “He’s.. nice.”

“nice?” she said folding another shirt with a little more force. “You don’t sound convinced.”

Shrugging, I don’t wanna add fuel to whatever is burning in her already. “Where are you going to fit all this your props?” I asked eyeing the massive rabbit head sitting on her bed. Always Obsessed with rabbits .

She stopped folding, looking at the rabbit head like it tells all the answers. "But I love my costumes," she said in a low tone, her voice was shaking for the first time. "What about Mr. Rabbit?"

Keeping my tone . "I don’t think Mr. Rabbit’s going to pass North Korea’s shipping policies."

The laugh came out more like a sob, and before I knew it, she was crying, clutching that ridiculous rabbit head like it was a lifeline. She threw herself onto the bed, tears rushing down her face. "What about Cuba?" she asked, her voice muffled by the rabbit head.

"Cuba’s a better bet," I said, sitting down on the bed, watching her fall dramatic

"Ryan broke up with me," she said, just like that, like she was talking about the weather. My heart dropped.

I blinked, "I’m… I’m sorry, Isabella."

She pulled the rabbit head closer, hiding her face behind it. "He doesn’t get why I’m getting married. So, he must not love me, right?"

There it was. The reason for this packing frenzy. I bit my lip, not sure how to answer that. "I mean, it’s not that simple."

Her eyes were blank when she finally looked at me, the tears stopped, but the pain still there. "Yes, it is. If he loved me, he would have understand. Right?"

I don’t know what to say. "Right."

It’s just us and the mess. I stood up, needing some air As I turned to leave, I almost ran into him.

Scuderi.

I was so so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear him coming. One second, I was walking down the hallway, the next, I crashed into a solid wall of muscle. I stumbled back, my hand unconsciously reaching for the wall to steady myself. That scent of leather and something else hits me before his eyes could.

"Watch it," I muttered, but my voice came out shaky.

Scuderi stood there, his dark eyes watching me with that predator’s look he always had, like he was sizing me up, figuring out whether I was prey or not. "You gonna stand there and stare at me all day, or you gonna move?"

My heart was beating heavily, but I wasn’t about to back down. "And if I say I’ll stand here and stare at you?"

He slanted his head slightly, amused, but it was the kind of amusement that send shivers down my spine. He stepped closer, and my body moved before I could think, stepping back, bumping into the wall behind me.

"Thought the Darling D’Luca was sweet," he murmured, his voice still had that low and smooth tone.

"Guess we were both wrong then," I shot back, even though my voice hesitated just enough to make me hate myself.

He put on that annoying smirk, slowly taking a step toward me. I could feel the heat coming off him. The smell of mixed whatever cologne he wore with something else dangerous. “Here I was thinking a gentleman apologized after running into a woman.”

Scuderi’s gaze looked to my wrist for a second before he grabbed it. Not hard, but firm enough that I knew he wasn’t playing around. His thumb brushed against my skin, rough and warm, also making my pulse race and sparks, f**k!

"Write me a list," he said, his voice casual, but the look in his eyes anything but. " a list of your sister’s hobbies. Likes, dislikes, shoe size, dress size… all of it."

I swallowed, suddenly aware of how much smaller I was compared to him. "Yeah," I whispered my voice barely there.

.”

He let go of my wrist, his grip lingering just a second too long before he stepped back, that smirk still on his face. "See you at lunch, Meralda."

And just like that, he was gone, leaving me to stand there with my heart beating and my mind was spinning. I touched my wrist, I could feel the heat of where his hand had been. My skin tingled, but not in a good way.

Once again, he’d said my name in the most inappropriate way.